The Montessori Atmosphere 3-6 Years Old

In all Montessori environments, students are of mixed ages. At Montessori International Bordeaux, the environment is suitable to accommodate children starting at 2 and a half years old. They grow in the same class as students up to 6 years old.

Therefore, children of a very small, small, medium, and large section work in the same room. Everyone finds material adapted to their age: from the first verses to divisions, from sound games to the beginning of grammar...

The mixture of ages is a great wealth for all. Younger ones see the older ones doing and behaving as examples. They are stimulated without being pushed and are eager to do as well as their elders. The older ones learn the values essential to their well-being: respect for others, mutual help, benevolence.

School: a Place of Wonderful Discoveries

When children arrive in class, they choose their own work according to one of the major Montessori domains:

• Practical life: exercises related to the daily tasks, which will allow the child to develop fine motor skills, concentration, autonomy, will, self-confidence and help him to hold his pencil correctly.
• Sensory life: the five senses are worked in the Montessori pedagogy so that the children refine them at best to facilitate their learning and to have a better comprehension as well as a greater appreciation of the world which surrounds them.
• Mathematics: mathematics is approached sensorially through Montessori scientific material so that children who are ready can learn and manipulate numbers up to 9,999, master 4 operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division), and tackle geometry.
• Language: the child will find the material to enrich his vocabulary in English and French, to learn to read, and to write, by first composing simple words, then sentences and finally small texts. The grammar can also be addressed.
• Culture: the child is passionate about the world around him and the Montessori environment allows him to make wonderful discoveries: animals, insects, plants, volcanoes, dinosaurs, geography, solar system.

Rhythm of the Day

Class starts at 8:45 am and ends at 4:15 pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. Children start two mornings a week in the French atmosphere, two mornings in the English atmosphere. After lunch, the children change class to study in the other language.

Spanish and Chinese classes take place at a defined time in the school day.

In the middle of each half-day there is a moment of group gathering in a circle. This is an opportunity to practice speaking in public, learning to listen, participating in a lesson together, singing together or reciting a poem.

Then, the children share a small snack. Each week a student is in charge of the snack of his class. He distributes himself to his comrades what he has brought. This moment of sharing is also an opportunity to remember the rules of politeness.

Students will then enjoy the school's large garden for recess. Children enjoy having fun freely, creating their own games, and their own rules.

After lunch, students who need to can take a nap.

Once a week, children have lessons in sports, art and music. The child is therefore educated in its entirety: well in his body, well in his head, well in his environment, well with others.

Students also have access to vegetable gardens. They cultivate themselves and thus have a concrete understanding of the rhythm of nature. They respect their planet even more, and grow up wanting to preserve it.