At Hand In Hand Christian Montessori our educational model provides children with the opportunity to find their passion in life, through created growth and learning. We do not emphasize grades or tests, but allow the children to create meaningful projects and set challenging goals to reach their potential.

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The learners will receive weekly lessons in:

Faith Formation

Mathematics

Geometry

Language

Geography

History

Science

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and rotational lessons with specialists in:

Music

Art

Physical Education

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Each Montessori classroom environment contain materials and lessons which have been time-tested (some over 100 years). These prepared environments are dynamic places in which children find and choose meaningful work, rise to the challenge and feel the satisfaction of a job well done.

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Traditional school settings measure children’s advancement and development on the results of tests and grades. At Hand In Hand Christian Montessori there are no grades because these measurements do not reflect the development of the qualities that we should be looking for in children. According to Maren Schmidt M. Ed in her book, “Understand Montessori: A Guide for Parents”, she writes, “ The child’s work is the test in Montessori environments. If you can do it, you know how to do it. Why use grades and tests when we already know the answers by observation?”

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At Hand In Hand Christian Montessori, trained Montessori teachers provide assessment of the learning needs as well as the accomplishments of the child through observation and activity charts. They focus on guiding the individual development by looking at a child’s concentration on tasks and the level of independence the child shows in self-selected activities.

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The Elementary Montessori program has 3 key elements:
-Trained Guides who are the adults professionally certified in Montessori philosophy, methods and materials for their group
 

– Prepared environments, instead of sterile classrooms equipped with rows of desks, based on 3 year age groups - six to nine year olds and nine to twelve year olds designed with thousands of learning tools to make education hands-on and interactive
 

– Active Learners who have free choice of activity within a 3 hour work cycle and can practice calendaring, organizing, self-advocating, narration/notetaking and self-reward.

 

These are key elements for school success and life success as identified by Cornell University.

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At Hand In Hand we offer families the option of having their child take the Peabody or the Standard assessment tests. Some families find these tests helpful to receive feedback about their child’s skills and future challenges as they pursue their academic path. The tests also allow tangible evidence for the parents to bridge traditional education with Montessori. While helpful, these tests do not show the depth or scope of work which is covered in the Montessori classroom.

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At Hand In Hand Christian Montessori parents have the option of having their child tested. The options are either the Peabody Testing assessment or the Stanford Testing assessment. Each test is administered by a certified evaluator.

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