The Del Ray Montessori School is a non-profit Montessori School located in the quaint Del Ray neighborhood of Alexandria, Virginia, we are associated and recognized by AMI/USA (Association Montessori International). Founded in 2011, we serve children ages 18 months through age 12 and their families in the DC metropolitan area.
We are still accepting applications for the 2024-25 school year.
Critical Thinking and Universal Connections
The Elementary Program is for children between the ages of 6 to 12 years, who are traditionally in grades 1-6 and offers an individually focused curriculum that challenges children academically while building their sense of self.
The elementary child is curious, imaginative, and social and has entered a new phase of development transitioning from concrete to abstract thinking; a growing interest in socialization; creative and inventive thinking; and an interest in fairness, social justice, and compassion. They don’t just want to know “what” something is, but “why” it is. In a Montessori environment, these developmental traits are stimulated by using concrete didactic materials, charts, graphs, storytelling, visits to museums, interviews with experts, books, and other resources.
Lessons are presented to small groups by the teacher, and the children are encouraged to work with each other collaboratively, sharing their collective knowledge and skills. Engaging as contributing members of a respectful community, they learn to question, think critically, and take responsibility for their learning—critical skills that will support them later academically, and in life. The individually focused curriculum allows the children to delve into what deeply interests them through personal study, deepening the foundation for a life-long love of learning. The teacher guides individual learning to ensure each child is challenged and meets the required academic standards.
The children are greeted at the main entrance and invited to enter their classrooms between 8:05-8:20. Once inside, children hang up their jackets and bags and put on their indoor shoes while enjoying a few minutes of morning socialization with classmates. Promptly at 8:20, the children start the day in their classrooms for a 3-hour uninterrupted work cycle, which ends at 11:20. During this time, the children receive small group lessons and work independently on individual or group projects. The children bring their own healthy and nutritious snacks from home and can eat their snacks anytime throughout the morning. This allows the children to develop time management skills as well as reading their hunger cues. At 11:20, the children transition to lunch in the classroom. At noon, the children transition to recess by walking to Simpson Park. Here, they use the natural play space for their outdoor playtime and enjoy a weekly exercise class at the YMCA. After recess, the children return to school for silent reading and their afternoon work cycle. Elementary children are then dismissed by 3:30 pm.
At the beginning of the year, the students collaborate to create their “classroom agreements” which help guide them by providing the limits and expectations that they themselves decided. This is just one example of how DRMS fosters their internal compass for respect, responsibility and resourcefulness.
The center of the elementary curriculum is "The Great Stories", which are five highly impressionistic and captivating stories that present the whole or ‘cosmic’ view of the world, giving children the big picture of biology, earth science, history, language, mathematics, music, and art, while also showing the relationship between each area. With all areas of human knowledge being interrelated, the Montessori elementary curriculum does not approach schoolwork as distinct subject areas but instead enables students to discover the interrelationship between subject areas and understand how math, language, science, and history are important and all work together. These associations give children a framework for understanding how the world works as a whole and where they stand concerning the Universe which is why we refer to the elementary curriculum as ‘cosmic education’. Below is a summary of areas that the children learn throughout the elementary curriculum.
Mathematics
The mathematics area of the classroom begins with introducing math concepts using didactic materials to deepen the child’s understanding of basic mathematical principles. Children explore in-depth concepts of multiplication, division, fractions, decimals, word problems, squaring, and cubing. Children begin their time in the primary classroom using hands-on materials for learning and complete their elementary years with a concrete understanding of math concepts, computing them on paper. These concrete materials allow the children to experience the abstractions in arithmetic, geometry, and algebra.
Lessons include: numeration, commutative law, factors, multiples, fractions, long-multiplication, time, order of numbers, rounding, estimation, word problems, decimals, ratios, Cartesian coordinate system, prime and composite numbers, algebraic formulas, money, mean, medium, mode, range, squaring, cubing, prime factorization, ratio and proportions, absolute value, Eclid’s theorem, Integers, and Pythagorean theorem.
Geometry
The study of geometry focuses on the shapes and angles in the world around us. Children use concrete materials to explore lines, angles, congruence, area, volume, and the Pythagorean Theorem. Children start by using concrete materials and move towards the abstract, learning the concepts and corresponding formulas. This provides the children with the tools to take their knowledge of geometry out into the world around them, recognizing angles and lines in their environment, and using practical approaches to learning, such as calculating the area of doors, tables, and boxes.
Lessons learned: Pythagorean theorem, Euclid’s theorem, advanced angles, graphs, volume, polygons, transformations/symmetry, perimeter, area, volume, lines, triangles, measurement, and surveys
Geography
Geography encompasses the earth sciences, chemistry, physics, and physical geography. With the elementary child’s newfound ability to abstract and imagine, they can use impressionistic charts, along with compelling stories that allow them to visualize and imagine the work of the sun in relation to the earth. Children explore the three states of matter, how the sun and earth work together, the properties of water and air as well as economic geography.
Lessons learned: three states of matter, the composition of the Earth, the relationship between the Sun and Earth, work of air, work of water, charts, graphs, stories, physical geography: State of Virginia, United States, and pin maps.
History
History introduces children to the idea that humanity throughout time 2is connected through their fundamental human needs. All five of the Great Lessons covers history in some form. One intriguing story is the fifth story, called The Story of Numbers, which begins by discussing how the first humans used materials to count and keep track of items, long before they used symbols. The story continues to describe how the Malaysians, Egyptians, Sumerians, and so on used numbers, and how these numbers evolved over time to what we use today. The history curriculum brings the children’s attention to individuals, societies, and cultures, discussing the effect each had on the world in the past as well as how they still affect us today. The lessons pay homage to the people who have come before us and how they have brought us so much incredible knowledge and information. Children hear history stories from the teacher, review charts and graphs, and conduct their own historical research.
Materials Used: timeline of life, interdependencies of humans, BC/AD timeline, history questions charts, migration stories, timelines of humans, early civilizations, Native Americans, explorers, first settlements, 13 colonies - slavery, revolution and government, independence, settling the West, Civil War, US history, World history.
Biology
Biology is the study of life on earth, both plant and animal life. Children in the elementary classroom explore this first hand. They find joy in studying the parts of roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruit, and seeds. Examining the job and purpose of each plant part fosters an appreciation of how all life works together on earth. The study of animal life begins with an understanding of the five types of vertebrates, invertebrates and their differences. Elementary children love animals and this is the area where children first begin to research and delve deeper into the understanding of the animal kingdom.
Materials used: animal stories, Botany, Zoology, human body, scientific method, population and communities, ecosystems and biomes, living resources, land, water and air resources, energy resources, charts, story telling.
Language
Language is essential for communication between human beings and the children explore this concept as they are immersed in the beauty of language and expression, beginning again with the five Great Stories. The third (Coming of Human Beings) and fourth (Story of Communication through Signs) Great Stories include an evolution of language, beginning with grunts and sounds ending with our alphabet. Beginning with an understanding of the parts of speech, children then move to sentence analysis, word study and begin to hone their writing skills. Children can always be seen writing in the elementary classroom. Children write stories, plays, reports, research papers, comics, letters, and poems. Their writing choices are their own and there are endless possibilities. Through all this writing work children are taught spelling, the flow of ideas, paragraph writing, style, and how to communicate their thoughts with others.
Materials Used: compound words, affixes, the noun, the article, homophones, commas, question marks, verbs, capitalization, periods, writing forms (personal narrative, research, fiction, letter writing, rhyming poem, forms of poetry, script, play, graphic organizers, intro to bibliography and documentation, note taking, visual presentation, transition, analogies, narrative, biography, persuasive, short story), sentence, paragraph, word families, antonyms and synonyms, prepositions, adverbs, pronouns, conjunctions, interjections, verb forms, quotation marks, apostrophes, dictionary skills, classification of adjectives, symbolizing parts of speech, sentence analysis, abbreviations, interjections, types of sentences, verb tense, literary devices (theme, characterization, plot, imagery, genre, context clue), thesis statement.
Art and Music
Art and music are taught in the classroom by the classroom teacher during the 3-hour work cycle and are an integral part of the Montessori Curriculum. An appreciation and understanding of art and music begin to round out the child’s experience and appreciation for the work around them. It is through art that children can project themselves into the future worlds of imagination or recreate past worlds they have learned through history lessons. Art provides a refuge, therapy and exploration.
Music is an extension of our bodies, minds and souls, and is an integral part of the Elementary Curriculum as a whole. Through singing and vocalization, children learn to use their voice to make beautiful sounds. Through musical activities, children learn to listen both creatively and critically, making distinctions between tones, pitches, and keys that later move from abstract to concrete meaning.
‘Going Out’ Learning Outside the Classroom
Though the Elementary Montessori classroom has a rich and captivating curriculum with access to enticing didactic materials, the elementary child very purposely is not provided all of the information that will satisfy their thirst for knowledge. Because of this, we offer a thriving ‘Going-Out’ program, which allows and encourages children to leave the classroom, providing opportunities for learning that can be accessed in an authentic, real way. Through the ‘Going-Out’ program, children take their interests and work outside of the classroom, where they organize and plan trips to museums, the zoo, local businesses, community centers, historical locations, and libraries, just to name a few. Planning includes deciding what is needed for the trip, determining the route and transportation, requesting a chaperone, and deciding on the date for the trip. Children leave with notebooks and pencils in hand to seek out the extra information they need for their research, project, or work and return excited and ready to share their adventure with their classmates.
Enrichment
The elementary program also offers enrichment for the children throughout the school year to enhance their classroom experiences.
YMCA: Once a week, children participate in a special fitness class and enjoy team-building, games, and physical exercise.
Music: The elementary children enjoy a weekly music lesson incorporating singing, rhythm, and instruments with a local music instructor.
Baking: Rolling Sloane’s, a local micro-bakery, offers the children specialized instruction monthly on a variety of cultural baking experiences.
Elementary Overnight: Every Spring, the children enjoy an overnight trip including outdoor education and team building through a ropes course at Hemlock Overlook Regional Park.
