Within MacDowell Montessori’s Children’s House, 3- to 6-year-old children use manipulative materials to train their hands and minds. Certified Montessori teachers provide individual lessons, which enable each child to advance at his or her own pace. Lessons and activities are grouped into five general categories, including practical life, sensorial, language, cultural subjects (history and geography) and mathematics. The lessons foster independence, confidence, self-esteem and self-control, laying out a foundation for academic success.