RESS-ELI: Lower Elementary Residency
Montessori Live’s face-to-face residency fosters strong team bonds, personal connections, immediate feedback, real-time Q&A, and hands-on practice without digital distractions. Instructors can gauge involvement through body language and facial expressions.
Topics Covered
- Discussions on Montessori philosophy and practice, human growth and development
- Lectures and demonstrations on language arts, correct expression, punctuation, sentence analysis, and grammar
- Lectures, demonstrations, and discussions on geology, functional and political geography, zoology, and botany
- Introduction to physics and chemistry
- Discussions, demonstrations, and lectures on biology studies
- Addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of fractions
- Integrating the arts into the curriculum, material-making workshops, and practice
- Discussions on ethics, music, health, and physical education
- Practicing classroom management strategies and observing the child
- Advice on working successfully with colleagues, and record-keeping
Discussions and Lectures
- Philosophy overview, respect for the child, and the absorbent mind
- The art of the presentation and environmental design
- Defining sensitive periods for the elementary age child
- The story of language, the function of words, and the first grammar lessons
- Grammar symbols, sentence analysis, and word study
- Integration of mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, and geography
- Concepts of observation and classification
- Engaging experiments and art integration
Activities and Reflections
- Developing cognitive skills through music, physical activity, and health education
- Promoting emotional and social growth
- Building a strong foundation for academic success
- Exploration of creativity, movement, and healthy choices
- Open-ended activities for language, math, and cultural
- Self-direction, flexibility, freedom, and responsibility
- Integrating movement, art, and health into the curriculum through lesson extensions
Cultural and Language Studies
- Introducing processes that shaped the Earth
- Solar energy and the movement of the Earth
- Glaciers, deserts, earthquakes, oceans, and mountains
- Introduction to puzzle maps, flags, and biomes
- Domains and Classification of the Animal Kingdom
- Verbs, exploration with language materials
- Creative writing and expressive language
- Classroom observation and discussion
Schedule for Face-to-Face
Lower Elementary Summer Residency (80 clock hours, 10 days)
Daily 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM
- Day 1: Overview of Montessori philosophy, human growth, and development
- Day 2: Language arts: grammar
- Day 3: Language arts: sentence analysis and correct expression
- Day 4: Introduction to Geology
- Day 5: Functional and political geography
- Day 6: Introduction to zoology and botany
- Day 7: Introduction to physics
- Day 8: Introduction to chemistry
- Day 9: Biology studies
- Day 10: Review of fractions, art integration, music, movement, and health
Schedule for Online Early Childhood Overview
Lower Elementary Summer Residency (25 virtual hours, self-paced)
Lectures recorded live
- Topic 1: Early Childhood Overview
- Topic 2: Practical life
- Topic 3: Sensorial overview
Early Childhood Overview
The online early childhood overview includes:
- Overview of early childhood philosophy
- Discussions, demonstrations, and reflections on practical life
- Sensorial discussions, demonstrations, and reflections
- Introduction to preparation, set-up, and clean-up
- Exploration of creativity, movement, and healthy choices
- Self-direction and the learning community
- Flexibility, freedom, and responsibility
- Spiritual role of the educator
- Art of environmental design, emotional and intellectual
Material-Making Workshops
Discussions cover the importance of creating handmade, well-constructed materials and identifying areas of the learning environment that need supplemental materials.
Textbooks and Required Manuals
You can either purchase the early childhood manuals from Montessori Research & Development (MRD) at https://www.montessorird.com or sign up for a 30-day virtual monthly subscription for $30 and access all manuals electronically.
Can the face-to-face residency be my first course?
Yes, the residency course is designed to help new educators become familiar with the materials and build basic knowledge for first-year teachers.
What do I need to bring with me to the residency?
The dress is casual and comfortable. You will need to bring a bag lunch, water, and snacks daily. All adult learners are asked to bring the following items: a laptop; any required manuals or textbooks; a cell phone and its charger; a phone and its charger; colored pencils; crayons; scissors; and cardstock or construction paper.
Where is the residency located?
LOCATION
Auburn Montessori School, The Children’s House, 231 E. Drake Ave., Auburn, Alabama 36830
What are the 2026 dates?
Week 1 – Tuesday, July 7, through Saturday, July 11, 2026
Sunday off
Week 2 – Monday, July 13, through Friday, July 17, 2026
Kym Elder
Dr. Kym Elder is the founder and executive director of Montessori Live. Kym holds a doctorate in instructional technology and distance education and a master’s degree in charter school educational leadership from Nova Southeastern University.
Zechariah Hook
Instructor
Zachary Redfield
Guest Lecturer
Charlene Kam
Instructor
Charlene Yvett Kam is an accomplished Montessori School Leader. She holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration with specializations in Management Information Systems and International Business. Charlene founded Auburn Montessori School in 1997.
Accredited Programs
Early Childhood (EC), Elementary I (EL I), Elementary I-II (EL I-II), and School Leadership
Forum Reflections
Each day, participants answer questions posted in the course’s forum. The questions cover the day’s subject matter and help the instructors determine the adult learners’ understanding and comprehension.
Art Integration
Art integration, language, cultural, and math extensions into art, material-making workshops, and practice with the materials are integrated into lessons throughout the residency.
Already a Student?
Montessori Live will enroll students in classes based on an agreed upon schedule. Contact registrar@montessorilive.org for changes to your schedule.
