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At what age do you accept children into your programs?
We accept children from three to six years of age, as long as they are fully toilet trained.
Do all the children work in the same classroom?
Yes. The classroom at OM is known as a 'Primary classroom'. The 'primary' classroom is the heart of most Montessori schools. With younger and older children working together in the same classroom, the older children often serve as guides and role models for the younger children. Click on menu page 'Primary Classroom' to learn more.
Do you offer 3 day programs? I didn’t see pricing for less than 5 day programs listed on your registration and fee page.
Yes, we offer a limited number of 3 day programs. These are reserved for the youngest children and are usually offered just for the first 6 to 9 months to allow the child to adjust to the school. After this acclimation period, the child usually is ready to attend five days a week.
The cornerstone of an authentic Montessori program is the consistency. This can only come with a child attending school everyday. Our Montessori classrooms follows a curriculum during the school year, and daily attendance not only provides the security and contentment of being around their peers daily, but assures that the child is fully exposed to the concepts and lessons that are taught each day in the classroom.
Parents of the youngest children will often enroll their child in our halfday program. This provides the child all the academic and social benefits of going to school, and allows them to be homefor naptime and the rest of the day. Please refer to the page etitled 'Daily Routine'
Are you open year round?
Yes. September through May is the school year, June through August is the summer program.
During the school year we follow the 'cosmic curriculum' which begins in early September and finishes in late May. The cosmic curriculum begins by looking inward, with a unit on the human body and expands outward to cover everything from countries and continents, to dinosaurs and outer space.
The summer program is a bit more arts and nature based. The summer program might contain anything from a unit on butterflies, to a unit on camping or volcanoes. The teacher may expand on parts of the cosmic curriculum which were particularly popular with the children during the school year. During the summer, Fridays are known as 'water days' and the children get to splash around in wading pools during the morning. Overall the summer program is just a bit more relaxed and spontaneous.
I noticed on your enrollment page that all your programs start at 7:00am. Do I need to have my child at school this early?
No. While our facility does open at 7:00am, the school day doesn't officially start until 8:30am, so we like to have all the children to be in school by then. Although the school day doesn't start until 8:30, both teachers are at work in the classroom by 8:00am and this early part of the morning is an excellent work time.
Is there any difference in the amount of work time my child would receive in the three different programs that you offer (half, school, full day programs)?
Yes.
All three programs provide the morning work time, however, children that are in the Kindergarten class are required to be enrolled in either our 5 school day or 5 full day programs. This is to enable them to get the full benefit of the specific kindergarten work time from 1:20pm until 2:50pm.
Also children in our Pre-K group (on track to be Kindergartners the following year) need to be enrolled in the 5day school or full day programs so that they can benefit from the 2:00pm work time.
Parents of the youngest children will often enroll their child in our halfday program. This provides the child all the academic and social benefits of going to school,and allows them to be home for naptime and the rest of the day. Please refer to the page entitled 'Daily Routine'
What are the differences between your school and a pre-school or daycare center?
First, as a Montessori school we follow the time tested lessons and philosophies pioneered by Dr. Maria Montessori. As a school, we are about educating the child, plain and simple. With outstanding teachers using the equipment and techniques developed by Dr. Montessori, the children are inspired and encouraged to grow academically, socially and emotionally. Each child's progress in our classroom is tracked and recorded. This allows us to better guide the children, and continue to find new challenges for them.
The children in our classroom are regularly evaluated, both academically and socially, and parent teacher conferences are held twice a year.
In addition to following the Montessori philosophy, we use a wide range of Montessori equipment in the classroom, so please drop in and take a look around our classroom. You'll clearly see that the school is fully equipped with the Montessori teaching equipment, and tools that will in aid the development and growth of your child.
We don't accept drop-in or part-time childcare. The classroom is really a small community, filled with friends, not strangers. This makes our classroom a safer, calmer and more inviting place, filled with children that have learned about respecting each other, and what is, and isn't, socially acceptable behavior. The safe and comfortable environment of our classroom is crucial to the learning process, as it allows the children to feel relaxed and secure, ready to soak up the knowledge imparted to them.
Additionally, as a school, we follow a daily routine. This allows the child to know what to expect during the day, and also what is expected from them. These expectations are an important part of the learning process.
What do you mean by 'Sister school of Five Mile Montessori'?
Overland Montessori was founded a year after the Five Mile Montessori school moved into it's new building on Weideman Ave. After the move, FMM's increasingly long waiting list demonstrated the need for more Montessori classroom space in this part of town. By opening OM next door to the FMM building, both schools are able to share resources (mostly curriculum related) which further improves both classrooms.
What do the children do for lunch? Do you prepare hot meals?
All children bring their lunch boxes to school. Mom or Dad may include a 'warm-up' inside for the staff to heat prior to lunch. All the children eat lunch together in the kitchen at about 12:15pm. They have about 35-40 minutes to eat lunch.
Snacks?
The children have two snacks daily. The first snack time is in the morning, the second is at 3pm. Parents are strongly encourged to sign up to bring snack. Parents mark on our snack calendar the day they will bring in the snack, then that day their child serves it to their classmates. Healthy snacks are encourged. If no parent has signed up for snack on a given day, the school will provide snack and choose someone to serve. Snack time is a great time for strengthening and building social skills and manners.
Do you have field trips?
Yes. Field trips are usually curriculum related and occur through out the year.
Why no e-mail option for your website?
While e-mail is great for many things, nothing can replace the friendly immediateness of phone conversation.
What else should I know?
There's a lot to learn about Montessori, and this website has quite a few pages dedicated to explaining the overall concept of Dr. Montessori's teaching methods and philosophy. The answers to many of the questions you might have are hopefully answered within this site, if not please call us and ask. The 'Daily Routine' page is a great help, as it explains what is happening through out the entire day at the school.
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