Preparing your child for
FIRST GRADE & BEYOND
FIRST GRADE & BEYOND
Offering Montessori Kindergarten in West St. Paul
A beautiful continuation of your child’s Montessori education
Your child is already deeply comfortable and connected to their Children’s House classroom after years of experience and relationship building. Keeping their environment and education consistent will help them develop the tools to blossom into advanced academic work while building a sense of responsibility as leaders in their community.
The Benefits of Montessori Kindergarten
Unlike traditional learning environments, our Montessori Kindergarten program builds on your child’s self-led education. Children are encouraged to engage in spontaneous learning within an orderly framework.
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Hands-On Learning
Our kindergarteners are in motion. You might see them doing four-digit addition with golden beads with a small group of friends. In the spring, they are writing to-do lists for planting the garden, or raking beds to prepare for planting. Their senses are fully engaged in their work as they grow a deeper connection to their peers and environment.
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Child-Led Advanced Work
Their work with math, writing, reading, and geography materials reaches a beautiful culmination. They have anticipated and seen their peers working with advanced materials while in Children’s House, and now, they are ready for them! There is immeasurable joy and pride in this full-circle learning experience for our kindergarteners.
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Strong Self-Development
One of the biggest things that sets the Montessori kindergarten experience apart is the ongoing cultivation of the learners themselves. Our students know how to learn—not simply what to learn—because they are constantly making choices and following through with their actions. They are empowered leaders of their own education.
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Prepared Environment
Our kindergarteners are ready for the responsibility of leading the classroom. The mixed-age classroom gives them the pride of giving lessons to younger children, facilitating conflict resolution, and exploring the nuances of friendship and kindness. They have seen and experienced what it means to be actively involved in the rituals of a loving community.
“This community holds and supports each child on their journey with the understanding that loving relationships and purposeful work are joyful foundations for life.”
The Role of a Guide
Unlike a traditional Kindergarten teacher, our AMI-trained Guides give individual attention to each child during their independent work cycles. Guides are acutely tuned in to your child’s journey, resulting in advanced progress in subjects like reading, math, sciences, geography, and beyond.
FAQs
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By the children’s third year in Children's House, they are deeply connected to the school community and the Montessori classroom environment. Their connection fosters unlimited ideas for projects—from writing and illustrating a catalog of plants to sewing a pillow for the beloved library loft. They are also invested in their younger peers' learning and are often tasked with presenting new lessons to their friends.
Kindergarteners also experience an explosion into what could be considered "academic" work. After two years, they've been guided by experienced teachers who know them well, so there's no stop/start of progress. We witness incredible development in reading, writing, geography, and math.
Lastly, the social and emotional progress of the kindergarten year is inspiring. They are the leaders of the classroom, experienced in facilitating conflict resolution and ready for new responsibilities. They also delight in being in charge of our annual classroom celebrations, which they prepare for and anticipate with great enthusiasm!
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That's absolutely fine! We believe the Montessori learning environment is the best we can offer children during their most critical years of early development. When a child reaches age six, they are well-equipped with the skills to transition to a new learning environment, and we find this isn't affected by the philosophy of their next school.
We remind families that there is no rush, even when they know a transition is on the horizon. The consistency and groundedness of a child's experience in the Montessori classroom of respect and independence is an experience that will serve them for the rest of their lives, regardless of what comes next.
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Most families are blown away by the progress encapsulated in the kindergarten year, as skills and capabilities have built up steadily each year. By going through the Montessori Kindergarten program, children will have the skills, independence, and leadership to continue growing in their next learning environment.
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Yes! We are lucky to live in a place that has many elementary Montessori school options —both private and public. Some of these schools even run from first through 12th grade. We want everyone to know there are high-quality, tuition-free public Montessori schools available across the Twin Cities. We have many alumni families that are gracious enough to connect each year with our graduating families to give them a window into their personal experience with educational transitions.
