No. TEEAMS™ isn't a curriculum on its own — it's our way of highlighting what's already part of an authentic Montessori education. Every child at Meadow Montessori learns in a Montessori environment grounded in the core curriculum areas of Practical Life, Sensorial, Language, Mathematics, and Cultural Studies. TEEAMS™ simply highlights the Technology, Engineering, Environment, Art, Mathematics, and Science connections that naturally emerge throughout that learning.

Yes. Many of the skills now associated with STEM and STEAM — experimentation, mathematical thinking, problem-solving, creativity, observation, and hands-on discovery — have been central to Montessori education for more than a century.

Meadow Montessori's TEEAMS™ approach highlights these natural connections through Technology, Engineering, Environment, Art, Mathematics, and Science without replacing or adding a separate curriculum to Montessori.

Our Montessori curriculum in Richmond, TX emphasizes hands-on, individualized learning, purposeful independence, and progression based on readiness. Children learn through carefully designed materials and meaningful experiences within a prepared environment, while Montessori teachers observe and guide each child's individual development.

Mixed-age classrooms, uninterrupted work periods, self-correcting materials, and opportunities for purposeful choice allow children to develop not only academic knowledge, but also concentration, confidence, problem-solving, and independence.

“Follow the child” doesn't mean children simply do whatever they want. Montessori teachers carefully observe each child's development, interests, skills, and readiness, then introduce lessons at the appropriate time. Children are given purposeful choices within a carefully prepared environment, allowing them to progress at an individual pace while continuing to build new skills.

Mixed-age classrooms are an intentional part of Montessori education. Younger children learn by observing more experienced classmates, while older children strengthen their understanding and confidence by modeling skills and helping others.

Over time, children naturally move from observer, to participant, to leader — building collaboration, communication, empathy, and leadership along the way.

No. Montessori education recognizes that children develop at different rates. Lessons are sequential and build upon one another, so teachers introduce new concepts when a child has developed the understanding and readiness needed for the next step.

This means two children of the same age may be working on different lessons — and that's intentional. The goal isn't to rush children ahead, but to build a strong foundation for future learning.

Yes. Language and literacy are core parts of the Montessori curriculum. Children move through a carefully sequenced progression that includes oral language, phonemic awareness, letter sounds, writing, reading, vocabulary, and comprehension.

Because Montessori follows the child, children progress through these lessons according to developmental readiness rather than an expectation that every child reach the same milestone at the same age. Each lesson builds on skills developed before it, creating a strong foundation for increasingly complex reading and writing.

Our Montessori classrooms prioritize hands-on learning, real-world exploration, movement, creativity, and social interaction. Children under age 2 have no screen time, and we do not use screens as part of the daily classroom routine.

Beginning around age 4, children may have the opportunity to participate in a weekly computer skills lesson, where technology is introduced purposefully and developmentally appropriately. Outside of these lessons, screen use is very limited, with older students typically having only 1–2 age-appropriate movie days per year.

Within TEEAMS™, Technology is a purposeful tool — not a substitute for hands-on Montessori learning.

A Montessori teacher is both an observer and a guide. Teachers carefully prepare the classroom, observe each child's development, introduce lessons at the appropriate time, and guide children toward increasingly independent learning.

Rather than moving an entire class through the same lesson at once, the teacher works to understand what each child is ready to learn next.