Montessori education at the elementary level continues on with many of the same principles used in primary. We go from the simple to the complex, and from the concrete to the symbolic to the abstract. Children exercise freedom in choosing work and with whom they will work. The teacher limits the freedom when necessary in respect to the rights of others. Children, in turn, learn to maintain this balance between liberty and limits.

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The child’s tendency for order turns now toward the order of society. The child exhibits an interest in fairness: he/she often “tattletales” simply to find out what behavior is or is not acceptable within the social group of family or school. The Montessori elementary school teacher explains the class rules and their commonsense foundation. The aim is that when the children see that rules serve to protect them and the rights of others, they willingly obey and enforce such rules.

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Elementary education integrates all subject areas. Each area relates to the child’s life, other human lives throughout time, the universe, and its source. Children get more motivated to learn about any subject when they see how it relates to bigger questions that begin to enter their minds at the elementary level: Why am I here? How did the universe get created? What is the purpose of life? The child in the elementary level (6-12 years) looks for underlying causes and explanations. He/she wants to know why and how with regards to everything.