Our mission at Village Montessori & Preparatory School in Fort Mill, SC is to lay the foundation for developing productive, independent, and respectful lifelong learners through the combined Montessori & Balanced Literacy curriculums. Rooted in holism, our philosophy aims to foster intellectual, spiritual, emotional, social and physical development to prepare children for their educational journey and for life. 

Maria Montessori’s entire approach to education was rooted in holism – focused as much on the immaterial (matters of the heart, psyche and spirit) as the material (learning by manipulating works with the five senses and developing motor skills). Just as man is not one-dimensional, but is made up of immaterial aspects and physical material.

Montessori offers a true “whole child” approach to development: cognitive, spiritual, social, emotional and physical. This method enables children of mixed age groups to explore a myriad of materials with differing levels of difficulty and learn as they are naturally inclined.

It also fosters a child’s leadership and followership skills. Older children solidify their understanding of material they have mastered as they help younger children with their work and younger children have a heightened desire to complete a work if an older child is assisting.

To create a sense of readiness for learning and respect in the classroom, we create a calm, loving, soothing classroom environment.  Quiet music is played during lessons and naps. Bells are used to reset the classroom when needed.  Teachers speak to students in a hushed voice, mirroring the environment in which they are creating.  

In fact, we follow much of what is shared in the following blog post from the North American Montessori Center (NAMC) to enable children to reset themselves and learn a greater respect for their teachers and their peers.  The goal is to not only create an environment that shows respect for learning but to also prepare children to mirror and respect these behaviors outside of the school environment.

NAMC Blog: "Encouraging Quiet in the Montessori Environment: Alternatives to Shush"