6 to 12 Years of AgeThe elementary child is characterized by the reasoning mind. Children this age want to know how things work and why things are the way they are. They want to understand the relationships between things. Children are more motivated to learn about a subject when they can see how it relates to the bigger questions that begin to enter their minds at this stage of development. The elementary child searches for underlying causes and explanations of the universe. The elementary program is rich in activities to foster the child’s intellectual, emotional and physical development. Subjects explored in depth include: History, Geography, Zoology, Mathematics, Botany, Geometry, Language, Music and Art. The Montessori elementary program consists of a lower elementary (first through third grade) and upper elementary (fourth through sixth grade). MVM has two lower and two upper elementary classes. Each class has a trained AMI teacher and a classroom assistant. The school day is 8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Children usually enter at the age of 6 upon completion of the MVM Primary program. Children without a Montessori primary class experience are considered for enrollment depending on individual circumstances.