Private School in Atlanta GA Area

Ivy League Montessori School, Cumming:
Ivy League Montessori School is located in Cumming, Forsyth County in the Atlanta metro area, Georgia. We offer Montessori preschool and elementary school programs. Ivy League follows the principles of Dr. Maria Montessori while educating children between the ages of 2½ to 12. We also offer after-school care and after-school enrichment programs. The mission of the school has always been to provide a "hands-on" approach to education in the environment where students learn “life-long” skills and achieve personal development and intellectual growth.

Primary Level Program:
Students in the Primary Level Program range in age from 2 1/2 to 6 years old. Until a child turns five years old, he/she remains in the half-day program. When a child turns five, he/she is evaluated to enter the full-day program.

The curriculum of the Primary Level of Montessori Education is divided into the following five areas:

Practical Life:
The exercises of Practical Life include activities which help children in their growth toward greater independence. Their purpose is to develop inner discipline, organization and self esteem. Children with high self esteem are happier, have more friends and are willing to tackle tough learning assignments. It is through the Practical life exercises that the children are able to increase their understanding of sequence, refine their coordination, and lengthen their span of concentration.

Sensorial:
The Sensorial materials are specifically designed to help the children develop their perceptual abilities, visual and auditory discrimination, and the ability to compare and classify. These skills are powerful and necessary for the development of the written language.

Language:
Language begins immediately and is continuously woven into the life and work of the class. The language materials offer children the ability to understand the phonetics alphabet, composition of words, both read and written, and an understanding of the syntax and order of language.

Mathematics:
The Mathematics materials make numbers and calculation easily accessible to even the youngest of children and in a way to provide a firm foundation for all later work. Children do not memorize addition and subtraction facts, but rather learn them by actually performing the operations with concrete materials. On the other hand, these same facts may require many hours of drudgery and drill when introduced at a later age and in an abstract form.

Cultural Extensions:
The Montessori Classroom is a living education and is limitless. In addition to the work done in the above areas, the children are given experiences in science, music, art, history, geography, biology and botany.


Lower Elementary Program (6-9 years):
The Lower Elementary Curriculum is divided into the following areas:

Language/Communication:
Oral and written expression is fundamental to human relationships and understanding. Through manipulative materials and literature, emphasis is placed upon penmanship, mechanics of language (capitalization, punctuation, etc), spelling and vocabulary, grammar, sentence analysis, listening skills, and open-ended research that develops writing, composition, and speaking skills.

Reading:
Our goal is to have children reading with fluency and understanding. This is accomplished through individual and small group settings that allow practice/study in decoding, fluency, and comprehension. Daily reading is integrated into every area of our curriculum. Teachers read aloud to children regularly, and children are encouraged to read to each other.

Mathematics:
As in many curriculum areas, there is a three-stage progression in mathematics from use of concrete materials/manipulatives, through abstract understanding, to real-world application of knowledge. The curriculum spans the study of numeration (counting, place value); the four operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division (static and dynamic work); the memorization of facts, and fractions (family recognition, equivalencies, operations, and improper fractions). Application of knowledge is practiced through word problems; the study of money, measurement, and time; and through graphing and sequencing. Geometry is also studied, with emphasis on lines, angles, and plane figures.

Cultural Studies – Science, History, Geography:
Science, History, and Geography are interwoven through the study of the Great Lessons, a series of impressionistic stories that incite children’s imaginations regarding the beginning of the universe and life on earth. Biology (botany, zoology, and study of human body) is fundamental to our science curriculum, with additional study in physical science. History is a broad look at the development of mankind, based on the fundamental needs of humans. The concepts of time and cultural evolution are studied. Geography encompasses political/cultural studies, the physical universe, and the physical topography of our Earth.

Upper Elementary Program (9-12 years):
Upper Elementary is the continuum to everything a child has experienced since his Primary level years. The foundation has been laid in years from three to nine. Now, new knowledge is built on prior information and new direction is taking place with further detail and more advanced studies.

As in Lower Elementary years, a child is in the second plane of development and has the great intellectual curiosity of the whole universe and the laws behind everything. We continue the cosmic education and give a child the truths of the universe and how everything is connected with each other to form one whole unity.

During the Upper Elementary years, the interest in learning more and deeper expands and grows. A child wants answers for more questions and tries to find them according to the framework that has been given before. A child is passionate, wants to work with his peers and groups, and uses his power of imagination and reasoning mind. A child is more responsible for his own progress and makes his schedule.

During the Upper Elementary years a child learns to make choices and plans for himself. How am I able to get to a certain goal or what should I do to be able to accomplish a needed requirement?

After the Elementary years a child carries with him the motivation and interest in learning. He knows what learning is all about. A child hopefully is confident, intellectually challenged and later finds his place in society according to his personal talents and strengths. He optimizes the knowledge he has been introduced to and uses his given individual gifts.