The Mountain Shadows Environment

One of the biggest differences between a Montessori school and traditional classrooms or the home school setting is the environment. At Mountain Shadows, our classrooms are clean, organized, specially arranged spaces designed to cultivate and nurture a child’s natural curiosity. It’s a difference you notice right away when you enter the learning space.

The floor plan and table arrangements allow students to explore and concentrate on a variety of subjects, working either alone or in small groups. All materials are invitingly arranged on low, open shelves; chairs, tables and other furniture are designed to fit the child. Sensorial materials enable children to classify, clarify, and comprehend their world. Math skills—from basic counting to geometry and algebra—are learned through counting rods, spindles, and beads.

This hands-on approach works for reading and writing as well. For example, in the Primary environment, children learn what letters look, sound, and actually feel like by tracing sandpaper letters with their fingers. With the moveable alphabet, they learn to begin building words and sentences phonetically. At the Elementary I level, grammatical principles such as the parts of speech are learned through concrete groupings and three-dimensional learning materials. In the Elementary II environment, hands-on learning may include building, preparing, and marketing products to sell at our annual school market.

At Mountain Shadows, each child chooses his or her own work each day. Just as adults often deal simultaneously with multiple disciplines in their work, our students learn in holistic ways rather than in compartmentalized “subjects.” The connections between “disciplines” such as history and geography are explored in relation to each other, just as they occur in real life.

Personal responsibility is learned early. The phrase “I can do it myself” is encouraged and heard throughout every environment, even among our youngest students.

A Day in the Life of a Mountain Shadows Student
Every day at Mountain Shadows is a chance to learn and grow in confidence. Here’s what a typical school day includes.

Primary Classrooms (Serving ages 3 through 5)

• A supportive environment that enables a child to love him- or herself, respect self and others, and experience the joy of making a contribution to the classroom.
  
  
• A rich and charming classroom environment filled with engaging, beautifully-designed, and age-appropriate Montessori materials, all within your child’s reach for autonomous and responsible choosing.
  
  
• An introduction to math and language concepts through the manipulation of Montessori learning materials, such as number rods, beads, sandpaper letters, and the movable alphabet.
  
  
• Opportunities to develop the senses of touch, sight, sound, and smell in order to classify, clarify, and comprehend the world.
  
  
• Opportunities to develop fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination while learning self-sufficiency and independence through practical life activities—such as sweeping, polishing, and pouring—which supports the innate desire to be an active participant in their classroom community or at home.
  
  
• Opportunities to experience the world beyond the classroom through outdoor activities such as raking leaves, tending a flower garden, chasing butterflies, and creating sidewalk or easel art.

In essence, the Primary environment offers individualized learning as unique as your child and support for your child’s development, rather than group-paced teaching. For more information, please see our Primary Program overview.

Elementary I Classrooms (Serving ages 6 through 9)

• A supportive learning environment that fosters independence, academic excellence, respect and responsibility, nurturing your child’s natural inquisitiveness at this stage of his or her development.
  
  
• Opportunities for students to explore the world outside their own, developing their intellect and sense of identity.
  
  
• Age-appropriate, scientifically designed Montessori learning materials that facilitate your child’s grasp of abstract concepts.
  
  
• New depth of knowledge in the areas of geometry, history, botany, earth and physical sciences, geography, and the arts.

The Elementary I environment starts with a child’s natural wonder and cultivates it into intellect by blending discovery with discipline. Our goal is to empower children with the learning tools and life skills that will sustain them throughout their education and adult life.

For more information, please see our Elementary I Program overview.

Elementary II Classrooms (Serving ages 9 through 12)

• Further in-depth study in the areas covered in Elementary I, with the goal of mastery in a broad range of skills.
  
  
• Small group lessons with the teacher, followed by further individual exploration and practice.
  
  
• Additional tools of planning, organizing, and self-accountability.
  
  
• Collaboration between each individual student and the teacher to set and complete daily and long-term goals.
  
  
• A culture that allows your child to become competent and conscientious, and to develop a sense of worth and purpose.
  
  
• A cooperative environment in which students explore their own social connectedness.

The Elementary II environment fosters learning that is internally-driven by a love of learning, rather than externally-driven with grades. Individual learning is monitored by a system of checks and balances that tracks progress, fosters student autonomy and accountability, and ensures a well-rounded education. For more information, please see our Elementary II Program overview.

Support for the Whole Student
At Mountain Shadows Montessori School, your child comes first. We offer your child the opportunity to learn at his or her own pace with teachers who enjoy and care about their students. As the trusted leader in Montessori education not only in the Boulder area, but in all of Colorado, we take our responsibilities as educators seriously and practice them with great joy each and every day.

©2009 Mountain Shadows Montessori School, Boulder, Colorado