Montessori’s Living Curriculum: Biology in the Classroom & Beyond

What is biology? At its root, the word comes from the Greek bios, meaning "life," and logos, meaning "word" or "reason." In short, biology is the study of life. At Wheaton Montessori School, however, biology is more than a science subject—it’s a gateway to wonder, connection, and understanding our place in the larger story of life on Earth.

A Living Subject in a Living Curriculum

Dr. Maria Montessori saw biology as essential for a curriculum designed to help children in 1st- 6th grades see how everything is interconnected. In this context, biology is not just about memorizing facts. It’s about discovering how plants, animals, water, minerals, and even the air work together in a grand collaboration. Through this lens, we can discover how each species has an important contribution—a unique role in sustaining life.

Plants, for example, draw minerals and water from the soil, but they also protect that soil from erosion and help purify the air. Animals depend on plants for food and, in turn, help pollinate, fertilize, and spread seeds. Each element takes what it needs and gives something back. At Wheaton Montessori School, children explore these ideas deeply, not just as scientific facts, but as part of a moral and ecological awareness inside the classrooms, in our conservation wetland, and on the playgrounds.

The Importance of Real Experiences

Children are imaginative and curious. During the elementary grades learners are also developing a strong sense of right and wrong. They want to understand how things work and why they matter. That’s why biology at Wheaton Montessori School isn’t taught from a textbook—it’s brought to life through real experiments, lived experiences and thoughtful exploration.

We begin biology lessons with real specimens. An unusual seed, a unique leaf, or a well-tended plant offers more opportunities for engagement and connection than a picture ever could. Children are encouraged to observe, touch, ask questions, and form hypotheses. We may use sketches and charts to aid understanding, but hands-on exploration always comes first.

Children dissect parts of a flower, experiment with how different leaves respond to light, or observe how water travels through a stem. Along the way, they learn the functional anatomy of plants and animals, explore systems of classification, and begin to understand adaptation and evolution.

Moral Considerations in Science

Because elementary-aged children are developing a sense of right and wrong, we take care to present biology with sensitivity and respect. We don’t cut living plants carelessly or keep animals for the sake of experimentation. Instead, we invite questions: Is it right to dissect a flower? What happens when we keep a bird in a cage? How does using pesticides affect bees and flowers?

These questions encourage children to develop empathy, a sense of stewardship, and a respect for life. It’s not just about learning how living things function—it’s about understanding our responsibility within the web of life.

A Dual Environment: Classroom and Nature

One of the most important aspects of Wheaton Montessori School is that learning science not just occurs inside a four-walled classroom, but also in the natural world. Children study parts of a plant in class and go outside to identify those parts on campus. They may observe a classroom pet or the school bees coming to planter boxes, then learn about insect behavior and classification. This duality deepens understanding and builds connection.

When in Kodaikanal, India, Dr. Montessori experienced how elementary children learned by exploring hills, forests, and fields. Wheaton Montessori School is fortunate to be surrounded by nature. And near your home, biology is that it’s everywhere–a patch of grass, a few fallen leaves, or the cracks in a sidewalk where something green is growing.

How Families Can Support a Love of Biology and Nature

As parents and caregivers, we are our children’s most important guide to the natural world. And the good news is, we don’t need to be biology experts to nurture a deep love of life sciences. Here are some simple ways we can provide support:

Go outside often. Whether it’s a walk around the neighborhood, a hike in the woods, or just time in the backyard, give children plenty of opportunities to observe and wonder.
Make collections. Children love collecting things—leaves, rocks, feathers, shells. Encourage this instinct and use it as a way to ask questions and spark further research.
Model curiosity. If your child asks why some plants grow in the shade or why certain animals come out at night, don’t feel pressured to have the answer. Say, “I wonder that too. Let’s find out together.”
Create a nature journal. Encourage children to draw, label, and write about what they see in nature. This can be as formal or informal as they like. The goal is to create a habit of observation.
Ask big questions. Children love the extraordinary. Ask them what they think about camouflage, desert survival, or why birds migrate. Their imagination and reasoning will shine.
Use your interests. If you love gardening, birdwatching, or hiking, share that with the children in your life. Even your casual observations can spark their questions and investigations.

From Biology to Ecology

As our students children grow in their biological studies, they naturally move toward ecology—the study of how all living and nonliving parts of the world interact. This final synthesis reinforces their understanding that they are part of something bigger, something intricate and beautiful.

Ultimately, biology at Wheaton Montessori School is about more than life sciences—it’s about living fully, attentively, and respectfully in the world. With a nurturing classroom, a natural world to explore, and the guidance of engaged teachers and their assistants, our children can grow up with a profound sense of connection, wonder, and care for the Earth.

Schedule a time to visit the school to experience how we cultivate a love for living things and an interconnected way of thinking about the world.

Prospective families with toddlers and children under 4 are encouraged to sign up for a school tour the advantages of our Primary Program, which lays the essential foundation for our Elementary and Adolescent Community Programs*. Prospective families who are enrolled in the 2025-2026 School Year are welcome to sign up for Wheaton Montessori School summer camps.

Preschool enrollment for summer and fall 2025 is ongoing and depends on availability for eligible early childhood students. There are extremely limited spots available for new children aged 4 and under for the upcoming summer and fall of 2025.

* Individual school tours for kindergarten through 9th grade are not available, and the waitlist remains closed for the 2025-2026 School Year. The only exception is considered for students transferring from AMI-accredited Montessori schools that have maintained continuous attendance.

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How Your Young Children Learn and Why It Matters

By Rebecca Lingo • February 23, 2026

How Your Young Children Learn and Why It Matters Your young children learn by actively constructing themselves through purposeful work. From birth through age six, learning is not passive or instructional. It is driven from within your child, supported by responsive adults like you and all of my colleagues. This internal passion to learn is also boosted through the campus design and surroundings. Every movement, repetition, and exploration is meaningful work that builds the child’s body, mind, language, and sense of self. How learning happens Active construction through work: Your young children learn by doing. Don’t we all! Movement, using the hands, exploring real materials, and repeating challenging tasks are how the brain develops. This work must be meaningful and appropriately challenging, not busy work. Movement and the hand: Development of walking, balance, and refined hand use is foundational. Your children of all ages need freedom to move and manipulate real objects to fully develop coordination, concentration, and foundational academics like writing and adding. Language through relationship: Language develops through reciprocal human interactions. Rich spoken language, conversation, naming the world, and storytelling are essential. Wheaton Montessori School eliminates screens and background noise to highlight communication. Sensorial exploration of reality: Your children learn the world through their senses. Touching, comparing, carrying, observing, and interacting with real things builds the foundation for imagination, reasoning, and abstract thinking later. Authentic Montessori immerses us in exploration and discovery. Sensitive periods: Your children pass through brief, powerful windows of heightened interest and ability, such as for language, movement, social behavior, etc. Wheaton Montessori School teachers observe and offer the right experience at the right time. Learning happens easily and joyfully and feels like play! Concentration and normalization: When your children are connected to meaningful work that they choose themselves and repeat, they develop deep concentration, self-regulation, delight in effort, and care for others. Why This Is Important Early experiences shape lifelong learning: Early experiences lay the neurological, emotional, and social foundation for everything that follows. Missed opportunities are harder to recover: Skills learned during ideal stages are acquired with ease. When these periods are missed, learning later requires more effort and frustration. My colleagues are passionate about tailoring lessons and their classrooms to match child development (and adolescent development, too!) Strong foundations support later independence: Your children deserve rich early support leading to confident, capable, socially aware, and academically prepared people. Well-supported children become well-adjusted humans: This approach supports not just academic readiness, but the development of secure, courteous, empathetic children who care about their community and the world. In short, your children learn best when they are trusted as active learners, supported by attentive adults, and given real, challenging work at the right time. Investing in this early foundation supports not only your child’s success in school, but their lifelong well-being and ability to thrive.

Be Quiet and Sit Still

By Rebecca Lingo • February 16, 2026

At Wheaton Montessori School, your child is guided by highly trained professionals who deeply understand child and adolescent development. Every day, thoughtful structures and intentional practices support students in using their intellect, curiosity, time, and choices successfully, so they can grow into capable, self-directed individuals. Dr. Maria Montessori never equated being “good” with silence or stillness. Our teachers do not equate being well-behaved with being quiet and sitting still. In fact, like Dr. Montessori, we believe that movement, communication, and social interaction are essential to learning. When you observe a classroom at Wheaton Montessori School, you’ll see exactly that: children moving purposefully, talking with peers, collaborating, and responsibly managing their academic work throughout the day. What may look like “freedom” on the surface is actually built upon a strong underlying structure. Students experience a sense of choice, what to work on, where to sit, how long to engage, and who to collaborate with, because the environment has been carefully prepared to support those decisions. The Power of Structure and Grace The foundation of our campus is made up of proactive lessons called Grace and Courtesy . These lessons explicitly teach students how to: Set up and return materials Respect others’ space and work Ask to observe a peer’s work Acknowledge feelings and resolve conflict respectfully These shared lessons give everyone a common language and reference point for living and learning together. Older or more experienced students model appropriate behavior, creating classrooms full of young teachers, not just the adults guiding the environment. Students always have opportunities to challenge themselves or to take a healthy break. They work and play with materials they are developmentally ready to use, ensuring success while still encouraging growth. Not a Free-For-All: A Thoughtfully Designed Community Authentic Montessori environments are often misunderstood as unstructured. In reality, our campus is carefully designed to meet the developmental needs of preschool children through high school freshmen. The structure is natural, respectful, and aligned with who children and adolescents truly are. We know learners may still experience frustration, regret, and disappointment at times. Those moments are part of learning. When a child sits beside a teacher to regroup, it may feel like a “time out” to them, but it is actually a moment of support, reflection, and connection within a safe community. When challenging behaviors arise, our teachers respond with empathy and expertise. They understand that all behavior communicates a need. Rather than relying on rewards or punishments, teachers may guide a child toward a break, offer work that better meets their developmental needs, or help them return to a centered and purposeful state. Growing Self-Discipline From the Inside Out At Wheaton Montessori School, self-discipline and regulation develop through meaningful activity. Expected behavior grows through practice within a warm, structured community. Curiosity sparks interest, interest fuels focus, and focus leads toward mastery. This process contributes to valorization, your child’s growing sense of confidence, capability, and belonging. Children who feel balanced and respected naturally behave with greater care for themselves, others, and their environment. This sums up Dr. Montessori’s limits in three rules: care for yourself, care for others, and care for your surroundings. The true outcome of this work is human development: your child and adolescent’s identity, agency, purpose, and love of learning. When they understand big ideas and see themselves as capable contributors, they grow in ways that last a lifetime.