A Swedish IUP Framework on the Montessori Progression — Toddler Through Grade 6

The Complete Child

A Swedish IUP Framework on the Montessori Progression — Toddler Through Grade 6

Prepared for the Aspasia / Joy Engine homeschool portal

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1. Purpose

An individuell utvecklingsplan (IUP) is not a report card. It names where a child stands and points forward — academically, socially, emotionally, and in the habits of independence that make the rest possible. This framework marries that Swedish instrument to the Montessori progression of materials, because the two share a premise: development is sequential, observable, and never reduced to a grade.

This document is mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive (MECE) at the domain level — every observable facet of a child's growth, toddler through sixth grade, belongs to exactly one of the six domains below, and the six domains together account for the whole child. Nothing is double-counted; nothing is left uncategorized.

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2. The Six Domains

#	Domain	What it covers	What it explicitly excludes
A	Practical Life & Grace and Courtesy	Self-care, care of environment, fine-motor control, social scripts (greetings, interruption, conflict repair)	Academic content (→ C, D, E); internal emotional regulation (→ F)
B	Sensorial Development	Refinement of the five senses as the foundation for abstraction — size, weight, texture, sound, color	Direct academic instruction; this is the bridge to C/D/E, not itself math or language
C	Language & Literacy	Oral language, phonemic awareness, encoding, decoding, grammar, composition, literature	Non-verbal communication and social scripts (→ A); content-area vocabulary belongs to its subject in E
D	Mathematics	Quantity, operations, measurement, geometry, data, algebraic reasoning	Applied science/measurement within a science investigation (→ E, though the underlying operation is taught in D)
E	Culture, Science & the Arts	Geography, botany, zoology, physical science, history, visual art, music	The mechanics of reading/writing about these subjects (→ C); the mechanics of measuring/graphing within them (→ D)
F	Social-Emotional Intelligence & Executive Function	Self-regulation, working memory, task initiation, planning, empathy, identity, resilience	Observable social scripts like greetings (→ A, "grace and courtesy" is the behavioral surface; F is what's happening underneath it)

How A and F relate, without overlapping: Grace and Courtesy (A) is the taught behavior — what a child says and does. Social-Emotional/Executive Function (F) is the internal capacity that behavior draws on. A three-year-old can be coached through the words "may I join you?" (A) while still building the impulse control to wait for the answer (F). They are reported separately in the IUP so a family can see whether a stall is behavioral coaching or a developing capacity.

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3. The Four Developmental Bands

Band	Age	Grade equivalent	Governing question
Toddler	18 months – 3 years	Pre-K (home)	"Can I do it myself?"
Primary	3 – 6 years	PreK–K	"What is this called, and how does it work?"
Lower Elementary	6 – 9 years	Grades 1–3	"Why? How far does this go?"
Upper Elementary	9 – 12 years	Grades 4–6	"What is my role in this, and what do I do with it?"

Bands overlap in practice — a child moves through material readiness, not birthdays — but every IUP entry is logged against one of these four for comparability over time.

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4. Domain A — Practical Life & Grace and Courtesy

Band	Scope of work	Sample materials/practices	Three-period lesson notes
Toddler	Pouring, spooning, dressing frames (large buttons/snaps), hand-washing sequence, simple greetings	Pouring pitchers, snack-prep tray, coat-and-shoe practice	Mostly demonstration + imitation; formal three-period naming begins late in this band (e.g., naming "wet/dry")
Primary	Full practical-life sequence, table-setting, flower arranging, conflict scripts ("I don't like that, please stop"), interrupting politely	Food prep, polishing, sewing cards, "peace table"	Grace and Courtesy is modeled and role-played, not three-period tested — success is observed transfer, not recall
Lower Elementary	Group-task roles, community jobs, mediating peer conflict with adult support, correspondence (thank-you notes, invitations)	Classroom/household job chart, letter-writing	N/A — assessed by observed independence, not naming/recall
Upper Elementary	Independent event-planning, budgeting a small project, leading a younger child through a task, self-advocacy scripts	Micro-enterprise roles, peer-tutoring assignments	N/A — assessed by whether the child can teach the skill to someone else

IUP note format for Domain A: narrative, not scored — "Currently independent in X; needs a standing reminder for Y; next: Z."

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5. Domain B — Sensorial Development

Band	Scope of work	Sample materials	Three-period lesson notes
Toddler	Gross discrimination (big/small, loud/quiet), object permanence extensions	Knobbed cylinders (single-variable), simple sorting	Naming period only ("big," "small") — no recall demanded
Primary	Full sensorial sequence — visual, tactile, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, stereognostic	Pink tower, brown stair, color tablets (3 boxes), sound cylinders, thermic tablets	Full three-period cycle used extensively — this is the domain the method was built around
Lower Elementary	Sensorial work tapers as a stand-alone strand and folds into geometry (D) and the sciences (E)	Constructive triangles → geometric solids bridge	Naming/recognition periods reappear inside geometry vocabulary (D)
Upper Elementary	Largely graduated out of Domain B; sensory refinement now shows up as precision in E (lab observation) and the arts	—	—

Why B "closes" in elementary, and that's correct, not a gap: sensorial refinement is a scaffold for abstraction. By upper elementary its work is done; its outputs live on inside D and E.

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6. Domain C — Language & Literacy

Band	Montessori scope	Sample materials	Three-period lesson notes	CCSS alignment
Toddler	Oral vocabulary explosion, nursery rhyme/song exposure, picture-book narration	Real-object naming baskets	Pure naming period; no recognition/recall demanded	Pre-K language standards (oral vocabulary)
Primary	Phonemic awareness, sandpaper letters, moveable alphabet, metal insets (pencil control), beginning encoding before decoding	Sandpaper letters, moveable alphabet, phonogram booklets	Full three-period cycle is the primary teaching mechanism for letter-sound correspondence	K–1 RF (Foundational Skills): phonological awareness, phonics
Lower Elementary	Grammar symbols (Montessori's grammar boxes), sentence analysis, word study (etymology intro), independent composition, reading comprehension strategies	Grammar symbol set, word-study cards, reading logs	Three-period used for new grammar terms and word-study vocabulary; comprehension itself assessed narratively	Grades 1–3 RL/RI (Reading Literature/Informational), L (Language/grammar), W (Writing)
Upper Elementary	Research and report writing, persuasive/argument writing, literature study with textual evidence, advanced grammar (clause analysis), public speaking (Song/Story Seminar format)	Research project rubric, Seminar Circle protocol	Three-period reserved for discrete new vocabulary (Tier 2/3 words); most instruction is Socratic/seminar-based	Grades 4–6 RL/RI, W (including W.4-6.1 argument, W.4-6.7 research), SL (Speaking & Listening)

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7. Domain D — Mathematics

Band	Montessori scope	Sample materials	Three-period lesson notes	CCSS alignment
Toddler	One-to-one correspondence in play, size/quantity vocabulary	Nesting cups, simple counting rhymes	Naming only ("one," "more")	Informal — precedes K standards
Primary	Number rods, sandpaper numerals, spindle boxes, teen/ten boards, golden bead material (intro to the decimal system, static operations)	Golden beads, number rods, spindle boxes, stamp game (intro)	Core teaching mechanism for numeral-quantity association	K.CC (Counting & Cardinality), 1.NBT (Number & Operations in Base Ten, intro)
Lower Elementary	Stamp game, dynamic operations (carrying/borrowing), fractions (fraction circles/skittles), geometry (constructive triangles → 2D/3D solids), early word problems	Stamp game, checkerboard (multiplication), fraction insets, geometric solids	Three-period used for new operation vocabulary; the materials themselves carry most of the concept-building	Grades 1–3 NBT, OA (Operations & Algebraic Thinking), Geometry, Fractions (3.NF)
Upper Elementary	Abstraction from materials to algorithm, long division, decimal fractions, ratio/percent, pre-algebra (algebraic material — the "binomial/trinomial cubes" bridge), data & measurement	Racks and tubes (division), decimal board, percentage material, algebraic peg board	Minimal three-period use — instruction shifts to guided abstraction and word-problem application	Grades 4–6 NBT, NF, RP (Ratios & Proportions), EE (Expressions & Equations, pre-algebra), MD (Measurement & Data)

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8. Domain E — Culture, Science & the Arts

Band	Scope	Sample materials/experiences	Three-period lesson notes	Standards note
Toddler	Nature walks, animal/plant naming, seasonal awareness	Real specimens, nature basket	Naming period predominant	—
Primary	Land & water forms, continent boxes/flags, botany/zoology cabinets (parts of a leaf, parts of an animal), simple science experiments, art medium exposure, music/rhythm	Land-water form trays, botany cabinet, puzzle maps	Full three-period cycle for vocabulary (continents, leaf parts, etc.)	Informal; builds background knowledge CCSS assumes for later informational reading
Lower Elementary	The "Great Lessons" approach — history of the universe/Earth/life/humans as narrative framing; research projects; simple experiments with hypothesis/observation; instrument or medium study	Timeline of Life, Great River chart, research folders	Three-period for new domain vocabulary only; content itself is project- and narrative-driven	Aligns to state science/social-studies frameworks and to CCSS W.1-3.7-8 (research) as the writing vehicle
Upper Elementary	Independent research with citation, science fair-style investigation (hypothesis → method → data → conclusion), world history/geography synthesis, applied art/music composition	Independent study contracts, lab notebooks	Rare — this band is seminar- and inquiry-driven	CCSS W.4-6.7-9 (research to build knowledge), plus state science standards

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9. Domain F — Social-Emotional Intelligence & Executive Function

This is the cross-cutting domain the Swedish IUP was built to protect from being crowded out by academics. It has two strands, reported separately because they develop on different timelines.

F1 — Social-Emotional

Band	What's being watched for
Toddler	Recognizing and naming basic emotions in self; parallel play tolerance; separation regulation
Primary	Naming emotions in others; turn-taking; early empathy ("how do you think she felt?"); frustration tolerance during work cycle
Lower Elementary	Perspective-taking in peer conflict; fairness reasoning; group belonging; handling losing/being corrected gracefully
Upper Elementary	Identity and self-concept as a learner; peer social complexity (exclusion, loyalty); moral reasoning beyond rules ("why," not just "what")

F2 — Executive Function

Band	What's being watched for
Toddler	Following a two-step direction; brief sustained attention on chosen work
Primary	Completing a self-chosen work cycle start to finish; returning materials; basic sequencing (first/then)
Lower Elementary	Planning multi-step work over days; self-checking with control-of-error materials; time awareness
Upper Elementary	Independent project planning (the child sets the sequence, not just executes it); self-assessment against a rubric; managing multiple concurrent projects

IUP note format for Domain F: always narrative and always forward-looking — "is developing," "is building," "next step is" — never a static label, and never a diagnosis. A flagged concern (attention, regulation, mood) is a referral note to a professional, not a category filled in on this document.

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10. The IUP Document Itself

Each child's actual IUP is a living instrument, reviewed on a set interval (Sean's Uppsala model: pointed forward, not graded, no pass/fail below the upper years). Template per review cycle:

CHILD: _______________        REVIEW DATE: _______________        BAND: _______________

DOMAIN A — Practical Life & Grace and Courtesy
  Currently independent in: 
  Currently coached in: 
  Next step: 

DOMAIN B — Sensorial (Toddler/Primary only; fold into D/E notes above that band)
  Current material: 
  Next step: 

DOMAIN C — Language & Literacy
  Current material/focus: 
  CCSS anchor(s) in view: 
  Next step: 

DOMAIN D — Mathematics
  Current material/focus: 
  CCSS anchor(s) in view: 
  Next step: 

DOMAIN E — Culture, Science & the Arts
  Current focus: 
  Next step: 

DOMAIN F1 — Social-Emotional
  Observed this cycle: 
  Next step: 

DOMAIN F2 — Executive Function
  Observed this cycle: 
  Next step: 

WHOLE-CHILD NARRATIVE (2-3 sentences, always pointed forward):

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11. What this framework deliberately leaves for the next pass

Given the scope you asked for, this first pass establishes the full MECE structure and a real scope-and-sequence for every domain and band — the architecture is complete and won't need to be rebuilt. Left for a follow-on pass, by design rather than oversight:

1. Grade-by-grade CCSS code-level crosswalk (e.g., mapping the checkerboard material to CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.4.NBT.B.5 specifically) — this table alone will run several pages per subject and is worth its own document.
2. Full Domain B and E material lists at the same granularity as C and D (every cabinet, every card set) — currently representative, not exhaustive.
3. Sample completed IUPs at each band, so the blank template above has a worked model to sit next to.

Tell me which of these three to build out next, and I'll go deep on that one rather than thinning all three at once.