Our Mission
Cambridge Montessori School encourages independent, self-directed learning for life in a child-centered, international community valuing peace, respect for others and pride in individual differences.

Our Philosophy
Cambridge Montessori School was founded in 1963 to foster a love of learning and to educate children to be caring, socially responsible citizens of their community and world. The educational and supplemental care programs at CMS involve children from twenty-four months through fifteen years of age in four different programs: Toddler, Primary  Elementary and Middle School. CMS seeks to educate the whole child, applying the Montessori philosophy, in a family-oriented environment. The philosophy is based on the principles of Dr. Maria Montessori (1870-1952) whose holistic vision of education focuses on the cognitive, social, emotional and physical needs of the child. For Dr. Montessori, and for CMS, education is preparation for life.

Toddler Program Overview
The Toddler program, for children 2 years and up, takes advantage of the toddler’s natural drive to act independently. Learning to care for themselves – washing hands, putting on jackets – and do it themselves is an important part of the toddlers’ work. In this language-rich environment, teachers support and guide toddlers as they explore order and disorder, and refine their emerging motor skills. Outdoor play is part of the daily routine.

Toddler exercises and activities recognize that children learn by doing. Classroom materials are always accessible, attractive, safe, and geared for a child’s success. Activities are changed regularly in response to children’s need for variety and challenge as they grow and learn. The safe, loving, gentle atmosphere puts children and parents at ease and makes for a trusting, spontaneous transition to school. Toddlers come to school five days a week, and may choose to stay for just mornings or a full day. After their Toddler year, children join our Primary program.

Primary Program Overview
The Primary program is for children from 3 to 6 years. In this mixed-age environment children spend three years in the same classroom getting to know each other and their teachers well. The continuity of returning to the same room each year makes for a strong classroom community, for children and parents alike.

Primary children learn by doing. The classroom, where everything is just their size, is full of beautiful things. The concrete materials let children explore the world through their senses, through touch and motion, and by observing and engaging with others. Teachers guide students through the curriculum as children are ready for each new challenge, introducing lessons and then letting children practice what they have learned. As children grow, the classroom materials grow with them in the sense that older children use the materials to explore curriculum in new and deeper ways.

The 3-6 year old goes through an intense period of change, including the transition to cooperative play and more complex social interactions, a language explosion leading to beginning skills in writing and reading, the emergence of number sense and the foundations of math, and great changes in physical development. The Montessori teacher responds to these changes in social and emotional, cognitive, and physical development with appropriate lessons to support each child’s growth and emerging capabilities. Primary children come to school five days a week, and may choose to stay for just mornings or a full day. Kindergarteners enjoy a full day of school.