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 currently accepting applications for enrollment for our Elementary Program
for the 2024-2025 school year.
Please contact our office (info@thedelraymontessorischool.com) for more information.
“..let us give him a vision of the whole universe. The universe is an imposing reality, and an answer to all questions.... All things are part of the universe, and are connected with each other to form one whole unity. The idea helps the mind of the child to become focused, to stop wandering in an aimless quest for knowledge. He is satisfied having found the universal centre of himself with all things.” - Dr. Maria Montessori
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 into a new phase of development transitioning from concrete to abstract thinking; a growing interest in socialization; creative and imaginative 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 through the use of concrete didactic materials, charts and 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 own 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 that each child is challenged and meeting required academic standards.
The children are greeted at the main entrance of the school and invited to enter into their classrooms between 8:05-8:20. Once in the classroom, children hang up their jackets and bags and put on their indoor shoes while enjoying a few minutes of morning socialization with classmates. At 8:20 the children start the day in their classrooms for a 3 hour uninterrupted work cycle, which ends at 11:20. During the morning work cycle the children receive small group lessons and work independently on individual or group projects. The children bring their own healthy and nutritious snack from home and have the opportunity to choose to eat their snack anytime throughout the morning work cycle. This allows the children to eat their snack, at their convenience, when they are hungry. At 11:20 the children transition to lunch in the classroom where they sit together with their classmates and enjoy the lunch that they brought from home, in a calm and peaceful space. At 12:10, the children transition to recess and walk to Simpson Park, located by the YMCA. Here, they use the natural play space for their outdoor playtime. After recess, the children return to school and partake in a silent reading period for 15 minutes, followed by their afternoon work cycle where the children can continue to work on their individual or group projects independently. Elementary children are then dismissed by 3:30pm.
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 discrete subject areas, but rather offering lessons that allow 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 in relation to the Universe, which is why we often refer to our elementary curriculum as ‘cosmic education’. Below is a summary of areas that children are exposed to throughout the elementary curriculum. For a detailed list of lessons children receive by grade, download our elementary curriculum PDF.
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 classroom using hands-on materials for learning and complete their elementary years with a concrete understanding of math concepts, computing them on paper without the use of concrete materials. These materials allow the children to reach abstractions in arithmetic, geometry and algebra.
Materials used: 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, 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 even the Pythagorean Theorem. Children always start with concrete materials and move towards the abstract, not only studying the concepts but also the formulas that accompany those concepts. This gives the children 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.
Materials Used: Pythagorean theorem, Euclid’s theorem, advanced angles, graphs, volume, polygons, transformations/symmetry, perimeter, area, volume, lines, triangles, measurement, surveys
Geography
Geography encompasses the earth sciences, chemistry, physics, and physical geography. With the elementary child’s new found ability to abstract and imagine, they are able to 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.
Materials Used: three states of matter, composition of the Earth, relationship between Sun and Earth, work of air, work of water, charts, graphs, stories, physical geography: State of Virginia, United States, pin maps.
History
History introduces children to the idea that humanity throughout time is 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 Classes
The elementary program also offers enrichment classes for children throughout the school year. These enrichment classes are important as they enhance the work already being conducted within the classroom through physical and mental fitness to increase focus, developing new language skills, using creativity from art in everyday work and projects, and developing public speaking and understanding of culture through theatre.
Chinese: Language lessons are offered each afternoon and children who are interested can join the lessons as they choose.
CrossFit: Once a week, children participate in a CrossFit class and enjoy team-building, games, and physical exercise at Simpson Park or at our campus.
Theatre: For 10 weeks in the fall, theatre class is offered to students each Friday and taught by our theatre specialist. Children learn a variety of concepts in theatre, such as character development, costume design, story-telling, set development, lighting, and more. Each fall, the first lesson taught is around character development, and the children are tasked with creating their very own, unique characters. Our theatre professional then writes a play around these particular characters, which is performed at the DRMS Winter Performance on the last day before winter break. The children are tasked with creating their own costumes, designing the set, and rehearsing their lines.
Art: For 10 weeks in the spring, an art class is taught to students each Friday by our art specialist on staff. The children go through a series of lessons to learn different types of art mediums, artists, and materials and complete the 10 weeks with a special art show held at the Durant Art Center, where they have the opportunity to showcase their own art displays they created over the 10 weeks.
