Maria Montessori laid out the progression of the Three-Year Cycle to follow the natural acquisition of skills and knowledge from year to year throughout each developmental period of a child’s life. Each step of a child’s development and learning from the time s/he enters the Montessori classroom serves as a solid foundation for the next. Each area of the Montessori program builds on the skills and knowledge acquired in earlier years. At the end of each three-year-cycle, key skills and the academic and personal growth the child has been building towards in their previous two years are solidified.

To receive the full benefits of a Montessori education, a child who enrolls remains in the program for three years. One example would be to think about trying to sew a dress before knowing how to use scissors or how to thread a needle. An authentic Montessori program works in the same way. Therefore, the three-year cycle is crucial.

We cannot stress enough the importance of fully completing the Three-Year Cycle at CHOM on Camp. Maria Montessori laid out the progression of the Three-Year Cycle to follow the natural acquisition of skills and knowledge from year to year throughout the early developmental period of a child’s life. At CHOM on Camp, every activity the children work with is a building block for the next skill. Nothing is arbitrary or isolated. For further knowledge building, the steps before need to be followed and to ensure the acquisition of the complete skill set, the final steps must also be taken. That is why we stress completing all three years of our program.

Practical Life

Within Practical Life are lessons in grace and courtesy, care of oneself, and care of the environment. Through these lessons, children will not only learn confidence and self-sufficiency but also strengthen their hands and build up their oral language in preparation for writing.

Sensorial

The sensorial materials are the stars of these lessons. The materials beautiful to capture the attention of the young child. They are specifically designed to isolate a particular attribute (color, dimension, weight, smell, sound, etc.) so that your child can develop their foundation of knowledge about the world around them. Music is a part of this area, and children will be exposed to various genres.

Language

From preparation of the hand through scrubbing, polishing, and metal insets, and knowledge of sounds through sandpaper letters and sound games, the child will learn to write. Once they have the foundation of putting sounds together (constructing) to express their ideas, they can apply that knowledge to analyzing other’s words (deconstructing) through reading. Through out this long process, we support the children’s language development by reading aloud to the children daily, and providing a plethora of fiction and non-fiction reading material.

Math

From the first practical life lessons to the first sensory lesson, the Pink Tower, the children are beginning their journey of developing their Math sense. Setting  the table teaches the child one to one correspondence. The tiniest pink tower cube is 1cm3. Children learn numerals and quantities concretely, and when ready, they are presented with lessons that help them connect the two. From there, they continue to learn more about the decimal system and mathematical functions through continued concrete materials, including the sensorial materials with which they are already familiar.

Extensions to Language

Extensions to Language lessons are the richest and most vibrant of the areas. These lessons include Art, Science (Botany, Zoology, and more), Geography, Music, and Cultural Studies. To supplement our concrete learning of cultural studies, we invite families to share their backgrounds in the classroom.

Dr. Maria Montessori developed the Montessori Method in the early 1900s. It’s a specific child-centered method of education that involves child-led activities (“work”), classrooms with children of varying ages, and teachers who encourage independence among their pupils. The Montessori Method fosters rigorous, self-motivated growth for children in all areas of development: cognitive, emotional, social, and physical.

The Children’s House of Montessori on Camp is structured following these authentic roots developed by Dr. Montessori. We honor the three-hour work cycle, during which the children will be presented lessons by the Guide and are then free to choose their work. Three-year-olds may attend in the morning only or full day; however, four-year-olds always stay for a full day. We are confident that once you become a member of our Montessori community, you will want to stay with us through your child’s Kindergarten year.

We are preparing for Association of Montessori International (AMI) Recognition and expect to be granted recognition by June 2025.