teaching the whole child

One distinctive aspect of an authentic Montessori education is the emphasis on educating “the whole child.” This approach honors each individual child by addressing not just intellectual development, but spiritual, emotional, and physical needs as well. By helping students develop skills in each of these areas, we are preparing them for a productive future and a fulfilling life.


In her book The Absorbent Mind, Dr. Maria Montessori said, “The essential thing is to arouse such an interest that it engages a child’s whole personality.” Through her scientific studies more than 100 years ago, she recognized the connection between mind, body, and spirit and the importance of engaging each part in education. Many recent studies corroborate this assertion, and we’ve learned the importance of stimulating both sides of the brain (the left, or intellectual side, as well as the right, or creative side) during the critical formative years of childhood and adolescence.


At Holy Trinity Montessori, our goal is to serve your child with this holistic approach to education. As we seek to educate the “whole child,” we appeal to his or her natural curiosity about the interconnectedness of every interest. This allows the child to recognize the “hows” and “whys” of what they are learning and helps reveal relationships between subjects. This approach also allows each child to explore his or her unique interests and encourages the development of personality shaped by the knowledge, gifts, and talents inherent in the individual.


For these reasons, we incorporate many opportunities for creativity, problem solving, and sensorial learning both in the classroom and beyond. From exploring the arts to exploring nature, or from cooking, gardening, taking care of our animals, or a variety of other activities, every day at HTM offers the occasion for the purposeful development of the “whole child.”

visual arts

Students at Holy Trinity Montessori are encouraged to explore their creativity in the visual arts while enjoying a variety of mediums and techniques. They also learn about famous artists and art history while developing an appreciation for art and an awareness of its importance. In addition to creating special works to take home, our young friends also contribute their artistic skills to create pieces that are sold at our special events throughout the year. Needless to say, these beautiful and special works are always enormously popular!

garden & KITCHEN

At HTM, our students have the wonderful opportunity to spend time in our organic garden and participate in every aspect of its maintenance and care. This offers them the chance to be outdoors; to see the life cycle of plants; to experience the satisfaction of tasting the (literal) fruits of their labor; to grasp the importance of taking care of our environment. They learn about composting, recycling, reducing waste, and other important life lessons while developing an appreciation for the time, energy, and costs involved in producing food. They also get to harvest and prepare the food they’ve grown while learning about the benefits of healthy foods to our bodies. Our friends find much gratification in eating the vegetables from our garden.


From Primary age and up, our HTM friends enjoy the privilege of working in the kitchen! They love to have the opportunity to chop, measure, mix, bake or cook, serve, and eat their own dishes. 


This exposure gives them an introduction to a variety of life skills, such as how to use and respect kitchen tools, proper handling and storage of food, basic sanitation and cleanliness, following recipe instructions, converting measures, and more. It’s also a lot of good, clean (and tasty!) fun!

EXPLORING, PLAYING, AND IMAGINING

"Play is the work of the child," said Maria Montessori - and she was right! We believe that children learn and absorb so much when they are encouraged to play, explore, and engage their imaginations. This is one reason why we make sure to spend part of each day outdoors, no matter the weather.


Whether we're taking nature walks, playing in the field, jumping in puddles, building forts out of sticks, painting "en plein air," reading under a shade tree, or simply swinging on the playground, we're always learning. We're observing nature, building respect and appreciation for the environment around us, solving problems, engaging with one another and building social and interpersonal skills, and using our imaginations to dream about possibilities.


We are thankful that our students at Holy Trinity Montessori have the opportunity to spend so much time enjoying our "outdoor classroom!" 

music & Performance arts

We believe consistent exposure to the arts can profoundly impact the development of each child, and therefore we place great value on instruction in Music and Performance Arts.


Students celebrate music together in fun and engaging classes. These age-appropriate sessions offer exposure to different styles of music and incorporate instrument exploration, movement, and musical creativity. Students learn about music history and cultivate an appreciation for the way in which music shapes culture.


Some students have also shown great promise as songwriters. Many talented Lower Elementary students collaborated with former HTM music teacher Anadara Arnold to write our official school song, “Peace, Knowledge, and Faith,” in 2013.


Each year, the entire student body participates in a Spring Production. From acting, singing and dancing to costume and set design, our students are involved in every aspect of the production. We are always amazed by the talent of our students and what they all accomplish when they collaborate toward a common goal.

animal care

We are grateful to have a number of animals on our campus at HTM! Students of all ages have the opportunity to interact with our chickens on a regular basis. Our younger students enjoy playing with the animals and collecting eggs while our older students play an active role in taking care of the animals and ensuring their well-being (under adult supervision, of course). This program encourages respect for nature, an appreciation for the cycle of life, and an understanding of how animals enrich our world. It also helps our students to develop empathy, compassion, and responsibility while having a lot of fun!

catechesis of the good shepherd

At Holy Trinity Montessori, we care about every aspect of a child's development, including spiritual formation. We are proud to offer our students a Christian perspective in their Montessori journey. One way that we do this is through teaching the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, which allows children to explore conversations about the Christian faith in a safe and positive environment.


Children learn about the basic tenets of the Christian faith through a parable method in which they hear the stories about Jesus, his life, and his works. For our Lower Elementary students, we build upon this foundation and explore the beginnings of moral foundations, approaching questions such as, “What does it mean to love your enemies?”


Our Catechesis classes are taught by Karla Loftus, who is affectionately known by all of our young friends as “Nanny.”