Ava Wanas Montessori School

From the Director:

Our teachers strive to provide our students with a quality Montessori education in a stimulating, child-centered, and culturally diverse environment that fosters academic, social, and emotional development as a preparation for entry into society and ultimately adulthood. Our two classrooms are mixed-age which encourages the older students to be patient and empathetic. The children play outdoors in almost all weather conditions and gain an appreciation for the natural world through our organic vegetable garden, chattering hens, and Monarch butterfly waystation. We believe that free play is one of the most important aspects of a child's social, educational, and spiritual development.

From the Director:

The greatest sign of success for a teacher is to be able to say, "The children are now working as if I did not exist. ― Maria Montessori

It is not enough for the teacher to love the child. She must first love and understand the universe. She must prepare herself, and truly work at it.

-Maria Montessori

We cannot know the consequences of suppressing a child's spontaneity when he is just beginning to be active. We may even suffocate life itself. That humanity which is revealed in all its intellectual splendor during the sweet and tender age of childhood should be respected with a kind of religious veneration. It is like the sun which appears at dawn or a flower just beginning to bloom. Education cannot be effective unless it helps a child to open up himself to life.

-Maria Montessori

We open at 7am. Before-care students arrive betwen then and 8:30. They are able to quietly finish eating breakfast and play with their friends in the classroom, while the teachers prepare for the day.

At 8:30 our school day children arrive. Circle-time begins at approximately 8:40-8:45 and class follows. At about 10:30 we begin cleaning up and getting ready to go outside. The teachers use this transition to sing, dance, and tell stories to the children.

From 11-12, the children have free play outside. They come in at 12:00 to eat a homemade lunch together. Around 1:00, the younger children nap and the older children take part in the afternoon preschool and kindergarten program.

From 3-6 our after care students eat snack and play outside.

We offer schedules that are flexible to your needs and the needs of your socially active child. It's important to give children the opportunity to develop realtionships with his or her peers. Our school provides a warm, nurturing, and home-like environment to fulfill this need while respecting the desires of a home-schooling family.

We aim to make transitions as comfortable for the child as possible. Because of the nature of our classroom, our staff is able to give extra attention to those children who need it. We hold the child, guide him around the classroom, and introduce him to other children. It's not unusual for a new student to cry at drop-off and we understand this is challenging for new parents too. We allow parents to stay with their child in the classroom for a period of time, but recommend this amount of time decreases steadily over the first week or two. We've found that the quicker the transition, the easier it is for the child to adapt comfortably to their new environment.