In Montessori, the classrooms are designed and prepared for a three year cycle. At Fox Valley Montessori, we offer our Toddler program (15 months to Three years old), Primary program (Three to Six years old), our Elementary I program (Six to Nine years old) and our Elementary II program (Nine to Twelve years old.)
Each classroom is adapted to the developmental needs of the learners, providing a variety of practical life, sensorial, cognitive, motor, language, and social activities. The daily curriculum is engaging and challenging, designed to appeal to a child’s natural curiosity and intellect at each stage of development within three-year cycles.
There are numerous benefits to the three-year cycle in multi-age classrooms—educationally, socially, and emotionally, including:
1. Encouraging role models and mentoring.
2. Exploring interests, advancing skills.
3. Building community.
After two full years, they know the daily routines inside and out; their teachers know them well and can readily work with their strengths and encourage them to take on challenges. They are conscious of being the oldest students in the room. Over time, their teacher works with them on bigger, more ambitious work, sometimes setting multi-day goals. This third year of the cycle serves as the culmination of the skills they have been building during this stage of development and acts as a stepping stone into the next.
