An Integrated Curriculum

Classrooms at CMA are organized into several curriculum areas, which include language arts mathematics and geometry, practical life, sensorial development, geography, history, science, art, music, and movement. Each area is made up of one or more shelves with a wide variety of materials on display and ready for use. CMA’s curriculum is organized into a spiral of integrated studies, rather than a traditional model in which the curriculum is compartmentalized into separate subjects. Our course of study uses an integrated thematic approach that ties the separate disciplines of the curriculum together into studies of the physical universe, the world of nature, and the human experience. This integrated approach is one of Montessori’s great strengths. For instance, in the photo of the snack table above, you may notice that choosing snack at CMA offers an experience that contains nutrition education, development of independence and sequencing skills, social skills practice, one-to one correspondence, and recognizing one’s name in print. As a further example, please follow this link to see a video book about the life cycle of a rock created by one of our students. She even took it a step further and produced this video book in Spanish. This work allows her to further develop he scientific knowledge, story writing and telling, and Spanish skills. The bonus is that through her produced wok we can assess these areas and determine her next steps in learning.