We were so incredibly fortunate to be a part of the Learning Garden community for the past several years. Bogdana, Abby, Carmella, and Joella are dedicated teachers who put the needs of their kid-community first throughout the pandemic. I do not know what we would have done without them. While always being thoughtful and conscientious of health and safety for the kids, themselves, and the community at large; the teachers always pushed themselves to find a way to keep the kids learning and feeling secure throughout 2020 and 2021. The educational objectives were routinely surpassed. Helping the kids develop the tools necessary to be positive contributors to society was a staple of the education. Learning Garden was a real sanctuary for our family during a challenging period. We feel thankful to be a part of this community. read more

Bogdana is the most thoughtful and inspiring teacher. Our son started at Learning Garden this fall and he is thriving. He is excited for school each day. Bogdana allows space for the children to explore and encourages their curiosity. Her weekly updates allow us to have a clear sense of what our son is learning and help to support it at home. read more

The staff at Learning Garden is the best! My daughter was at the school for 2 yrs and dI'd 2 summer camps as well. Abby was her teacher last year. They handled Covid so professionally and supported us above and beyond! Bogdana, the owner did a really great job at including a lot of cultural from other counties and honing in on what my daughter Sofía needed specifically and provided that. Thank you all for providing your space so my little girl can flourish! She is doing so well in kindergarten. read more

Learning Garden Montessori School - Graduation 2021 - Montessori Schools Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Learning Garden is magical! Two of our three kids have attended Learning Garden and I wish I had sent all three. It's a fabulous school. Bogdana and her teachers are so caring, thoughtful and truly bring out the joy of learning in each and every student. We couldn't be happier and would highly recommend this school. read more

Our family had a sad and disappointing experience at Learning Garden. We originally chose the school because we loved the Montessori approach and believed that the school was going to be a loving environment for our daughter. After my daughter attended Learning Garden for 3 months, it was clear that love, compassion, and understanding of child development were lacking from the teachers, especially Bogdana, the director/owner of the school. Our daughter was going through a tough developmental period 2 months into attending the school, and she started resisting instructions from her teachers. She was also growing her molars at that time and generally tired because she was in the afternoon class and still needing her naps. Bogdana and Abby, the lead teacher, instead of offering more patience and support to her, continually calling her "defiant" and described her behavior as "ignoring our instructions." Bogdana said that in her 26 years of teaching, she had never a defiant student like our daughter. They kept telling us that the reason she was not listening to them was because we, as parents, didn't do what we were supposed to do to help her learn to listen and follow instructions at home. During one of our conversations, Bogdana brought up a chart for developmental expectations for our daughter's age and said that she was not performing accordingly. They repeatedly asked us to take our daughter to the pediatrician to diagnose what was wrong with her. Bogdana appeared very warm and loving to our daughter and us before this happened. After we voiced our concern, her interaction with us turned completely cold. She stopped acknowledging our presence by saying our names, not even saying hello to our daughter when she arrived at school. Near the end, when our daughter sensed she was not respected at school, she started to act out, and the staff just didn't want to deal with her anymore. One day when I came to pick up my daughter early, Bogdana asked me to physically remove her from the classroom because she was crying and that was too distracting, saying "You need to take her out so I can read to the other children." We are still appalled by this lack of compassion from an educator. The final event that made it unbearable for us to continue sending our daughter to Learning Garden happened when she wanted to be addressed in a new way, and the teachers refused to acknowledge her request. We believe that everyone, including kids, have the choice to experiment and explore their identities, and their new identities should be honored. We tried to have a conversation with Bogdana and Abby to help them understand our wish but Abby refused to meet our request and Bogdana ignored it repeatedly. It came to the point where our daughter felt very nervous to go to school, and she is still talking about it now, 3 months later. The reason I gave the school 2 stars is because they do have a good curriculum and set up. The classroom is cozy, the outdoor space is nice, and my daughter loved a lot of the songs and activities at school. We would recommend this school to children who are always compliant. My daughter is now attending a neighboring Montessori school where she is very happy and feeling very loved. None of her new teachers see any behavior issues in her and are very happy to have her at school. After experiencing our daughter's new school and seeing the way they work with kids and the parents, we noticed a lot of odd things about Learning Garden. For families considering joining this school for the first time, trust your gut when something feels wrong. read more

Learning Garden is an incredibly special, unique, and soul nourishing school. The outstanding educators teach from their hearts and deeply impact the lives of their students and families. My daughter thrived at Learning Garden and was exposed to some of the most brilliant framings of love, compassion, environmentalism, justice, and joy. As a teacher myself, I gathered beautiful language and lessons to include in my own classroom. read more

Learning Garden has been a great place for our kiddos! The school allows the kids to be independent and learn that they are capable little people. There is both structured time and time for kids to explore activities they're interested in. We've had good communication with the director and teachers there. Every family and child is different, so I'd recommend seeing for yourself if Learning Garden is a good fit! read more

It saddens me to write this review, but I wish someone had raised their concerns with this school to me before we enrolled. I hope this will help other families in their decision process. My attended this school for 1.5 years. During that time, there were things he really liked and aspects that didn't work for him (he's very active, and there were a lot of requirements for children to be still for long-ish periods of time). But, overall, we were happy with the school. Then, we were told with absolutely no warning, that our family was not a good fit for the school and we would have to leave immediately. (We couldn't get much of an explanation from the director, but as far as we know it was not related to our son or his behavior in any way. And he had never had a serious behavior issue there in the past. All of his conferences had been very positive.) It was shocking and very sad for all of us. Shortly thereafter, the director abruptly fired both the lead teacher and the assistant teacher. We transferred our son to a wonderful play-based school with extremely capable teachers, and seeing this school in action has really shone a light on some of the things lacking at Learning Garden. For example, when our son had a slight behavior issue, the director told me that it was because we, as parents, didn't know how to get our son to listen to us. Often when I picked Andrew up during outdoor play time, the teacher was on her phone, rather than monitoring and engaging with the children. Overall, here are my take away messages: There are many schools that will offer your child a better experience. I have deep concerns about the abilities and mindset of the director. In interacting with the school and it's employees, if things seem off or odd, don't ignore those things! read more

Learning Garden has been such a wonderful community for our family. Both of our kids attended, our daughter is now in 1st grade and son is in his last year there. The teachers create a positive environment that cultivates a love of learning, wonderment about our world, and respect and love for others, self, and the earth. Something I really value about our experience is that our kids have learned to value focused attention and feel pride in their work. Our kids also learned to know themselves and understand how they want to focus their attention. The Montessori approach supports this, e.g., having choice in what works to engage with. We also love the Montessori approaches to math that help kids take conceptual leaps in a tactile way and the creative ways the teachers have come up with to teach reading. Art and all forms of expression play a big role in their day to day, including dance parties. There has been great communication with the teachers over the years and we trust their insight into our children. Bogdana has made a heroic effort to listen and support the needs of the community during this pandemic. All the teachers care and go above and beyond expectations. As an example, the teachers came and took our kids on outdoor walks when we weren't able to attend in person. Learning Garden has also taught us much as parents, in terms of ways we better support our kids and model for them what we want to see in the world. We are so grateful for our experience. read more

We absolutely love Learning Garden Montessori! The teachers are so patient, caring and engaging and our son loved his two years attending this preschool. He learned so much about himself and his place in the world from a variety of perspectives, including math, reading, nature, gardening, arts, crafts, cooking and socializing. We loved that they had so many interesting "work" activities that the students could choose from and that they were allowed to focus on each activity without time constraints or forced participation. We can't wait for our other son to attend when he's ready! Thank you Learning Garden! read more

Learning Garden Montessori School - Montessori Schools Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Learning Garden is a wonderful school, 10/10 would recommend. Both of my kids attended. In addition to having a great preschool learning program, Learning Garden offers fantastic social and emotional support for each child. Together, each class creates a little community that fosters empathy, collaboration, inclusion, and a culture of helping others. My kids left Learning Garden very emotionally aware, and very community oriented, actively seeking big and small ways that they can make a difference in the world. I am a better person for the conversations Learning Garden inspired in my household. read more

Having our boys attend Learning Garden has been a positive experience for our family. Our eldest attended for three years and the curriculum was a great fit for him socially and educationally. We feel he is very well prepared for kindergarten as a result of his early education experience at LG. Bogdana is s born educator and has staffed her school with teachers and teacher's aides we really like. The parent-teacher conferences were informative and gave us insight into our son's learning style and school interests. Our youngest son is going back for his second year and loves it. We are grateful to Bogdana for her role in our children's lives. She's more than a teacher, she's a friend, and constant support. read more

All three of our children attend Learning Garden and they (and we) couldn't love it more. Bogdana, Regeeina, Olive and Charlotte are caring, kind, patient teachers of their very comprehensive curriculum. From world geography to cooking to all kinds of science, math and reading, my kids have been interested, engaged and will go to kindergarten (over) prepared. There are several things that stand out as special and unique to me. Most important to me, the school is committed to teaching social and environmental justice, and telling the stories of women and people of color in science, art and history. I also love that their staff includes an art teacher, who comes once a week. She's awesome! They also have a garden and chickens. But mostly what I love is how loved and comfortable my children feel there. I highly recommend Learning Garden! read more

Learning Garden Montessori School is an amazing place. Our daughter went there for two years and her love of learning, reading, mathematics, geometry and protecting her environment is a joy to behold. You don't often get to meet teachers that you could say..."they really love my kid as much as I do"!!!!!. Thank you Bogdana, Olive, Regina and Chloe for the love of learning that you imparted to our little one. Forever grateful. read more

This is the most amazing preschool I've ever seen. The teacher is wonderful and truly loves to teach. She taught my son science, art, music, math, reading, and geography. They went on field trips, cooked, sang, and had fun. There are chickens, a bunny, gardens, a swing, and a playground in the backyard. My son attended for three years, and I wish he could have gone there longer (went on to kindergarten). read more

Learning Garden Montessori is an exceptional preschool. Bogdana Manole, the director, has created a peaceful learning environment focused on kindness, community, compassion, and justice. She provides enriching learning experiences - from capoeira to the science of bacteria. My children have thrived in her care. They are more sensitive to others and curious about the world. She also consistently keeps us up to date on our kids' progress and provides really helpful feedback when we have concerns. I was worried my younger son, who is definitely more physically active, would struggle focusing in a Montessori environment. However, Bogdana believes in children's abilities to adapt and thrive regardless of temperament, which he has. We are so grateful to her. We believe we hit the jackpot with Learning Garden. read more

As soon as I entered The Learning Garden and met Bogdana, I knew that this was the pre-school for my son. The combination of the beautiful, safe environment and Bogdana's constant excitement about learning makes this a very special place. I have never seen a room full of more happy, focused children. Check it out, it's magical! read more

I love this school. It has taught my son so much beyond what is needed for him to be ready for Kindergarten. I would know as I am a elementary administrator. They really take care, love and teach your child. I never worried about my son while he was ast school. I am going to send my daughter in the fall so that the teachers can work their magic on her too. I highly recommend this school. read more

Learning Garden Montessori Preschool was a wonderful experience for our child. The LG curriculum covered an astonishing range of material in a fun and engaging environment. Our son has developed a wonderful inquisitive style. I attribute this to the wonderful teachers and approach of LG! read more