Pacifica Montessori School

Pacifica Montessori School, established in 1982, provides a happy, peaceful learning environment for preschool, kindergarten, and elementary aged children. We are proud to have always served a diverse population of families; we feel that an excellent Montessori education should be open to more than the wealthiest. The Montessori method identifies “sensitive periods” which are specific stages in a child’s development when he or she is extremely attuned to specific kinds of information. The Montessori teacher watches for these sensitive periods and then encourages this natural appetite for knowledge by offering age-appropriate materials to explore at the child’s peak of interest. Within the Montessori Curriculum the children, in preschool or elementary rooms, work at their own pace according to their individual ability. Gifted children perform at their own accelerated pace. Children who need more time are given what they need to progress confidently. No child must slow down or speed up to keep pace with any group. Teachers “follow the child” and adapt the curriculum to the interest and aptitudes of individual child rather than impose the same curriculum on all children regardless of their interests and aptitude. Since a child stays with the same teacher for three years the Montessori teacher knows each individual well; she can support and encourage each child knowledgeably and confidently.