Avondale Montessori School

From the Director:

Montessori curriculum enhanced with monthly theme and country study

Our curriculum is completely individualized so we work with children at their level of understanding and readiness. Teachers observe children for signs of what materials to present to them at what time. Because we don't see children as a group, but as individuals, there is no reason to classify them as "behind". When there is a concern about a delay in a particular area of development, special effort and attention will be devoted to helping the child develop that skill (although not to the exclusion of other skills or the child's enjoyment of the program.)

Welcome to Avondale Montessori School. We are a small group, consisting of myself, my assistant, and a maximum of 12 students, ages 2 1/2 to 5. My goal is to provide an exceptional and unique educational experience to the children in my care. In addition to the Montessori method, we use frequent field trips, cooking projects, special art projects, and many other tools to really connect in-depth with our monthly curriculum. I want your child to reap the benefits of individualized attention and care giver flexibility that he or she would get from a nanny or stay-at-home parent, while at the same time enjoying the opportunity to teach and learn from his peers, gain valuable social skills, and make life-long friends.

My goal is not just to prepare your child for elementary school, my goal is to prepare your child for life. I strongly believe that children do not need to be told how to act, they need to be shown how to live. By providing positive behavior modeling; encouragement focused on the child's mastery of a skill for his or her own enjoyment, not adult praise; fair, appropriate and logical consequences for misbehavior; allowing the child as much control as possible over his or her activities and environment; and providing each child with the opportunity to see and experience the real world outside through field trips, visitors, and activities, I aim to do just that.

Thank you for considering Avondale Montessori for your precious child. Please browse our website and feel absolutely free to contact me with any questions or to set up a time to tour our school. I think you will find our little community of young scientists and artists is an ideal place for a child to construct the adult he or she will become.

Mornings M, T, W, Th:
* 9:00 -- drop-off, yoga, meditation
* 9:15 -- circle-time (calendar activities, theme)
* 9:45 -- snack
* 10:00 -- Montessori work period.
* 11:15 -- recess
* 11:45 -- circle-time (country)
* 12:00 -- lunch
* 12:30 -- Montessori work period
* 1:00 -- dismissal

I run a small, botique preschool. Communicating with parents is not hard because I see them constantly and there are not many of them. Frequently, parents will stay and chat for 30 minutes or more at pick-up, and we fill comfortable enough with each other to call, email, or even post to facebook with questions/comments/etc.

Formal parent conferences can be requested any time and are accomodated as quickly as possible.

We treat children with love and respect. By understanding what they are feeling and respecting their right to have those feelings, the children soon begin to realize that school is a safe and happy place. In practical terms, redirection generally works well -- reading a book with the child or engaging them with an activity. The classroom pets are a big hit and the novelty of holding a mouse is usually enough to shake a child out of the anxiety.