Why Wheaton Montessori?

Wheaton Montessori meets children where they are, without judgment

Conventional methods of education were developed specifically to prepare large numbers of children to enter the workforce. Traditionally, little thought has been given to differentiating instruction or catering to the needs of individual children. That has been changing in recent years, but many schools are still in the early years of personalizing education.

Wheaton Montessori School is specifically designed to allow each child to move at their own pace. We know that learning is not linear and that not all children are ready to learn specific skills according to an adult-prepared timeline or in perfect harmony with their peers. Children who are ready to move ahead are able to find challenges they crave, and those who need more support with certain skills get that support. We do not teach a whole class of children the same skill at the same time; that might seem more efficient from the perspective of an adult tasked with teaching, but it’s not necessarily what serves the children best. No two people should be expected to grow at the same rate, and it’s our job as educators to meet children where they are and give them the support they need to be challenged but not overwhelmed.

Wheaton Montessori School is more than just a school. First and foremost, we are there for our students, but we believe schools have the capacity to be so much more. We aim to make meaningful connections between everyone involved. Some of the ways we do this include:

• Giving our teachers opportunities to connect with one another for development
• Encouraging our teachers to form connections within the larger Montessori network
• Making sure parents and teachers have ample time to discuss each child’s growth and needs
• Providing opportunities for parents to form relationships with one another
• Supporting families via parent education offerings
• Gathering as a whole school periodically
• Forming bonds among children at different levels
• Reaching out to make connections with the local community
• Giving our educators a voice in school decision-making

We also believe that it is our job to take the guesswork out of making these types of connections. We aim to build in structures that make it simple for everyone to find commonalities, celebrate differences, and open streams of communication seamlessly.

Wheaton Montessori emphasizes more than academics...

Lots of people use the phrase "teaching to the whole child." At Wheaton Montessori, we mean that on a very deep level. We do not teach just to convey academic information. In fact, academics share equal emphasis with our efforts to develop other aspects of the child, including emotional, social, sensorial, and practical life skills. We integrate the arts and movement into everything our children do rather than isolating these areas of creative study into separate classes. We intentionally teach children how to navigate and resolve conflict and how to adhere to grace and courtesy social norms.

Our greatest task is, we believe, to give children a global view of the world. We want them to understand the interconnectedness of all things so that they may be fully integrated members of their greater community as they grow and mature.

...AND the academics are a huge strength

The above being said, Montessori academics are often hailed as one of the highest standards there is. It is not uncommon to see four-year-olds in our schools reading, six-year-olds completing long division problems, and nine-year-olds classifying botanical specimens. These tasks are completed joyfully, in part because we present information in such a way that children discover it for themselves rather than passively taking in facts given by an adult.

Another reason Wheaton Montessori students work at an advanced academic level is because of what we call sensitive periods. Through years of observation, Dr. Maria Montessori noticed that young children seemed primed and particularly interested and ready to develop certain skills during very specific time periods. While, of course, there is variation from one child to the next, she noticed some general patterns that have helped us develop our curriculum. One interesting example is the study of geometry. Many of us were first exposed to the subject during our high school years, when it turns out that preschool- and elementary-aged children are not only interested in geometry but have a great capacity to learn far more than we typically give them credit for. This is why you may hear your five-year-old talking about rectangular prisms or your seven-year-old discussing the differences between isosceles, right, and scalene triangles.

Montessori aims to lift up humanity

We know. This is quite the lofty goal. From the very beginning, Dr. Montessori saw it as her mission to improve the world through education. She believed that by giving children the honor and respect they deserved, the benefits would flow through to families, the community, and society in general. She believed in the equality of all people and saw that education has the potential to be a great leveler.

Montessori schools aim for peace. This starts between individuals, and with teaching our youngest students how to be kind and gracious toward one another within their small classroom society. A great respect for the environment and other living beings is another important aspect of our work, as is a reverence for the wide diversity of cultures around the globe. Combined, these elements are meant to cultivate within the children a respect for themselves and others, as well as a desire to work towards peace, harmony, and a more equitable society.