We chose to take our four-year-old son to SunGarden after relocating. It's a lovely small community…read moreof staff, teachers and parents, but unfortunately it didn't turn out to be what we thought it would be when we enrolled. Keep in mind, we have high expectations since we're talking about our children. We're within walking distance and we prefer Montessori methods, and SunGarden is AMI vs AMS (please research the difference if you're looking into Montessori schools)... so SunGarden seemed like a great choice. Everyone is warm and welcoming, and our son grew leaps and bounds academically (which is great if you're looking to raise an Einstein), but I was disheartened by a few things listed below:
1) Time outside: We were told when enrolling our son would be able to work outside when he wanted to (with provided lanyards) and they would often be outside anyway. However, he would come home and say he was not allowed to run outside (a four-year-old not be able to run?!). And although the outside area is beautifully cared for, it's extremely small for how large the community of children is, which is why they were worried about safety if the children ran into each other or any of the garden equipment. At this age, we feel kids need to run off their energy, especially after doing serious academic "work" in a classroom all day - see below. So the outside area and the rules that go with it ended up being a downfall and we were a bit displeased.
2) Turnover: We were only at SunGarden for one year and it was the director's first year in this position, as well as our teacher's first year (her name was Amy - but she was the best part about the school experience for our son). Their "outside guide" left the school mid-year making it even more difficult to allow children outside to do their work (something we were told would happen daily, but ended up not happening much at all).
3) The environment: I have to commend the school on its materials - it complies with AMI rules and materials have to be up to a certain standard, and they are beautiful Montessori materials, kept clean and orderly. However, as much as I love a calm, organized, quite environment for learning, the rooms were unusually quite (these are children ranging from 2.5-6 years). There should be noise and laughter and giggles. Anyone who needed to "move" - which was more often than not - was told to walk briskly along a circular line tape placed on the floor. It almost felt like caged animals when I observed this.
4) Academics: AMI Montessori schools want your children to thrive academically. I want my child to thrive in this area as well but he was still 4... not heading to college yet... and the reports I would receive from my teachers were how long my child would sit, focus and work on math or other subjects. And although he learned quite a bit for a four-year-old, I felt bad the days he didn't want to enter the classroom, crying and sitting outside, because I knew in my heart it was because he was entering what he felt, was a place he couldn't essentially just "be a kid."
5) Play & Art: In our son's previous years at another Montessori school (which we all loved but was AMS), he would come home exhausted, often-times dirty from playing outside (this is a good thing, parents...), or covered in paint and/or in a change of clothes after getting wet on hot days. Unfortunately, he always returned home from SunGarden as well groomed as he had been when he went in the classroom door that morning, so it seemed that very little art exploration, imagination, creativity or getting dirty was encouraged (at least that we saw). Again, it felt exceedingly academic for little minds. I do know they have some make-believe areas (such as a small doll house), sing songs (he came home reciting the same 50 states song I too memorized in 2nd grade), and read stories, but the teachers are there mainly to observe the children do their focused work quietly.
5) Flexibility: I want to be fair, the director did allow our family some flexibility, but again, complying with AMI methods, SunGarden requires your children to attend five days a week. So if you're looking for part-time care (because we wanted our child to be able to move and explore non-academic areas on those days off), then unless they've changed their rules, you don't have that option.
Overall, again, everyone was warm and kind and I do know they care about the children. Unfortunately, I left with the impression they care even more so about complying with their AMI Montessori beliefs and methods than what the children inherently desire and need to be a kid at heart.
It is a great school for those looking to ensure their children simply grow in academics and social responsibility. Again, these are the areas in which we saw our child grow the most with his time there and we are grateful for this.