By: Brandi Harris
Once upon a time, childhood was filled with freedom. Children were allowed to explore, to create problems, and find solutions all on their own. These children went out after breakfast and came back inside as family gathered around the dinner table. At night, they went to bed satisfied, going over the adventures of the day and the freedom they had. They awoke each morning excited, anticipating the new adventure to come. During the day, they stomped through puddles, ran through forests, and imagined completely new scenarios where they were the hero. Some days they would be settlers, building forts from sticks and mud. They would build gardens along a creek bed, transplant flowers there, and water them every day. They would find innovative solutions to problems such as how to irrigate their fields without carrying buckets. Other days, they would imagine themselves as animals walking on all fours, wading through creek water looking for food and shelter. And then others, they were Louis and Clark adventuring into the vast unknown, documenting everything they saw and heard. Some days, they were potters, harvesting clay from the creek bed and creating sculptures to exhibit in a prestigious show.
What if I told you this childhood still exists?! What if your children could imagine being tigers roaming the rain forest in South America, and still accomplish their educational goals in less time with more confidence?
Mooresville Montessori allows children to do just that — by providing a balance in developing close relationships with nature, each other, and in allowing the freedom to learn at their own pace.
Last year, children enrolled in Mooresville Montessori built “forts from sticks and mud!” They planned and orchestrated group projects such as dam building, a classroom garden, and carpentry projects. Nine- and eleven-year-olds pretended to be animals on all fours, hunting through the woods and seeking shelter from imaginary storms. Older students took the hands of littles and showed them where crayfish hide, how to catch them without inflicting injury, and release them back into the wild. We saw children observe fish, draw them, and find out the habitats of those fish.
More importantly, we saw discouraged children become confident and happy. We saw families validated by the Christian community they had been looking for. We’ve seen moms in tears because they see the confidence coming back in children that had been made to feel “less than” or “unable to achieve” in other learning environments.
At Mooresville Montessori, we are a homeschool community for families seeking an alternative to conventional education. There are no boring classrooms, memorization drills, or dull routines here. Every lesson is taught utilizing authentic Montessori materials. We begin each concept with tangible, hands-on material for each concept until they are ready to move into the abstract, no longer needing the original hands-on materials. In our program, students as young as five can add into the thousands, multiply, and divide.
Mooresville Montessori students flourish through individualized educational goals, a cooperative classroom environment, and no hinderances. They are allowed to move forward or keep practicing at their own pace, studying under trained Montessori teachers called “guides.” To learn more about the Montessori Method of education, please visit https://amiusa.org/families/the-montessori-teacher/
Parents participate in decision making to tailor educational as well as community goals each semester. Parents are not required to teach at MM, but are supported with the at-home portions of learning for students when classes do not meet.
As T.G. (age 8) put it, “I LOVE THIS SCHOOL! It’s not about getting to the next thing, it’s about me really learning what I’m doing. We don’t move on until I’m ready.”
We know homeschooling alone can be difficult. Whether you’re looking to make a drastic change from a traditional school to homeschooling or just want friends to homeschool with on the way, Mooresville Montessori is here to help! To learn more about our programs, please visit www.mooresvillemontessori.com. We are accepting homeschool families for fall term starting September 3, 2024. Our schedule is Monday through Wednesday 8:45 a.m. to 2 p.m. The class fee is $325.00 per month. Mooresville Montessori meets September-November, January-April, and in June.
Classes are available for elementary age students and younger siblings. They are filling up fast! The first step in registration is joining our open house. Join by registering here: https://www.mooresvillemontessori.com/2024-2025
We look forward to seeing you soon!
Mooresville Montessori
By: Brandi Harris
September 6, 2024
