Social-emotional development is a key growth area for young children and school-aged students. This area refers to a child’s ability to experience, manage, and express their range of emotions, to develop close relationships with their peers and adults, and to explore and learn from their environment.
With unique and method-specific activities, Montessori schools engage in social-emotional development with students. When they move on from Montessori education, they are strong and ready citizens with universal skills like collaboration, problem-solving, and critical thinking.
Respect is one of the primary values taught in Grace Montessori classrooms. By teaching respect, children learn the importance of treating their peers, guests, adults, and objects with care. This skill remains with children throughout their education and their lives, planting a lasting seed of compassion and empathy. As they move through our curriculum, they understand these emotional skills on a grander scale and grow in maturity.
A significant emphasis is placed on how students interact with each other at Grace Montessori. The Montessori environment facilitates this by displaying one of each Montessori material in the classroom. By limiting the number of classroom materials available, children learn how to share, discuss with one another, make plans, and practice patience.
Self-directed work, a pillar of Montessori education, allows students to practice self-governance, which is a crucial part of emotional development. Grace Montessori students are encouraged to find internal motivators which will create emotional intelligence lasting far beyond the classroom.
Throughout the year in a Primary Montessori classroom, children receive multiple lessons on what we call “Grace and Courtesy.” Grace and Courtesy lessons are essentially teaching the children what it means to be polite and how to appropriately communicate their feelings. Grace and Courtesy lessons occur throughout the day as necessary. Like most Montessori lessons, it is taught in small groups, allowing children to practice their dialogue skills and comfortably share their original thoughts.
At Grace Montessori School, students have an opportunity to build friendships with children from all environments. Our scholarship program, which aids 30% of our enrollment each year, ensures that our classrooms are diverse and represent the broad population of the Lehigh Valley. Students of all experiences and ages spend time together in the classroom and form meaningful relationships.
Teachers, staff, and families enjoy watching students flourish both academically and social-emotionally, and witnessing how these skills help create successful, independent alumni each year.
Learn more about our curriculum and how a Montessori education can benefit your child here.
