Enrichments

Art
We feel it is important to help children see creativity as a meaningful and natural part of their world. Our art program fosters an appreciation for art history and provides an introduction to various techniques, tools, and mediums. Open-ended, process focused lessons, including collaborative installations, encourage self-expression and build excitement for the creative process. All students have opportunities for art making embedded in their daily classes, and primary and elementary students participate in a weekly art class led by our specialized art teacher. At the end of the year, elementary students curate an art exhibition showcasing their work. The exhibition is located at Montessori Academy of Lancaster and welcomes families and friends to attend. Our goal is to nurture creative confidence and cultivate a lifelong love of creative exploration.

Library
Our library is a curated collection of children’s literature that includes a wide variety of genres, supports an integrated curriculum, and provides a shared space to explore, research, and converse about our favorite books and stories.  All students have weekly opportunities to visit the library and benefit from the expertise of our own librarian. Picture books are often a vehicle for a child's first experiences with art, culture, and the diversity of thoughts that makes us human. We aspire to build identity, empathy, community, appreciation for diversity, and a serendipitous building of language skills. Most of all, our library seeks to support literacy in all its stages and strives to instill a love of reading in all our students. 

Music
Music is embedded throughout our programs and seeks to foster an appreciation for the classical masters and multi-cultural music traditions while developing language, spatial reasoning, and early mathematical skills. Primary and elementary students participate in a weekly music class led by our music teacher. You will find students clapping, chanting, singing, and exploring instruments while building exposure to a wide range of musical styles and composers. We enjoy showcasing our musical talents twice a year at our Winter Concert and Morning of the Arts at the end of the school year.

Physical Education
Movement and gross motor development are a daily part of the school day for all students, toddlers through elementary. Our property features multiple play areas, geared towards the needs of each age group, and plenty of open space to explore. Primary & elementary friends participate in a weekly class led by our physical education teacher where foundational skills in coordination, cooperation, basic skills in ball handling and sports are practiced in our newly built multi-purpose room or weather permitting, outside on our grassy fields.

Spanish
Elementary students participate in a weekly Spanish language class that seeks to blend listening and speaking experiences with cultural studies through theme-based lessons. In upper elementary, reading and writing basic Spanish are incorporated in weekly classes. Our approach blends communicative methodology with a participatory focus and seeks to build a sense of multicultural appreciation. Learning another language requires exercising our capacity for perseverance, vulnerability, and allows us to experience the world from a different perspective.

“The heart of education is the child."

-Maria Montessori