School Days
We are so pleased you are considering St Christopher’s By-the-Sea Montessori for your child’s education. We know how important it is to find the perfect fit for your child to thrive and excel while feeling safe and supported. Our St. Christopher’s Community offers exceptional curriculum in a nurturing environment. Come see how we do things at St. Chris.
School Days
Toddler
8:15 AM - 12:15 PM (Half Day)
8:15 AM - 3 PM (Full Day)
The toddler classroom provides a safe, intimate, nurturing class where students ages 18 months – 3 years can thrive. It is designed for the physical, academic, and emotional growth of toddlers and to help them feel successful and autonomous. The environment is purposefully designed for exploration and independence.
Dr. Montessori was a pioneer in supporting early education, believing that children made the most connections and learned the easiest in the first three years of life. Children at this age absorb an immense amount of knowledge and form the building blocks for future learning.
The toddler classroom is carefully prepared with Montessori lessons and materials designed specifically for the toddlers’ early exploration of the world. The classroom environment stimulates students’ intellectual curiosities while encouraging their autonomy and self-confidence.
Early Childhood
8:15 AM - 3 PM (Full Day)
The Early Childhood Classroom is designed for the 3-6 year old student and is divided into the following curricular areas: Practical Life, Sensorial, Mathematics, and Language Arts. The materials in each area are vibrant and carefully displayed in a deliberate sequence and order. The lessons attract students’ attention and allow them to practice order, coordination, concentration, and independence. The multi age classroom allows for the older children to teach and mentor the younger students. It’s a natural progression of socialization that provides beautiful leadership possibilities. The younger students learn seamlessly with their older peers.
The child arrives in their classroom between 8:15-8:30. They greet their teacher at the door and is able to organize their belongings in their cubby. The student is encouraged to get a book or work on a quiet lesson as they wait for other classmates to arrive.
“Circle Time” is a community meeting for our younger students, where specific concepts are being enforced with multi-sensorial approach. Music, drama, rhymes are used to practice classroom concepts. Students are then dismissed to work on lessons. They are presented new lessons either individually or in small groups, or encouraged to practice previous ones.
There is a mid-morning break for snack and recess. Children practice lessons in grace and courtesy skills for snack, and lunch and are encouraged to play, socialize, imagine, build and have fun during recess. The Pre K3 through K students are dismissed to their parents at 3:00 pm or stay at school for extra programming. Lunch is in the classroom in the mid-day. The Pre K3 students will nap after lunch. The Pre K4 and K students continue to work on lessons in the afternoon and they enjoy a midafternoon recess.
Lower Elementary
8:15 AM - 3 PM (Full Day)
Lower Elementary – The Lower Elementary teaches students ages 6-9 (Grades 1-3),
The children arrive at their classes between 8:15 and 8:30. They greet their teachers, organize their belongings for the day, and usually begin their day with a creative writing activity. Upon completion, the class usually meets for a community meeting and is ready to start with their lessons by 9:00 am. The morning hours have been purposefully designed to allow for a 2-3 hour period of uninterrupted time for lessons. A highly trained and credentialed teacher guides each child to lessons that will specifically strengthen the skill or concepts the student is currently working on.
The elementary classroom is divided into Language Arts, Mathematics, and Cultural Areas, which incorporate Geography, History, Arts, and Science. Snack, lunch, and recess provide nice breaks to socialize and refresh mid-day. The afternoon hours are mostly dedicated to co-curricular subjects taught by specialists, these include Art, Music, Physical Education, STEM, and Spanish.
Upper Elementary
8:15 AM - 3 PM (Full Day)
The Upper Elementary teaches 9-12 year old students (Grades 4-6).
The children arrive at their classes between 8:15 and 8:30. They greet their teachers, organize their belongings for the day, and usually begin with a creative writing activity. Upon completion, the class usually meets for a community meeting and is ready to start with their lessons by 9 am. The morning hours have been purposefully designed to allow for a 2-3 hour period of uninterrupted time for lessons. A highly trained and credentialed teacher guides each child to lessons that will specifically strengthen the skill or concepts the student is currently working on.
The elementary classroom is divided into Language Arts, Mathematics, and Cultural Areas, which incorporate Geography, History, Arts, and Science. Snacks, lunch, and recess provide nice breaks to socialize and refresh mid-day. The afternoon hours are mostly dedicated to co-curricular subjects taught by specialists, these include Art, Music, Marine Biology, Physical Education, STEM, and Spanish. Overnight field trips to Environmental Camps and Historical US Locations help bring learning to life.
The goal of early childhood education should be to activate the child’s own natural desire to learn.
-Maria Montessori
