Our Program
"Our aim is not merely to make the child understand, and still less to force him to memorize, but so to touch his imagination as to enthuse him to his innermost core." - Maria Montessori
Imagine a classroom where each child works at his own pace, absorbing and mastering new concepts when he is ready for them.
Imagine a teacher who follows your child’s progress, and guides her along a rigorous educational curriculum while ensuring her personal mastery before introducing the next level.
Imagine spending quality time in the afternoon with your child, letting him spend his afternoon hours riding bikes and climbing trees, instead of caught in a homework power-struggle.
Imagine a classroom where children are motivated by feeling successful at having mastered each new skill, proudly telling themselves “I can do it!” Instead of only memorizing the information necessary to get an ‘A’.
Imagine the sense of personal contentment your son will have when he doesn’t have to be measured against the progress and better grades his peers are making, or feel bored waiting for everyone else to catch up.
Imagine your family at Saint Clare's.
Hands-On. Explorative Learning.
Inspired by our patron saint, Clare, at the heart of our program is our deep love for our Lord in the eucharist as the source and summit of our faith, as well as the incorporation of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, a rich environment provided for the child’s exploration of his relationship with God.
Saint Clare’s program is anchored in a deep reverence for each child and his/her own unique journey of “becoming.” We share Dr. Maria Montessori’s view of the child as a unique creation of God, created for eternity, and worthy of the greatest respect. We strive to honor Montessori’s understanding of each child as a being whose physical, cognitive, emotional, and spiritual parts are interrelated, by creating an educational environment that respects that unity. A Montessori education is meant to be an “aid to life,” and approaches the development of the child as a continuum in which each stage has its basis in the preceding one and which, in its turn, is a preparation for the next.
We believe, as Dr. Montessori did, that sparking interest and enthusiasm in a child is the key to unlocking a life-long love of learning. When children have the opportunity to work for extended periods of time in peace and full concentration at their own pace, they become calm and joyful. They learn with ease through interaction with their environment, while the teacher serves as an observant guide, following each student's growth and providing—at the right moment—the materials for deeper understanding, all while ensuring their successful movement along a rigorous academic track.
Our program provides the children with a rich learning environment which they are encouraged to move through freely. Rather than sitting at solitary desks, children are encouraged to collaborate and given the freedom to explore and engage their environment, which they do with enthusiasm, without the promise of reward or threat of punishment. The classic Montessori three hour work period allows each child to delve deeply into his work, learning and accomplishing much more than a teacher would normally require.
The Montessori combined-age classroom enables students to work academically at their own unique developmental stage rather than in strict grade levels. Our children learn to interact in a diverse mixed-age environment, providing invaluable opportunities for peer-to-peer learning and genuine leadership roles. Our days are structured with a wonderfully home-like rhythm. We sing together as we work, pause to pray the angelus, attend mass together and enjoy the seasons with stories and saints' day festivals which breathe life into our days.
Primary (ages 3 - 6)
We are a fully licensed Nevada Childcare Facility offering the following drop-off programs:
half day program 8:30-12:30 p.m. (3 & 4 year olds)
3, 4, and 5 days available. Recommended attendance for 3 and 4-year-olds is 5 half-days/week.
Full day program 8:30-2:50 p.m. (5 & 6 year olds)
The primary class, often called "the children's house," is an opportunity for children to discover their incredible capabilities. Young children are incredibly sensorial and our hands-on materials are designed to satisfy their inner drive to touch everything! The classroom environment is calm and peaceful and allows freedom to explore, work individually as well as with classmates, and begin to understand the fundamentals of peace-making. Integral to our program is time spent exploring outdoors, investigating the world and the wonders of imaginative play. Through the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, each child is able to explore her own unique relationship with our loving God, as well as grow in her personal development of the virtues of peace, patience, kindness, gentleness and self-control.
The children's house is comprised of five main areas of explorative learning:
Sensorial - hands on experience making order with the five senses
Practical Life - care of self, care of the environment, grace & courtesy, gaining independence & concentration
Language Arts - the beginnings of phonetics, writing, grammar and composition
Mathematics - counting, arithmetic operations, geometry (shapes & planes), memory work, decimal system
Cultural Studies - geography, zoology, science, botany & Spanish
Elementary (ages 6 -12)
Monday - friday, 8:30 am - 2:50 pm
An elementary child desires to know not just ‘what,’ but ‘how’ and ‘why,’ and is filled with curiosity about the world. This is heightened by his ability to explore not only with his senses but also with his reasoning mind and imagination. Each year, elementary students are introduced to a series of “Great Lessons” which introduce the six major subject areas: mathematics, language, geography, biology, history, and geometry. These stories introduce fundamental concepts, while subsequent lessons invite the child to study each area in more detail, coming to understand the interconnectedness of the universe.
The elementary years are a time of great personal and social growth. The child’s growth is aided through the Montessori concept of “going-outs” in which children plan trips into the community, building upon research begun in the classroom, coming to understand not only their place as members of their own families but also as part of a larger society. During the elementary years, children enter a sensitive period for moral formation which is fostered both through social learning experiences in the classroom and also through the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. A focus on service and stewardship, as well the incorporation of music and art into the curriculum, and yearly theatre productions aid in the formation of the whole child: intellectually, physically, emotionally and spiritually.
If you have never experienced a Montessori elementary classroom at work, you are in for a treat. In a word, it is 'magical'. There is a low hum of activity and movement as students explore, work with incredible focus, collaborate, and move freely and purposefully about the classroom.
Adolescent (ages 12-15)
Monday - Friday 8:30 AM - 3:10 PM
The Adolescent is a burgeoning adult, now ready to work alongside adults and make meaningful contributions to his community. He now seeks to answer one of life’s most important questions: “Who am I?” Our Adolescent Community provides the “center for study and work” which Montessori envisioned for middle school aged students. The program provides experiences that meet the needs of adolescents' social, intellectual, physical and spiritual development. The experiences are broad, deep and diverse to give the adolescent opportunities to explore, pushing themselves to become the fullness of their created potential in what Montessori called the “valorization” of their personalities.
At the adolescent level, we apply the Montessori Method to a classically based curriculum in which students engage in Socratic seminars, read classical literature, study Latin and Logic, while running a small business as a class and taking part in weekly community service and outdoor adventures.
Students participate in a student-run micro-economy, workshops, humanities, language-arts, foreign language, mathematics, physical education, art, science, occupations, seminar, catechesis and more!