Nautilus Montessori offers Art History/Experiential Art and Music Theory/Music Education to all our students as part of our normal curriculum.
Cultural Studies
In addition to the internationally recognized Montessori curriculum, Nautilus Montessori School offers the following listed, supplemental areas of study to our children. Knowlegde of art and artists, music and composers add to the rich and varied curriculum, providing our children a foundation in the Arts.
The "Commonality" concepts listed provide a link between our daily life here in Northern California, and the daily lives of people all over the World. We want our children to know we are all 'connected', in that we all have common needs, wants and values. All classes are presented the academic concepts listed, with the exception of the Historical Peace Figures.
Only the Afternoon Pre-Kindergarten/Kindergarten class is presented stories and discussion on the Historical Peace figures listed, as these stories are lengthy and require more attention and problem solving on the part of the students. (The foundation for Montessori Education is "Education for World Peace".)
Historical Peace Figures for the school year may include, but not be limited to:
Each school year, we focus on various artists of international acclaim.
Example of Areas of Study in a Typical School Year
September
Building Community Nursery Rhymes Household Pets Seven Continents Five Oceans Pangaea Weather Artist: Cassatt
Commonality: Nursery Rhymes
October
Apples and Pumpkins/Life Cycles Construction and Architecture Autumn/Leaves Halloween Fire Safety UNICEF/United Nations Europe Bats and Spiders Artist: Rivera
Commonality: Weather
November
Gems and Minerals Magnets North America Veteran's Day Thanksgiving/Families Hibernation/Bears Artist: Rockwell Artist: Grandma Moses
Commonality: Family
December
Orchestra/Instruments Winter/Snow International Year-End Holidays Antarctica Artist: Hopper
Commonality: Music Customs and Traditions
January
Dinosaurs Food Chains Solar System Volcanoes South America Martin Luther King Day Artist: Homer Artist: Remington
Commonality: Constellations
February
Dinosaurs (continued) Asia Chinese New Year Valentine's Day Lincoln/Washington Artist: Lange Artist: Whistler
Commonality: Freedom
March
Map Reading Africa Spring St. Patrick's Day Artist: O'Keeffe Artist: Wood
Commonality: Housing
April
International Signs and Symbols Earth Day Conservation/Recycling Australia World Religious Holidays in Spring Artist: Lawrence Artist: Pollock
Commonality: Ecology
May
Insects Birds American Symbols Memorial Day Artist: Warhol Artist: Lichtenstein
Commonality: Seasons & Cycles
Architectural principles applied to geometric shapes---with marshmallows and toothpicks!
Skyscrapers need trusses in order to stay upright.
The animals and features of the continent of Australia.
