Our Program

At Petrolia Primary School, learning happens everywhere—in the classroom, in the forest, and out in the community. Montessori principles guide us, nature inspires us, and our community provides endless opportunities for meaningful learning. 

Our program combines play-based and inquiry-based experiential learning methods with direct instruction to give children a holistic education. This approach gives the space to think creatively about the world, the knowledge to understand how it works, and the time to bring their ideas to life within it. 

Why Montessori & experiential learning?

The world is changing faster than ever before. Experts including the American Academy of Pediatrics believe the teaching methods that served our institutions for the past two centuries may not be enough to equip children for the challenges and demands they’ll face as they navigate the future. 

Experiential learning helps children develop and apply important skills for success in the 21st century:

• Problem solving & collaboration
• Creativity & innovation
• Critical & independent thinking
• Empathy & relationships

Montessori education trusts children as natural learners yet guides them through a rigorous academic curriculum. With hands-on materials, freedom within structure, and guidance from attentive educators, children move at their own pace—mastering skills when they’re ready and building real confidence along the way. 

The result is not just strong academics, but curious, independent, and joyful learners who carry a love of learning with them for life.

What this looks like

Our Montessori program blends direct instruction, hands-on materials, and multi-age classrooms where younger and older children learn together. The main focus of academic instruction at PPS is mathematics and language arts so students develop the strong numeracy and literacy skills required to thrive in the 21st century. This is combined with intentional opportunities to develop experiential soft skills that grow the whole child—not just academically, but socially, emotionally, and practically.

Lessons may unfold with golden beads or grammar symbols, with movable alphabet or geographical puzzle maps, or even during a walk through the Carolinian forest or a visit to a local library. 

Mathematics

Math in our classroom is hands-on, playful, and full of discovery. Children don’t just memorize facts—they touch, see, and build math until it makes sense in their bones.

We begin with the simple joy of putting numbers together and taking them apart. On the addition and subtraction strip boards, children slide colored tiles into place, noticing patterns and building confidence. Games like bingo or the snake game make fact practice feel more like play than work.

As curiosity grows, we step into multiplication and division. Bead chains, golden beads, and stamp games bring big ideas to life: skip counting, grouping, and eventually dividing three-digit numbers with ease. By the time children reach the bead frames and checkerboards, they’re exploring numbers into the millions—big concepts made manageable, one bead at a time.

Fractions and geometry enter naturally, with fraction skittles, circles, and constructive triangles. Children see halves, thirds, and tenths before they ever write them, and they measure, sort, and classify shapes with their hands before naming them. Math here isn’t abstract first—it’s living, tangible, and joyful.

Examples of PPS Math in Practice

Topic	Examples of Classroom Practice
Basic Operations	• Using the addition strip board to find sums • Playing the snake game to practice addition and subtraction • Exploring subtraction with the subtraction strip board
Multiplication & Division	• Skip counting with short and long bead chains • Practicing with the multiplication bead board and charts • Using the golden beads for group division
Fractions & Geometry	• Introducing fractions with fraction circles and skittles • Classifying triangles and quadrilaterals with constructive triangles and geometry sticks • Measuring and exploring angles and lines with hands-on materials

Language Arts

Language learning follows the same rhythm: concrete, playful, and child-led. Children explore words through puzzles and games—building compound words, playing with prefixes and suffixes, discovering synonyms, antonyms, and homophones. Grammar comes alive with colorful Montessori symbols that make the parts of speech visible and memorable.

Writing unfolds gently: first short stories, pen pal letters, and illustrated paragraphs, then research and poetry. Along the way, mechanics like punctuation and capitalization settle in naturally.

Our program is also supported by UFLI (University of Florida Literacy Institute), a research-based framework that provides children with clear, structured practice in phonics, decoding, and word recognition. This gives them the tools they need to become fluent readers, while still honoring the Montessori approach. Together, these approaches create readers and writers who are not only skilled, but also confident and imaginative.

Examples of PPS Language Arts in Practice

Topic	Examples of Classroom Practice
Word Study & Grammar	• Building compound words with matching cards  • Exploring prefixes, suffixes, and homophones  • Using grammar symbols to identify parts of speech
Writing & Mechanics	• Practicing capitalization and punctuation through mini-lessons  • Writing short stories, pen pal letters, and descriptive paragraphs  • Playing with sentence-building games using Montessori grammar boxes
Reading & Research (UFLI-supported)	• Strengthening decoding and word recognition with UFLI phonics practice  • Using a dictionary and reference tools for simple research  • Identifying literary elements like theme, setting, and character

Experiential learning and soft skill development

At Petrolia Primary School, learning doesn’t stop at the classroom door – it expands into the community we live in. Children learn how to move through the world with confidence, curiosity, and respect because they spend time in it. This helps them build and strengthen skills that can’t be taught through academic instruction alone: social awareness, independence, empathy, and a grounded understanding of how their community works.

Examples of PPS Experiential Learning in Practice

Skill	Examples of Community-integrated Practice
Physical & psychological safety	• Low child: adult ratios ensure children are always supported navigating complex situations • Consistent routines and predictable expectations help children feel grounded and secure
Social connection & belonging	• Participating in Petrolia Library programming and building relationships with local librarians • Engaging in intergenerational activities with seniors at Albany Retirement Village • Learning to play the church bells from community elders and understanding local traditions
Self-confidence & resilience	• Walking to all off-site activities and all-weather outdoor play  • Participating in a variety of local activities such as taekwondo, YMCA gym, and community garden • Visiting local businesses to understand how the community works
Problem solving & negotiation	• Reaching group consensus on daily activities such as playing in municipal parks, forested areas, or sports • Bringing toys from home and collaboratively determining rules for their use  • Negotiating and trading collectible cards (e.g. sports, Pokémon cards) respectfully