Montessori is a progressive and individualized approach to educating the whole child. A Montessori education at the Montessori Academy of North Hoffman provides your child the opportunity to be a member of a motivated community of students, families, teachers, and staff who care about a well-rounded education. We provide the individualized attention and experiences that a more traditional program may not be able to offer.

Here, your children are taught in a nurturing environment where they become autonomous and take responsibility for their own learning, identifying their own strengths and working through their challenges. Your children will care about their own personal growth and become world citizens who actively work to make the world a better place.

Because of the Montessori Academy of North Hoffman’s individualized approach to education, the teacher-student ratios meet and are often smaller than what is required. The ratios for accreditation standards:

• Infants 1:4
• Toddler 1:5
• Primary 1:15
• Elementary 1:20
• Erdkinder 1:15

Montessori Education vs. Traditional Education

The goals of both Montessori education and traditional schooling are one and the same: they both seek to educate children. Whereas a Montessori education at the Montessori Academy of North Hoffman involves tuition, there is inestimable value to be found in our child-centered methods and learning cycles. Montessori education fundamentally believes that the education of the whole child is crucial in the development of citizens of our future world. The education models are very different between both school systems.

Authentic Montessori Education and the Accreditation Process

Montessori Education is found throughout the world, but what distinguishes one school from another? At the Montessori Academy of North Hoffman, we follow the principles of Authentic Montessori Education and are accredited with the American Montessori Society (AMS). While any school can open its doors and call itself Montessori, we take our authentic Montessori practice very seriously. In 1999, we were the 42nd Montessori school in the nation to be accredited and have since maintained our status.

Accreditation involves a self-study with metrics to support that the self-study is an accurate representation of the school. Additionally, a team from the American Montessori Society visits the school for a multiple-day observation to validate the self-study and metrics. The self-study includes:

• Montessori Learning Environment
  • The Montessori Academy of North Hoffman considers a beautiful, nurturing environment to be of supreme importance in the education of children. Therefore, we prepare our environments with the intent that each child’s natural tendencies can be developed and realized. The classrooms of our day school are designed with the rationale that the child must be able to function with ease and engage in purposeful activity. In an effort to inspire each child’s intrinsic motivation and encourage independence, we prepare materials so that they are inviting, challenging, and accessible.
• Montessori Learning Activity
  • The array of materials available in the classroom aims to spark a child’s interest and supplement their knowledge. An enticing environment gives the child the opportunity to actively learn. The school strongly believes in an uninterrupted work period that allows for immersion in concentrated activity and self-discovery. The child enjoys individual liberty based on ground rules. Clear guidelines with consistent reinforcement, along with freedom within the boundaries of safety and respect, allow the child to attain a degree of responsibility.
• Montessori Learning Relationships
  • The School helps our children recognize that they are part of a larger community and that their contribution is invaluable. Our classrooms thrive in a multicultural environment to ensure the mix of genders, ages, personalities, abilities, and ethnic backgrounds helps them learn how to appreciate and respect one another’s similarities and differences. Competition is discouraged—every student’s work is considered a unique reflection of their effort. The multi-age classroom also allows for interdependence among students, providing older children opportunities to act as role models and practice leadership skills while inspiring younger students to be drawn to broader interests after observing their older peers.
• Montessori Spirituality
  • Children are innately spiritual. We believe our task is to nurture, protect, and nourish this by providing a peaceful, safe, and loving environment. Teachers encourage students to express their inner joy and wonder at the marvels of nature. They strive to spark each child’s imagination by the presentation of the world as a harmonious whole. Virtues like love, generosity, responsibility, forgiveness, and tolerance are instilled in children by role modeling, discussions, and cooperative work periods. We strive to guide our children to distinguish right from wrong and to develop a conscience with a moral foundation.
• What the Montessori Teacher Is
  • Our teachers are sensitive and understanding individuals who consistently enforce boundaries in the classroom, exhibit warmth in their relationships with their students, and speak to students in a calm, gentle tone of voice combined with genuine love, empathy, and enthusiasm. Our teachers maintain an active learning environment through keen observation. They time their lessons appropriately, intervening only when a child needs guidance or help. Our teachers’ primary task is to meet the natural tendencies of the children while stimulating their interest.
• What the Montessori Teacher Does
  • Teachers are instrumental in creating a community of learners where each individual student works for the betterment of themselves and the community. Children learn that all members of the community are important and learn to weigh individual wants against community needs. In this way, they learn to prioritize collaboration and compassion. Our teachers present lessons to focus the child’s attention to the activity at hand. Our teachers strive to facilitate each individual’s cognitive, social, emotional, physical, and moral development. They act as exemplary models within the classroom, actively involving themselves in learning with the students and instilling moral values. By empowering the child and respecting individual differences, our teachers impart tolerance, patience, and acceptance of others in their students.