Belmont Schools

Belmont School, with its year-round program, is specifically designed for children, ages 18 months through 6th grade. Our program averages 181 - 182 school days between September and May. We strive for a special event at least once a month. We stress the fact that the environment belongs to the children and we encourage them to take care of the mat... erials. Every piece of equipment has a special place on the shelves. It is very important to the order of the child's environment that equipment and other object/activities are always put back in the proper place. We feel that this emphasis on order helps create an orderly mind as well. We also stress independence. It is always important that the child be encouraged "to do for himself" as often as possible. As a child builds his independence, we also see a corresponding growth in self-esteem and a feeling of self-worth. Studies have been accumulating since early 1960 showing that children do best in school if their lives between birth and 1st Grade have been filled with a wealth of gentle, appropriate learning experiences. Recent research indicates that such experiences actually change the structure and functioning abilities of the brain. These experiences can make the brain itself better and smarter for the rest of a person's life, whatever the genetic endowment. An innovative use of the Montessori material is being used at the Lakewood location in conjunction with "normal" students and Alzheimer's patients. We found this approach to be very successful for both the students as well as the patients.Read More