We toured a bunch of childcare options including La Escuelita near us in Seattle, but also…read moreShamrock, IFS, and other Chinese immersion options in Bellevue but what drew us to Shamrock were: 1. Clean organized school intentionally designed: It was one of the cleanest most organized well set up schools and their sanitation practices were really thorough. 2. Some of the best teachers we've met on all our tours: Compared to teachers at other schools, they just felt one tier above in multiple ways through the way they approached our son, how they answered our questions, and the warmth they exuded. Nurturing and competent teachers with 50/50 Chinese and English. It's very clear they care and love the children. 3. Amazing selection of toys and stations for play: The space was well organized with a large selection of toys and stations that I could see were great for educational development masked as fun. 4. Healthy catered diverse lunch and snacks included - yay! 5. We're not Christian but appreciated the focus around Christian values of how to be good considerate citizens. That was the main goal for being a Christian school. 6. 6. Great prices for all you get: Price is really reasonable when you have all things offered with food provided wrapped together. It's comparably priced to most of the other Montessori Chinese immersion schools, less than the more expensive ones. For the quality and everything that you're getting, it felt very worth the price. We were living in Seattle and ideally wanted to send our toddler to a Chinese immersion Montessori school since my husband and I both work remotely and didn't want English to be the main language our kiddo was exposed to 24/7 but were open to all options; but we cared most about quality clean environment, teaching methodology, and good teachers/childcare professionals. We were so impressed by Shamrock we decided to move to Bellevue and send our toddler son there. He has been attending the Shamrock toddler class since he was 17 months old starting Sept 2025. He LOVES WenTing and Tandra who are his teachers and we can tell bc he runs into the class everyday, says how much he loves Tandra and WenTing, and talks about school to us at home. Despite our concerns it only took him one week to fully adjust and since attending he has not been sent home sick once!!! Anecdotal evidence of just how clean and how seriously they take sanitation practices at their school. I'm sure the other schools would have been great too but he's grown so much since going and we really couldn't imagine sending our kid anywhere else at this point.

My older daughter has been attending Shamrock Montessori since she was 18 months, starting in the…read moretoddler classroom and moving on to preschool. Shamrock is truly a shamrock of schools - unique, special, and a loving environment for the kids. No school is perfect, but to me, I feel that Shamrock does a better job of educating my daughter than I could at home, and I trust the school 100%. Any time we have concerns, we have been able to discuss and resolve them with the school, and the teachers and administrators are open to feedback and constantly improving. This to me is more important than being "perfect" or "the best". The school and staff show a humility and love that is rare in daycare and early school settings. I also want to emphasize that Shamrock is a true Montessori school. Montessori is trendy now, and there are many schools claiming to be Montessori. I am familiar with Montessori as I practice at home. A true Montessori school doesn't just have the appropriate materials and work - it must be Montessori in spirit. Teachers must respect the individuality and progress of each child, and accept them for who they are, where they are, all while guiding them to improve and learn. I believe Shamrock does all of this, and I see it in my daughter. I am sending my younger daughter there in the fall. If you care about your child's spiritual, social and emotional development, about them being in a loving and caring and authentic environment, then Shamrock is the right place for your child's early years.

We've had a wonderful experience with Best Beginnings, and I'm truly grateful for the amazing…read moreteachers and staff. The school has excellent teachers who genuinely care about the children. Teacher Tomoko was one of the best teachers my daughter could have started her school journey with. She helped her feel safe, comfortable, and confident, and played a big role in making her love school from the very beginning. She was also very attentive and communicative, always keeping us informed about any concerns and offering thoughtful, practical guidance. Teacher Karen runs her classroom in such a warm and engaging way that my daughter is always happy and excited to go to school. Seeing that level of joy and enthusiasm means so much to us as parents. I would like to thank all the staff and administrators at Best Beginnings for creating such a positive and supportive experience. We feel very thankful that our daughter attended this preschool and highly recommend it to other families.

Amazing school, the teachers are great! Very clean and organized in a nice neighborhood. They have…read morea fun, engaging curriculum. I definitely recommend to all parents, my son absolutely loves it!

Our son has been going to Mango Montessori for close to a year and he is about to start…read moreKindergarten this year. We moved to Redmond from West Seattle where our son was doing fantastic in the previous daycare. In Redmond we tried a number of places (tours and placements) and were reluctant to keep moving him. With other daycare in Redmond he would come home overly energized, struggling to focus and difficult to put down for the night. After going to Mango Montessori, it was night and day difference in behavior. Our son become more composed. He picked up where he left from in West Seattle and started progressing in his learning. He is now far ahead of where we thought he would be for his age, reading full words, writing & counting to high numbers. And drop off and pick up is a breeze. For anyone looking to invest in your child's future in the right environment for a balanced curriculum with great teachers look no further then Mango Monteessori. They're devotion & passion for kids education is clearly apparent and greatly appreciated.

Our 4 year old has been happily going to Ms. S.'s Montessori school since last September. We were…read morenew to the local area and after visiting a number of in-home and stand-alone day-cares, we knew right away that this would be the place. Heck, I wish I could be a kid again just so that I could go to kindergarten there. So many experiments and crafts for the kids to do, culturally diverse, small (10 max, I think?), and a really pleasant and caring atmosphere. I am just a little worried that when our 4 year will go to public school, she'll be bored since she has already learned all the letters of the alphabet this year. But, they do so much more than academic basics: it's the whole Montessori curriculum. I do wish they would go outside a bit more to play, but we make up for that at home. I also like that they don't charge an arm and a leg unlike some other options in the area that we explored and didn't like as much.

Formerly Lake Forest Park Cooperative Preschool, this school is a great co-op. We joined with my…read moreoldest daughter a year and a half ago after moving from out of state and it was the best decision we made. Not only did I find a great friendly, learning and play environment for my daughter, but I also found a great community of parents that have become great friends! I have enrolled my youngest for this coming school year and can't wait to see her in their new school in Bothell.

My son and I started at the Bothell Family Co-op Preschool last year when he was 10 months old, the…read morefirst year they offered the infant class (now called Parent & Baby). At that age it is less of a "preschool" than a fun, enriching activity for you to do with your baby. They have an amazing outdoor space where my son loved to play with trucks, roll balls down the ball ramp, and go down the slide. The indoor space has lots of experiences including water table, art, blocks, dramatic play and lots of great toys that rotate in and out each month. At BFCP my son had his first time drinking out of a cup and eating sitting in a real chair at a table! The parent ed component is kind of an educational support group, with new topics each week prepared by Teacher Jamie along with a lot of sharing of experiences and ideas. If your kid is comfortable playing on their own, you even get a break and a cup of coffee while other parents help keep an eye on the kids! We're really looking forward to being in the Toddlers class this year!

SMS has provided foundational learning experiences for my three kids over the last 6yrs (youngest…read morestill attending). They are at an excellent location, easy commute from our work places, and have an excellent family-like staff & environment. Highly recommended!!!

I highly recommend SMS. It is the best and one of the most mature Montessori schools in the Redmond…read morearea. Family run and teachers stay for decades. I cannot say enough good things about them - they are excellent. The front desk staff, Jane especially, greet you with smiles and any information you need as well as help for any issue. Teachers are attentive and thoughtful, and they communicate well to parents. For issues and concerns they pick up the phone when you call, they do what they say they will do and most important - our kids loved their teachers and we parents got to be proud of our children's development. I had my two girls go through their pre-school program in 2014-2020 time frame and I couldn't be happier - big shout out to Mrs. Kerr and Mrs. Digdhe in class room 5!

Our family has had the pleasure of being part of Rainbow Montessori School for the past two years…read moreand are very sad our time with Jen, Barbara, and Martha has come to an end. We enrolled our youngest (of three) at Rainbow after a very poor experience with a her former school and are beyond glad we did so. Rainbow does so many "things" correctly. 1. They say what they will do, and they do it. Plus so much more. Our daughter came home knowing the essentials: courtesy, kindness, respect, numbers, letters, and counting. Shockingly, she also came home at the end of the year able to read, how to recognize 20+ flags, and to recognize and communicate with a few ASL and German phrases. 2. She was loved and respected as an individual and a community member. The teachers love their students. They also show students love through boundaries and self responsibility -something that transferred to my kiddo's behavior at home. 3. Rainbow is the best "bang for your buck". My daughter is going into Kindergarten better prepared than her sisters who were in full day preschool/PreK programs that were 5 days/week. 4. They encourage and guide students but never force them to "do" academic work if a child is t ready both emotionally or cognitively. They encourage kids to play and try new activities. Only complaint: We wish we knew about Rainbow five years sooner for our other two kiddos.

Wonderful Wonderful Wonderrrrful!!!!!!!!! We moved from CA and our kiddo LOVES going to school…read more.. LOVES show and tell.... LOVES how they celebrate birthdays.... LOVES his projects - I mean the list goes on and on... I am surprised they arent getting more reviews on social media... I love their Montessori style too as it isnt crazy strict, but yet so fun! My son loves getting ready and going to school and he has been there since he was 4 and was fortunate to have his birthday celebrated this past April. I am beyond happy on the tuition cost,and it is only about 1 mile to Woodinville's library, Cottage Lake park, the grocery stores, etc etc...

I don't know why it's taken so long (about four years) for me to review this place, but it deserves…read moreabout five-star "as good  as it gets" review.  My boy was there from about 18 months until almost three years old, and really appreciated the place, particularly after mixed experiences with a subsequent Montessori school. It is open to children from 15 months to 6 years old.  The facility is the basement of a large residential home. The owner-headmaster of the school (and a much school in Issaquah) lives upstairs. The entrance is around the back, shielded by the house from the street noise of Bel-Red Road. Access from the parking lot is by a nicely landscaped boardwalk.  The schoolyard is securely fenced, with lots of forested natural scenery outside the fence. The highlight is a stream called Country Creek, through the corner of the school's property. (It starts near Cascade View Park and flows into the Sammamish River.) The city has it marked as salmon spawning habitat, but I haven't seen its salmon run. Indoors, there's a toddler school room, and preschool room, and some office and other private space. Both classrooms were brightly lit and cheerful even in the gloom of winter. They were spotlessly clean -- and our boy was there before pandemic. It was well equipped, with learning materials organized Montessori-style.  The teachers were dedicated and caring, and because of the small classes they always had abundant time for the children. And because the owner is a Montessori teacher who lives upstairs, a familiar substitute was always available when teachers needed days off.  Communications were excellent: a simple form with a few little status updates, written notes about anything unusual during the day and scheduled events ahead, plus availability to talk about any concerns at pick-up time. (They weren't champions with e-mail, but better at it than a subsequent school.)  A highlight event (scheduled well in advance so parents could see their kids' delight) while our boy was there was a visit from a mobile petting zoo. A truck (maybe more than one) arrived one day with rabbits, goats, sheep, assorted other animals -- and a pony. Their staff set up cages and hand-wash stations, and let the kids interact with the animals. In the parking lot, kids took turns riding the pony. Now I want to look at my photos and videos and share them with our boy.  The tuition was very affordable. In part, that's probably because it shares overhead with the owner's house. But it's also due to the place's one inconvenience, that parents had to send lunches when dropping off the children.  A note about Montessori schools in general: the learning style is exploratory and largely self-directed. Budget permitting, I think it's ideal for most toddlers and preschoolers, except for some with special needs. But it's not such a clear choice for elementary school and up; if a child absorbs a strong sense of self-motivation to work at school, it's superior. If not, a conventional classroom with stronger guidance may be a better fit. But Prime Time enrolls kids during the early years when Montessori is best for most children.  In retrospect I wish we had kept him there until he was too old, but we had previously wait-listed him at another Montessori school (which provided excellent lunches). Our reasoning had been to transfer him while he was little, to get the disruption of changing schools over with earlier. But as it turned out, the pandemic was a vastly greater disruption to children (and adults) of all ages.  After all that praise -- and the observation that the inconvenience of sending lunches was balanced by the very reasonable price -- I feel comfortable giving Prime Time a five-star "as good as it gets" without any concerns about grade inflation.

Great school with small classrooms! Loving teachers. They provide a very clean and nurturing…read morelearning environment and really love the kids! The playground area is very beautiful and offers lots of things for the kids to do.

I have a 5 year girl and a 3 year girl both attending Evergreen Academy Kirkland. They both love…read moretheir teachers and as a parent I think the school provide great value. My elder girl is in class 105 with Ms. Fatima and Mr. Issac. Both of them are super caring and loving. Ms. Fatima conducts Motessori related research and keep parents and kids engaged and keep improving the education quality. It's a very nourishing and loving environment. Ms. Katherine and Ms. Sudha in class 104 are very nice and kind. My younger girl love her and is eager to go to classroom, makes drop off really easy for me. Principle Ms. Monica, and school staff including Ms. Marina and Ms. Leanna are also very loving and has good communications.

Since Ms. Monica became the school principal, the school experience has greatly improved. Our…read moredaughter is in Ms. Fatima's class, who is one of the best teachers our daughter has had at this school and follows the Montessori method. She is very kind and patient, and manages her class exceptionally well. Assistant teacher Mr. Isaac is also very attentive and calm. My daughter is thriving in their class and learning a ton and excited to goto school everyday