Elementary.
Learning without limits.
Your child will study both broadly and deeply, covering many subjects not attempted in conventional schools. Because there is not a rigid schedule or prescribed curriculum that the whole class must follow, your child can focus intensely on their self-chosen work, with minimal interruption. At the same time, they will collaborate with the teacher to ensure that their work is challenging and purposeful – and that basic standards are met. In that way, the teacher is in charge of the minimum scope of work – your child is in charge of the maximum.
Trilingual language.
Children have a wonderful ability to acquire language. Dual language learning contributes to the children’s rapidly developing brains as well as exposes them to the notion that there is a broader world around them, full of culture and diverse people. As a high fidelity language immersive program, our guides teach the children in Spanish, and French (beginning Fall 2023.) Our children learn to read, write, speak and sing in Spanish, French and English. The school intends to introduce a language test requirement for entering students age 9 and older (upper elementary and above.)
The teacher is an “enlightened generalist.”
To quote Bruce Lee: “A teacher is never a giver of ‘truth;’ he is a guide, a pointer to the truth that the student must discover for himself.” We couldn’t agree more. Our credentialed Montessori teachers don’t have a specific area of expertise and we don’t have “specialist” teachers for subjects like art, P.E., or music. Instead, our teachers have a broad knowledge of all subject areas – more than enough to help your child discover interests in any area imaginable and challenge them to deepen the field of study through research.
Beyond the classroom.
We want the children to be comfortable navigating the world, not just our classroom. So, we have a few excellent books, but not everything there is to read about a topic. As a result, the children must ‘go out’ beyond the limits of the classroom to find the information or resources that they need. A ‘Going Out’ is a planned undertaking by a small group of children. As the children develop, they find a resource in the community and our wonderful city of San Francisco, schedule the outing, arrange for their own transportation and supervision (by staff or parent volunteers), prepare themselves for the experience, and conduct themselves with dignity while out in public.
The format mirrors your child’s developmental needs.
Your elementary age child has a strong drive for social connection. They are starting to develop deeper friendships and a connection to the community around her. Why then, would we want them to learn in rows of desks, confined to a chair, while the teacher lectures the class as a group? Instead, we embrace your child’s natural need for social exploration by giving lessons in small groups and encouraging children to work with a variety of others on follow up projects and research into subjects of intense interest.
Learning in context for deeper understanding.
Unlike in a conventional program with a separate time of the day for each subject, your child will gain a much deeper understanding of concepts by learning in context. The starting point for all courses of study is the “Great Lessons;” these impressionistic and scientific stories give your child the “big picture” of astronomy, earth science, geography, physics, biology, history, anthropology, cultural and social studies, language, math, music, and art. Meaningful learning happens when children understand the “why” as much as the “what” – and are inspired to learn even more on their own.
View just a few examples from math and geometry, and language on how the Montessori curricula go well beyond common curriculum standards.
Prepared and confident.
The ultimate goal of the elementary program is to develop the students’ abilities and self confidence so that they are able to take charge of their own learning. Students who have gained an appreciation for the enormous scale and resources of the world through the elementary curriculum are ready to explore their place within that world through our Secondary program.
The Dahlia School of San Francisco Elementary Program is now accepting applications.
“We have both of our kids in Dahlia: our older child is in Elementary, while our younger one is in Primary. First of all, Montessori is the way to go... no doubt. These kids are independent, articulate, expressive, considerate, artistic, and just overall great kids. I am not just talking about our kids, pretty much all of the kids in the school exhibit these traits.”
