Primary Preschool

A safe, caring environment for your child.

As a spacious private school with a 22-acre campus, we're able to comply with all health regulations and still offer the Montessori education our students love. 

A Typical Montessori Day:

8:45 am: The three hour work period begins. Children are given lessons during this time or engage in a piece of work like sandpaper letters (a precursor to reading and writing), golden bead addition (mathematics), sewing (fine motor skills), or preparing snack (part of Practical Life and skill building). 

*Snack* A hungry child can't focus on lessons so children can choose when to take snack during the morning session. Snack preparation (cutting vegetables and fruit, setting out a sample "snack plate" and other tasks help the child with Practical Life skills)

11:40 am: Hiking on our 22-acre campus, gardening, visiting the Intermediate student-run farm, or playground time

12:00 pm: Half day students depart. Lunch begins. Students help arrange the tables and set the places.

12:30 pm: Lunch ends. Students help wash dishes and clean the room (as part of Practical Life).

12:30 pm: Outside Exploration

1:00 pm: A two hour work period begins. 

3:00 pm: Student dismissal 

The beauty of the Montessori environment is that teachers have the ability to sense the children's needs and respond to them. 

Although a typical day includes a three hour morning work period (statistically linked to increased focus and concentration), sometimes the children have boundless energy and need an outlet. 

The teacher may decide a hike through the woods would be a better way to start the day or perhaps begin with gardening. 

How do our teachers compare to traditional teachers? Our teachers receive vigorous training through Association of Montessori International and specialize in a particular age group (ex: ages 3-6 in the Primary classroom).

This allows them to respond to a child's emotional, social, and academic needs and give them the support and love they need to thrive.

Teachers calmly help children resolve conflicts and model behavior for the children. They are kind and caring and know when a child needs a hug or is having a rough day.

We attract and retain the highest level of teacher because they believe in the Montessori philosophy and the benefits to the children. They love being a part of our close-knit community and support our school's mission.  

Montessori teachers guide children through activities, rather than decide and direct what should or shouldn’t be done. Traditional preschool teachers follow a curriculum or a set order of each class instead. 

Montessori teachers follow the individual needs and interests of each child, whereas traditional schools set the same tasks for each child regardless of his or her learning capacity.

Montessori lessons are also extremely active and hands-on, encouraging children to solve problems and learn for themselves. On the other hand, more traditional preschools mostly teach in a way which means the students to learn more passively by listening, memorizing and repeating information.

Montessori teachers respect and even encourage a child to go at their own pace with each activity. In traditional classrooms, it is often expected that all children will complete each activity at the same pace, or stop doing it if not finished within the time allocated.

If you want a sense of how influential the Montessori method can be, just ask today’s accomplished CEOs, business leaders, innovators, and artists.

People such as Larry Page and Sergei Brin (the founders of Google), Jeff Bezos (CEO of Amazon), Grammy Award-winning artist Taylor Swift, and author Helen Keller all enjoyed an early Montessori education that helped provide them the foundation for their careers.

In many ways, the Montessori classroom mimics the world of work, offering your child practice at developing skills that will serve them well throughout their career.

Your child will be encouraged to develop a sense of teamwork with both older and younger children. And by allowing your child to pursue their education at their own pace, one-on-one, your child can foster the independence, self-discipline, and confidence needed to spearhead work projects, find innovative solutions, and be a leader in their job.

Maria Montessori believed that it was important to provide children with the opportunity to learn in a diverse community.

That's why it is important to us to keep Montessori accessible to our community. 

We are one of the most affordable independent schools (member of AISGW) in the area and AMI-certified Montessori school in the area. 

In addition, there are opportunities to apply for financial aid for those that may need assistance.

We provide tremendous value while still delivering a high-quality Montessori education in a beautiful setting. 

See our Admissions Page for tuition pricing and other details, schedule a tour or contact our Director of Admissions for more details. [email protected]

As of June 29, 2020, we will be serving children of essential employees with classrooms up to 8 children and 2 adults.

As we head into the fall, we have prepared for multiple scenarios including a full-return to on-campus learning, distance learning, hybrid classroom models and small class sizes. 

Our priority is the health and safety of our students and staff and we have prepared our classrooms and campus to meet those needs (including outdoor sinks!).

We expect to have a better understanding of the fall scenarios in late July or early August. 

Regardless of what form our learning takes, we will continue to nurture the social, emotional and academic needs of our students. 

We are committed to delivering the high-quality Montessori education that our families know and love. 

Please contact [email protected] for more information. 

Yes! In addition to Virtual tours, we are now offering in-person tours. Schedule a tour to experience a snapshot of our beautifully prepared classrooms and expansive campus.

You'll have a chance to tell us about your child and we'll tell you about our approach to education and the educational philosophy of Dr. Maria Montessori.

This personalized tour will give you a better understanding of what Montessori education has to offer your child. 

On 22-acres backing to a state park, our students are outside rain and shine. They even have boot racks outside each classroom! 

Although the exact number of hours is hard to calculate and varies from child to child, your child is guaranteed at the minimum 30 minutes a day for recess.

However, there are so many opportunities for your child to work and play outside that often a good portion of the day is spent learning and exploring outside. 

The children can flow in and out of the classroom during the work period. Some examples of work outside include washing dishes on the deck, addition on the picnic tables, weeding the garden, watering the plants, etc. 

The beauty of the Montessori environment is that teachers have the ability to sense the children's needs and respond to them. 

The teacher may decide a hike through the woods would be a better way to start the day or perhaps begin with gardening. 

Our goal is to help your child acquire mental and bodily control by connecting them to interesting work in the environment. A true discipline challenge arises when a child either isn’t able to connect with materials and thus doesn’t achieve self-discipline after an extended time in the Montessori environment, or when a child who previously was behaving well suddenly starts to hurt others or to violate our community rules.

As always within Montessori, the answer is individualized to the child and situation. First, we start of be being proactive, rather than reactive. The teacher will try to diagnose and treat the underlying problems. This can take many forms, depending on the child, the classroom setting, and the family. 

Some example are: the child hungry when they come to school, the child tired after lunch, or the child have a lot of energy they need to release. 

A child who misbehaves is a child who needs our love and understanding. We will work with you as the parents to diagnose and fix the root problem so your child can participate joyfully in her classroom community.