Rachel Goodburn's entrepreneurial spirit and enthusiasm for teaching can be found in the classroom of the Village Montessori School. Located at 888 E. 66th Street in Broad Ripple, (south of the Indianapolis Arts Center), their educational focus is on 3- to 6-year-old children from preschool to kindergarten.

"We named Village Montessori before finding the location to emphasize a sense of community in raising and educating children. We love being in the Broad Ripple Village community where people are supportive of each other and we felt like it was a great place to call home for the school. There are 13 children currently enrolled with room for up to 20 under current staffing. We have space for up to 30 children, but we would need to add more staff and prepare space not currently being used," Ms. Goodburn mentioned.

Monday, August 16, 2010, is the first day for kindergarten students while 2nd year students begin August 23 and 1st year students start August 30th. The 2011-12 school year will have Montessori programs for students 6 to 9 years old. "We intend on continuing to add grades as the community need arises," she said. VMS operates on a five-day program schedule, but four-day and half-day programs are also available for students. An application packet can be obtained contacting the school, and their curriculum and academic year schedule can be found on their website.

"This will be my fourth year as a part of the Indianapolis Montessori community. I have completed my course work for certification for 3- to 6-year-olds by the American Montessori Society (AMS), located in Cincinnati, Ohio. I also completed my B.S. in Finance from Indiana University Bloomington, where I was born and raised. I will serve as the Head of School and assistant to the lead teacher for the school."

"Amanda Bennington is the lead teacher in the 3- to 6-year-olds' classroom and part owner of the school as well. This will be her fourth year teaching and she has completed her AMS certification as well. She has one son, Preston, who is seven years old," she added. Amanda has an amazing way with children and truly honors the Montessori philosophy.

The Montessori curriculum includes Practical Life skills, Sensorial, Language, Math Geometry, Spanish, Botany, Zoology, Geography, History, Music and Chess.

The Practical Life skills include food preparation, care of the environment, grace and courtesy and care of self. Sensorial exercises work with materialized abstractions in which the children grade, classify order, sort and match various sensorial materials that aid the child in working towards language and math skills.

Objects are used throughout the classroom. As an example, an introduction to the decimal system is represented in beads where kids can add and subtract. One bead represents the number one and 10 beads on a wire represent the number 10, etc.

"Language is taught with sandpaper letters where students can touch the letter, giving them motor memory skills. As students learn writing before reading, they focus on encoding words before decoding them. It is much easier for a child to write a word they have chosen than to read a word they did not write. This was something Maria Montessori realized more than 100 years ago and has just become common knowledge in the education world," Ms. Goodburn said.

"A Montessori education offers multi-age classrooms and we find it successful on so many levels. It provides each child an opportunity to be a leader as they take responsibility. Our environment is non-competitive and we all help each other. The younger children look up to the older children and the older children really learn great leadership skills. Every child moves at their own pace and having a multi-age classroom lets this happen naturally. We spend time with grace, courtesy and manners as part of a curriculum where kids prepare meals, set up tables and clean up the classroom. We're here to facilitate and prepare the environment for them," she explained.

Ms. Goodburn described her inspiration for starting VMS. "As my oldest son grew up, I became more interested in education. Being from an entrepreneurial family, I kind of knew I would have my own business," she surmised. (Her parents are in the ornamental fabrication business.)

"We started the school in hopes of providing an authentic Montessori education to the north side community that will grow as the need arises. There are great schools in this community, but none of them offer everything we are looking for. We believe strongly in providing all children a holistic education that recognizes them as individuals and looks to educate in a non-competitive and peaceful environment that prepares them not only for future education, but also for life. Our hope is that the school will grow with these first students and become an integrated part of the Broad Ripple community. (Maria) Montessori believed that in order for children to be educated successfully, they must understand the function of a community. The school itself will operate as a community with children taking care of it and serving the outside greater local community as well. We believe strongly in teaching the children responsibility and environmental care as well," Ms. Goodburn emphasized.

An outdoor classroom enclosed with a picket fence creates an all-natural play area with a labyrinth, 100-square foot sandbox and sunflower garden, tire swings and tree stumps. There will also be a bird feeder that students can fill and observe various aviary species, flower cutting and arranging, woodworking and two picnic tables where students can read and write. They not only can focus and concentrate on their work, but also enjoy being outside together.

"Our mission at Village Montessori School is to foster the development of the whole child by implementing the philosophy, practices and curriculum of Dr. Maria Montessori. We strive to nurture a child's life-long love of learning and honor the diversity of each individual. It is our desire to instill self-confidence, independence, self-discipline, respect, and personal and social responsibility. We create partnerships with families for the benefit of each child and work to cultivate a genuine sense of community," Ms. Goodburn noted.

As the Village Montessori School prepares for its mid-August opening in Broad Ripple Village, teachers Rachel Goodburn and Amanda Bennington will prepare children today for tomorrow.