Ten (of the many!) Reasons for a Third Year
at the Children's House
1. The oldest students learn that with their Third Year status comes both privilege and responsibility, something in which they take great pride. The Third Year program inspires children to challenge themselves and to act as responsible community members.
Some of our current Third Years when they were First Years!
2. As a Third Year student, your child has many opportunities to teach younger children lessons that he learned when he was their age. Research shows that this experience has powerful benefits.
A Third Year student helping First Year Students to act out one of our favorite books,
The Rainbow Fish
by Marcus Pfister
3. The Third Year is the time when many of the earlier lessons come together and become a permanent part of the young child's understanding.
Third Years work on skip counting by tens and science research
4. Having spent two years together, your child's teachers know her very well. They know how to facilitate her learning and guide her toward work that will contribute to her development. Additionally, your child already knows many of her classmates and is comfortable in the safe, supportive Children's House environment.
5. Your child can continue to learn and grow at his own pace through hands-on exploration, freedom of choice, research, and investigation. Also, Montessori education is child-centered and allows for a range of learning styles.
6. In the Third Year, the program continues to emphasize academic, social, and emotional development.
7. Third Year students are guided to challenging work in each area on a regular basis. This "special work" is both meaningful and challenging, and is often recorded in one of the Third Year journals.
Examples of journal work: copy writing & story writing
One emphasizes the mechanics of writing while the other emphasizes inventive spelling and encoding skills
8. Third Year students are given two journals, one for story writing and one for copy writing. Here, the learning and development that occurs throughout the year is recorded and preserved.
Artwork done by Third Year students during Art Appreciation:
Shades of Yellow, Shades of Red and Shades of Blue in oil pastel
9. Art Appreciation with Linda Zola provides an additional opportunity for Third Year students to experience in-depth, specific instruction on artistic styles, mediums, and principles.
10. Your child will continue to cultivate self-assurance, inner discipline, a love of learning and care for his/her community in the enticing Montessori environment!
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