In the Montessori approach to education, consistency is essential in developing the child’s sense of order and responsibility. They genuinely feel that the classroom is their second home, and the desire to maintain and care for it. At this formative age, a routine is of the utmost importance. The idea is that the more consistency now, the better the foundation for learning in the future. Often, the problems that arise later, such as lack of discipline and lack of concentration, are a direct result of the failure to provide a consistent basis for education.

Montessori has been consistently acclaimed as one of the most developmentally appropriate models available in the world for early childhood and elementary education. The primary reason to keep your child in Montessori for Kindergarten is to complete this maturation process, from the youngest student in the classroom to the oldest. Children will have the opportunity to develop academically; ultimately, they will also have the opportunity to grow socially. As Dr. Maria Montessori says, the child is like a flower that needs to be tended. Once it starts to bloom, it must continue to be stimulated and cared for, as it has been from the very start. Science continues to validate the procedures and methods Montessori invented and that have been in practice for over one hundred years.

Authentic Montessori programs occur in 3-year cycles; the two preschool years and the Kindergarten year children all together in one classroom that WEM calls the Early Childhood Program. The same 3-year cycle carries over into the WEM Lower and Upper Elementary programs where students in either 1st to 3rd grade or 4th to 6th grade share a single classroom. In WEM multi-age classrooms, students inspire students. Students of all ages naturally absorb the lessons being given around them. Individual instruction deepens learning intensity, and movement and student-driven discovery fuel academic and social development.

This structure offers many benefits. Children can progress at their own pace without grade level stigma. Younger children learn from older children and aspire to do what they are doing. In turn, older children further their mastery of subject matter and receive immeasurable academic confidence by acting as teachers to younger children. Mixed-aged classrooms also assist in developing more persuasive social and emotional skills by creating classroom “societies” where all children have input and agree upon the rules that will govern their community.

Authentic, mixed-aged Montessori classrooms are vibrant with developmentally appropriate materials, teaching methodologies, and individualized instruction. Intellectually rigorous yet nurturing, WEM programs are carefully designed to help each child successfully make the journey from wonder-filled childhood to self-assured, optimistic adulthood.