Embedded Files
Our School
Our School
Three Chairs provides an intentional, dignified, and wondersome high-fidelity Montessori education that reflects the developmental needs, interests, and abilities of Providence’s youngest schoolchildren. We have one intentionally small classroom, a Primary House for children 3-6yrs.
Our teaching team is our leadership team, expanding the norms of holistic education. We aim to cultivate an intimate and thoughtful community in order to understand the families and children we serve wholly and with curiosity.
Our People
Sophia O’Brien-Udry, the founder and teacher-leader of Three Chairs, is an experienced Montessori guide and Head of School. She holds two Montessori credentials, an M.A. in Montessori Education & Leadership, and has led classrooms for children ages 18 months through 3rd grade. A passionate advocate for teacher & caregiver education, Sophia has taught and designed curricula for Montessori educator training and also teaches art & human development at MassArt. She doesn’t "spend" her free time; instead, she fills it with the company of her dog, Vaca, two cats, Monty & Pieter, and her husband, Eli.
Our Philosophy
Our Philosophy
“I had three chairs in my house; one for solitude, two for friendship, three for society.”
- Henry David Thoreau
Montessori is a holistic method. We know that to educate a child, we need to consider their full personhood. We understand that their sense of physical balance is as important as their vocabulary acquisition, which is as important as putting on their own socks. If we attempt to parse these apart, we alienate both the teacher and the child from their own learning. Just as a chairmaker feels proud and connected to their work when crafting a whole chair, a child feels proud and connected to their learning when tending to every side of themselves.
Maria Montessori, the pedagogist behind the Montessori method, wrote of how children are the builders of society. We also know that children themselves need society and community, within worlds that are built in consideration of them, and at Three Chairs we aim to provide just this. A chair for learning independence, two chairs for building relationships, and three for a powerful community.
Our teaching philosophy is grounded in reverence for the child, their capabilities, and their vision. We believe many of the world's problems can be addressed through working with and studying children. We aim to guide our students to, in Montessori’s words, their cosmic purpose–to provide children with a great admiration for our universe and all the tiny pieces that build it. To understand how each particle, substance, species, and event has a purpose in the development of all others. We believe that through taking responsibility for themself and contributing to their community children will understand that they can be active agents of change.
Page updated
Report abuse