The Washington Montessori Institute offers Elementary (6 – 12) training courses accredited by the Association Montessori Internationale, the organization founded by Maria Montessori in 1929 (click here to learn more about Dr. Montessori). This course prepares adults to guide 6 – 12 year old children in all aspects of development. During the Elementary years children use their abilities to reason, imagine, and abstract to explore the whole of the universe. Characterized by their moral and social orientation, they work in small, mixed-age groups on a variety of projects within and outside of the school environment, applying their energy to research and exploration of cosmic education.
Dr. Montessori created a developmental approach that honors the way the elementary child naturally learns – their curious minds are supported with hands-on materials that foster abstraction and imagination. Their studies are integrated across disciplines and are augmented by the children themselves who organize “going out” into the real world to gain real-life knowledge from community resources. The Elementary diploma covers the study of Montessori Child Psychology and a broad-ranging Integrated Curriculum. Students will engage in classroom-based training (in-person and online) including lectures and supervised practice, reading seminars, observation, and practice teaching.
Montessori Learning Aims
The learning aims for WMI’s Montessori program are as follows:
- Acquire comprehensive knowledge of Montessori instructional methods and materials appropriate to specific age groups.
- Articulate the relationship of learning at a specific age group to the broader continuum of human development.
- Apply knowledge of the liberal arts to the design of integrated, interdisciplinary curricula.
- Develop the academic, professional, and personal skills to independently direct a Montessori classroom..
- Practice facilitation skills to elicit independent activity and exploration.
- Demonstrate consideration and respect for each child as an intellectual, physical, emotional, social, and spiritual being.
- Develop community-building skills based upon a fundamental respect for children and adults.
- Advocate for the rights of all children.
Components of the Course
- Montessori Child Psychology: A series of lectures and discussions on Montessori philosophy and various aspects of child development are given by the faculty. Students will use this information as a basis for writing theory essays, supplemented by directed readings of Dr. Montessori’s books.
- Integrated Curriculum: Students are presented with the lessons and materials in the way a child would experience them in the classroom, thereby covering lessons across each subject area in the incremental way a child would as they learn and grow.
- Albums: Students create 9 albums, or teaching manuals, including Theory, Mathematics (2), Language, Geometry, Geography, Biology, History, Music, and Art. The albums will include essays written by the student based on the course assignments.
- Hands-on Experience: Regular practice with materials in our model classroom environment is a unique aspect of the AMI training.
- Observation: students complete 90 hours of observation in a host classroom.
- Practice Teaching: Students complete 120 hours of practice teaching under the guidance of a host teacher, and their trainer.
- Material Making: Under supervision the students engage in making time-lines, charts, and other classroom materials.
The Washington Montessori Institute holds accredited status for its Elementary teacher education certification course levels from the Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher Education (MACTE) through the year 2024. www.macte.org
For more information, please contact us at 202-818-8701 or info@wmi-montessori.org.