Our Programs
Montessori School of Northampton serves toddlers, preschool students, kindergarteners, elementary students, and middle schoolers. All levels feature multi-age classrooms that allow for peer-to-peer collaboration and mentorship.
What we teach at each developmental level is based on the scientific research of Dr. Maria Montessori, since informed by 100+ years of neuroscience and educational research. Human development follows predetermined paths, and the Montessori curriculum is based on these phases of children’s growth. Matching lessons to the precise developmental level at which the child is primed to receive them results in smoother skill acquisition and joyous learning.
Dr. Montessori called these developmental levels the “Planes of Development.” They can be described as follows:
First Plane (birth-age 6): development of self, sensitive periods when skills are easiest to learn
Second Plane (ages 6-12): intellectual period, sense of morality and justice, development of reasoning skills
Third Plane (ages 12-18): adolescence, similar to first plane, formation of self
Fourth Plane (ages 18-24): experiences that expand human potential, role in society