Orange County families now have the opportunity to enroll their children in an authentic, mixed-age Montessori program all the way from infancy through elementary school (1st – 6th grade) and middle school (7th & 8th grade).

In Elementary School and Middle School at LePort Montessori Irvine Spectrum, your child will:

Be challenged at his or her pace—with individual or small group lessons, paced to match each child’s ability and skill level. For example, academically strong students can work at an accelerated pace in math or any subject, with the opportunity to start more advanced work, for example algebra and geometry while in middle school.

Engage in a rich curriculum. We offer an outstanding math program combining the unique Montessori math materials with additional curriculum–so children learn to think numerically, understand math concepts instead of memorizing procedures by rote, and so they love math. Our language arts program includes systematic study of phonics in the early years, as well as auditory, individualized spelling, explicit instruction in grammar, and systematic development of vocabulary. LePort Montessori students from elementary through middle school are guided to explore history, with deep study of human cultures from prehistory to the present, study observation-based science told as intriguing mysteries with hands-on labs experiences and receive a thorough education in geography. In small-group literature circles, children learn to delight in great full-length books (not excerpts), to identify themes, plots, and characterization, and to strengthen their understanding of human nature by discussing the heroic people and stories with the guidance of their passionate teachers. Enrichment opportunities, from visual arts to music, from performances to fieldtrips, from community leadership and self-government to mentoring opportunities, are integrated into the Montessori experience.

Acquire strong social and executive function skills. As anyone who has a hiring role can attest, many young adults lack the ability to organize their own work, manage time, complete projects independently, exercise good judgment, and manage to work on or lead teams. The mixed-age Montessori elementary and middle school communities excel at developing these skills in children–for example, through community meetings, they practice the ability to plan and execute longer student-initiated class projects, and working in small groups throughout the day allows them to design, implement, and complete independent academic follow up to the lessons they have received. They learn to work well in small groups and pairs throughout the school day.

Be able to enjoy being a child. Through the elementary program, we assign no or limited homework. A child who works actively from 8:30 am to 3:00 pm typically will have their afternoons free–to enjoy sports, tackle projects around the house, explore with the family, to read or practice music, or to just engage in unstructured play. Research shows no causal links between the amount of homework assigned in elementary school and a child’s academic accomplishments. That’s why we don’t send home worksheets, but instead encourage children to use their time to more deeply explore their own areas of interest after school. By middle school, students will increasingly have homework, building up to 6-8 hours per week, to prepare them for typical high school work loads.

Get ready for success in high school and life. Montessori middle school students at LePort benefit from personalized high school counseling from teachers who know them intimately, so they can thoughtfully choose the right high school path, and be prepared–academically, emotionally, and socially–to not only be admitted to their high school of school of choice, but also succeed there.

All of this is part of our mission at LePort Montessori: to help children gain what we call Knowledge for Life: the essential knowledge, thinking skills and strength of character needed to flourish as joyous children today, and as successful adults tomorrow.