Answering Your Questions!

Teachers intentionally observe and track each child’s progress and individual needs. Because each child is at a different developmental stage and has different needs, Teachers don't necessarily give students equal numbers of lessons or amounts of time each day or week.  Instead, they ensure that each child receives the appropriate lessons and support needed to progress through the Montessori curriculum.  
 

The short answer is yes.  While most Primary lessons are taught individually, some language, geography, and science lessons can be presented as small-group lessons.  Around age 4½, the materials children are exploring also offer more opportunities for small-group lessons.  
 

During the initial presentation of a material, Teachers demonstrate how to complete the work and how to return it to its proper place. Children are encouraged to complete the activity from beginning to end and then return the materials to the shelf, ready for the next person.  As children become familiar with the materials and class routines, they develop an understanding of when their work is complete.  If a child is having difficulty completing the work from beginning to end, the Teacher will offer guidance to help the child finish or appropriately conclude an activity. 

In the Primary environment, the general rule is that children may choose any of the materials for which they have received a lesson.  Children are generally free to choose a lesson/activity that interests them and is appropriate for their developmental level and current stage of learning.  An important component of Montessori is fostering the development of the child’s ability to make purposeful choices.  
 

How often and how much work comes home is at each teacher’s discretion. Teachers want work sent home to reflect the child’s experience and growth in the classroom, so they are intentional about what they send. To avoid turning a child’s work into a collection of products, children are encouraged to choose work they are especially proud of or excited to share with their families. 

We establish clear and consistent limits while helping children understand how their choices affect themselves, others, and the classroom community.  Teachers observe children carefully and redirect when necessary.  When a child is having difficulty, we try to understand and support the developing skills needed to handle the situation.

Through observation, teachers determine a child’s developmental needs, readiness, and interests.  If the small group presentation is appropriate, the teacher will invite the child to join.  

The number of lessons varies and is determined by the needs of the child. There is not a set number of individual lessons each child receives daily. A child may receive several individual lessons in one day and no individual lessons the next. The teacher may determine that a child needs time to practice and consolidate what has already been presented.  

As with individual lessons, teachers observe carefully and provide small-group instruction when they determine that the children's needs are best met in a small-group lesson.  

Teachers observe when children move from practicing a skill to using it confidently and independently.  They may acknowledge this with a simple “You worked hard on that” or “You remembered how to do that on your own.”  We want children to develop an internal sense of accomplishment rather than depend upon adults to tell them when they have done well.

A Montessori teacher’s primary tool is observation. They watch how a child interacts with the materials, asking themselves: Am I observing lots of repetition? Is the child using the material with purpose? Are the child’s needs being met?  Etc.

In the Montessori classroom, cleanup is taught explicitly as part of every lesson. Teachers model and demonstrate how to complete the cycle of an activity:  choosing the work, using it, and putting it away, ensuring it is ready for the next child.  Children are shown how to return materials to their proper places, clean up spills, put away their work, and care for the classroom.   
Establishing these routines at home often means being consistent and modeling the behavior you want your child to imitate.
 

First, the teacher observes why the child has left their work. There could be a variety of reasons: the child completed the work and simply forgot to return it to the shelf, the work may have become too difficult, or perhaps the child got distracted/lost interest. If the child simply forgot to return the work, the teacher would most likely offer a gentle reminder or redirection.  If the child is struggling, the teacher may offer assistance or encourage the child to ask a friend who could help them complete the work.  If the child has lost interest, the teacher may offer a gentle redirection.  

The short answer: Students have considerable agency, but teachers monitor mastery, balancing child-directed Montessori learning with accountability.

In keeping with Montessori, children have “freedom within limits,” meaning students have meaningful choice in what they work on each day, but that choice exists within a carefully prepared curriculum and with teacher guidance. Rather than simply moving everyone through the same lesson at the same time, teachers closely observe each child and give individual or small-group lessons based on the child's readiness, needs, and interests. The child may then practice independently and repeatedly until they demonstrate mastery. 

If a child doesn't naturally gravitate toward a subject, the teacher doesn't simply allow that area to disappear. The teacher identifies the gap, introduces or revisits appropriate lessons, provides engaging materials and encouragement, and monitors the child's progress. 

In summary, choice determines how a child engages with learning, but it doesn't eliminate the teacher's responsibility to ensure the child develops the necessary skills in all subject areas.
 

The short answer: Science is embedded in the environment rather than isolated to a textbook.

At Springmont, science isn't confined to traditional “science lessons.” Instead, science is integrated into the physical environment and everyday activities. For younger students, science is built around children's natural curiosity—observing, sorting, categorizing, and investigating plants, animals, and the world around them. Elementary students participate in our Outdoor Science Education program which includes gardening, composting, soil studies, planting and caring for plants, and caring for campus animals including chickens, turkeys, goats, and rabbits as well as special opportunities like the Great Southeastern Pollinator Census, where students identify and count insects as part of a citizen science project organized by UGA. In other words, science is experiential and unavoidable in the best possible sense—through gardening, animals, nature, observation, cooking, outdoor work, and real-world questions rather than relying entirely on a child choosing a science activity off the classroom shelves.

The short answer: Technology is introduced gradually and intentionally.

Springmont takes a deliberate, developmentally appropriate approach to technology while maintaining and emphasis on hands-on learning.
Primary students do not use computers or have screen time. Lower Elementary classrooms have computers and students use Keyboarding Without Tears, which teaches typing, computer functions, formatting, and digital citizenship. Upper Elementary students use computers to do online research and computer-based testing and for word processing and to making materials for presentations. Middle School students are issued 1:1 Chromebooks used for classwork and homework.
Most importantly, Springmont teaches students how to evaluate information, rather than simply how to operate a computer. Students learn to distinguish reliable resources, conduct research, evaluate websites, and use databases such as EBSCO. 
 

The short answer: AI is being treated as a tool that requires judgment rather than as a shortcut around thinking. 

Springmont created and adopted an AI policy for the 2026-27 school year that does not forbid the use of AI. Rather, it seeks to address how we can use this powerful tool without allowing it to replace the thinking, discovery, struggle, creativity, and independence that Montessori education is supposed to develop. More specifically, AI can be used when it promotes technological literacy, intellectual growth, cognitive development, and broader learning—but not when it simply speeds up or eliminates the productive struggle of learning. Students are explicitly told not to use AI to replace critical thinking, avoid difficult work, or have AI write their work for them. When AI is used, students must disclose/cite its use and evaluate responses for accuracy and bias. The value of learning to use AI is counterbalanced with a deep belief in the increasing importance of human life skills such as communication, empathy, collaboration, adaptability, and emotional intelligence.