Lower Elementary

Serves students in grades 1st - 3rd with a lead teacher and assistant (1 to 14 ratio). In Lower Elementary, students engage in hands-on learning and active discovery. They are taught in small groups and are provided opportunities for individual practice on concepts tailored to their needs. Teachers work to create and maintain and safe and peaceful working environment. 

Developmental Needs

  • Concerned about right & wrong, fairness & morality
  • Move from concrete to abstract thinking
  • Development of reasoning ability
  • Focus on social relationships
  • Child is taking charge of learning, and directing questions, explorations, and connections based on personal interests


Developmental Support at FHM

  • Restorative conversations
  • Community meetings
  • Cooperation & collaboration
  • Shared care of the environment
  • Social thinking concepts


Academics at FHM

  • Cosmic Curriculum guides cultural and science studies
  • Structured math curriculum covers all standards through use of patterns, drills, and word problems, and spiraling
  • Intentional writing instruction uses a Writer’s Workshop model
  • Students are grouped according to level, not by grade
  • Master skills at own pace

Freedom of Choice & Movement

In a Montessori classroom, children are free to choose their own work and set their own learning pace. This means they are able to choose which math work that matches with their math level. Students cannot avoid math (or another subject) altogether. The Lower Elementary classroom includes a work plan that provides a daily map that guides students through all subjects. In a daily work cycle, students will be exposed to multiple lessons and practice work in language and math while integrating that work into additional learning opportunities.


Montessori Math

Montessori math focuses on learning using hands-on materials and concrete representations of numbers. Students solve math problems by manipulating beads, bars, rods, and dots. Through repetition, math facts are understood and memorized.


Cosmic Curriculum

The school year begins with the Great Lessons. These lessons stimulate imagination and encourage exploration of the materials through the story of the universe. Students learn that it is not a random place or something that just happened: every particle, substance, species, and event has a specific purpose and contribution. Through these lessons, Dr. Montessori wanted students to understand that without contributions to the interconnected whole, we could not live.

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