Curriculum

The Montessori curriculum is an open-ended, individualized and integrated approach, carefully structured to demonstrate the connectedness among different subject areas. All students are offered lessons across the spectrum of the Montessori philosophy, including:

  • Practical Life - care for one's self and one's environment to aid independence and self-discipline
  • Grace, Courtesy & Community Service - includes peaceful conflict resolution, respecting, serving & caring for others, etiquette, values, ethics & spirituality
  • Spirituality - Understanding and appreciation of world religions; Silence and reflection; A reverence for nature; An appreciation of the connectedness of all things; Cultivation of peacefulness, compassion, generosity and love
  • Sensorial - exploring physical world using senses
  • Language - writing, reading, composition & literature
  • Mathematics - Unified Math, moving from concrete to abstract
  • History, Geography & International Culture - creating a global perspective of the human family, includes foreign languages
  • Science - a hands-on approach
  • The Arts - an integral component of daily curriculum
  • Health, Wellness & Physical Education

Extra-Curricular Activities

Cultural & Marketplace Learning 
MSL students participate in field trips that enrich and support the curricular goals of the program.  Toddler and Early Childhood students experience in-house programming.  On-site field trip activities have included Raptor Rehabilitation of Kentucky, Native American Anthony Nava, Appalachian Music, Nelstone Stone Carving and Kentucky Down Under.  

MSL Elementary students begin the "going out" experiences by participating in field trips that assist them in exploring the wider world and complement classroom learning of concepts and skills.  MSL Elementary field trips have included The Louisville Science Center and IMAX Hurricane on the Bayou, The Crane House and labyrinth at the Louisville Presbyterian Seminary, The Food Literacy Project at Oxmoor Farm, Buffalo Crossing, Churchill's Farm, Huber's Family Farm, Foxhollow Farm, Marengo Caves, Fort Boonesborough and College Park in Winchester, KY, Actor's Theatre's performance of "A Christmas Carol" and dining at The Old Spaghetti Factory.

MSL Middle School students advance the going experience to a new level of responsibility.  Students are engaged in planning their trips.  Twice each year, MSL Middle School students embark on an "Odyssey Trip."  The Fall Odyssey serves as a community building experience.  Students engage in physically challenging activities such as ropes courses, camping and canoeing along with their adult chaperones.  The Spring Odyssey is a culminating event from the students' curricular city study.  Past city studies have focused on our hometown of Louisville and our nation's capital, Washington, DC. 
 
Civic Engagement and Service Learning
In keeping with our mission, our students actively engage in public service, which provides them with a life-long habit of caring for communities, public service, social justice and peace. Through this volunteer spirit, our students are learning to shape the world they will inherit.  MSL students have supported the following programs with their efforts:  Rainforest, KIVA, Home of the Innocents, Dare to Care, Kentucky Harvest, Amman Imman, Meaghan's Mountain, Earth Day, Kentucky NEED Project, Half-Pint Library, Kosair Children's Hospital, National Wildlife Federation, Shamrock Foundation and Wayside Christian Mission.
Religion & Spirituality
MSL offers an enriched academic program with spiritual depth. We recognize spirituality as a basic human need. We respect, embrace and celebrate all belief systems. Our program strives to honor the fundamental purpose of Dr. Maria Montessori's method to "bring about a greater world by nurturing the spirit of the child."

Spirituality is considered...
Study of world religions is a component of the Cultural pillar of the Montessori curriculum.  Historical events, traditions, religious beliefs and customs are presented and observed from an anthropological perspective.