Countryside Day’s approach to education is unique. You will see that the minute you walk into one of our classrooms. The materials used to teach reading, writing, arithmetic, geography, science, music, social studies are all unique to the Montessori classroom. The classroom materials used for our youngest students take abstract ideas and put them in a concrete form that makes sense to these developing minds. Students learn to learn from their peers, and respect... READ MORE

It is our primary goal to help the children develop the qualities of respect, responsibility, and resourcefulness. This guides every decision we make. If children are not behaving responsibly they are held accountable for their actions. But most notably, Montessori believed, as do we, that this peaceful and self-directed student is the true student. If children are in an environment of respect and are expected to act respectfully they will follow suit. ... READ MORE

If you want children to become responsible young adults they must have opportunities to practice both personal and social responsibility at a young age. A mixed age group allows children of different ages and abilities to help each other and thus learn responsibility. In a mixed age class it is not always the teacher who solves problems. In fact more often it is not. Instead it is another student. This is not possible in a... READ MORE

It is our goal to have children internalize good behavior, not just respond to an adult. To do this we again are focused on respect, responsibility and resourcefulness. But students do not come to us with all of these qualities in place. When a student behaves in a manner that is unacceptable he is held accountable with a logical consequence, one that is related to the misbehavior. For example, if a student chooses a particular... READ MORE

If you want children to develop the qualities of respect, responsibility and resourcefulness they need consistency. They need many opportunities to practice. If they are only coming a few days per week, they do not really feel the classroom is their own. They are only partially attached, and therefore do not develop a strong desire to be responsible for it. ... READ MORE

On a student’s first days of school he is given several lessons each day. Once given a lesson a student may choose that material without asking permission. The materials in a Montessori classroom were initially chosen by trial and error. Only those most interesting to the students were kept in the classrooms. So the students are naturally attracted to what is here. If, however, a student is not working in a particular area, for instance... READ MORE

Toddler: 1:5 Pre-K/K: 1:15 Elementary: 1:15 These ratios, however, are not the most important question. It is actually the teaching ratio that is what defines the CDS Experience. During the Early Childhood years, teachers are giving direct instruction almost always in a 1 to 1 ratio. At the Elementary level, teachers are giving direct instruction to in groups most often in groups of 1 to 6-8. Teachers are rarely trying to teach the entire class... READ MORE

The classroom environments at CDS inspire students not just to learn — but rather to love learning. The teachers are passionate which infects the students with interest. Curriculum is not pre-determined day to day, so students are allowed to explore their interests in real time, not three hours later in their bedrooms at their desks (when their interest is long gone and their thoughts are distracted by the many other things they would rather be... READ MORE

For the budding student this is the surest way to limit inspiration and retard the development of self-assessment. The joy for CDS students is in the learning itself. They are working and acquiring knowledge because they are excited by the possibility of how far they can pursue any interest. Rather than grade the students on how well they learned the countries of North America, after which it is clear there is no reason to go... READ MORE