This review is for the west campus. My 2 year daughter went there for 5 months and never adjusted. She's a happy, loving, little girl, but she wasn't happy going there and became scared and fearful to go. In fact she never really wanted to go to that school in the morning. When I picked her up a few times, she's had scratches, cuts, one time a big deep scratch that left a scar on her face; which made me question if it was from an adult working there. What finally made me withdrew her almost immediately was she started telling us a kid was hitting her at that school, and when we asked the teacher aide, she lied to us. My daughter is currently at another school now and she loves it, she adjusted the first week and is happy to go and happy when we pick her up. I wish I took her someplace else sooner. read more

Please do not send your child here. My 4-year old daughter was bullied on at least 5 separate occasions between September-October 2018. The director was not at all empathetic with our situation and indicated that we were either exaggerating or manufacturing the stories. My distraught daughter reported being: (1) pushed down to which the assistant teacher, Maria, affirmed; (2) spit at in the face to which the teacher placed the other child on timeout; (3) pushed to the asphalt ground and sustained abrasions on her knee/shin, of which the school denied happening; (4) slapped and clawed in the face with finger nails, of which the school again denied happening; and (5) pushed off of an outdoor slide and sustained a large bruise on her triceps. All these incidents were discussed with teacher and/or director. While the teacher showed some sympathy towards our daughter, the director had no empathy. Furthermore, she suggested that our child may have fallen elsewhere to sustained those injuries or that we may have asked manipulative questions to confirm our bullying suspicions. Such an accusation is a complete farce. We had a pediatrician and a retired forensic police officer look at some of the injuries that my daughter had. Both said these injuries were not self inflicted and could not have been the result of simple falls. More importantly, the injuries indicate an altercation with another person/child. The scratches on her face showed a two-finger nail marking and clearly indicated that my daughter was attacked by another. The bruises on her arm, given there location on the tricep and near her armpit, suggests that she was forcibly hit in the area. We took photographs of these injuries and presented them to the director. Her only response was that the incidents weren't reported by the teachers on duty so there was nothing the school could do. My daughter has been traumatized by the events at this school and their disregard for her personal safety. During these incidents, of which occured within a month of attendance, she has expressed a level of fear that no parent should have to see from their child. We moved to California from Washington D.C. before the 2018-2019 school year. While there we had our daughter enrolled in the Goddard School for the previous year. The Goddard School took great care of our daughter and instilled a positive impression of schools. She was so excited to returned to school after her summer remission. However, that excitment was shortlived due to the negligance and poor care she received at MCH. Once these bullying incidents started at MCH, my daughter would beg us to not take her to school. She would say, "I don't want to go to that school. I don't like Harper. Harper hurt me. Harper spit at my face." For a weeks, all I would hear is the name Harper and everything that was said indicated that Harper was the harrasser/bully. She spoke of other names but with only good repore, e.g. "I like Isabella. Isabella is my best friend." She would speak this way of many of the other kids, but Harper. Each time the name Harper came up, it was always followed by some form of abuse, physical harm, or emotional trauma. What's more disturbing is that the teacher or her assistant was instructing our duaghter to not report Harper to us as the bully. We know this only now. After withdrawing our child from this horrible institutuion for a few months now, she is only just telling us that a teacher told her to not speak foul of Harper... or in her words "Harper not hurt me. I fall myself. I hurt myself. Teacher tell me Harper not push me. I don't like Harper. She push me and I fall." Does that sound right to you? Why would a four year old child say that another child didn't hurt her and that she fell on her own or hurt herself. Then in the same sentence, say that the other child push her and she fell as a result of the push. It would appear to me that someone at the school was rehearsing with my daughter on what to say. Specifically, someone was telling her to tell me that she fell on her own, hurted herself, and the injuries she suffered were not from Harper. I'll tell you this school is full of deception and instructed my daughter to lie. Please do not send your child here. This place is a nightmare. Beyond the bullying, the only activity my child really did was draw parallel lines within the outline of a shape. She knew her alphabet, numbers, and shape prior to attending this school (Thank you Goddard School). The progress she made while in the school was little to none. If you are looking for a safe place for your child, this is not the school. There's no security and any person can just walk into the school grounds. Again, the director could care less if your child was being bullied or victimize in some way. If you are looking for a school that educates your child, challenges them, or keeps them safe - this is not that school. read more

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My children have received the best care and education at the Montessori. Smaller class sizes mean the children have their needs met in a more meaningful and purposeful way. It is an absolute pleasure to witness my girls learn through play. read more

This situation happen two years ago, I didn't want to write a review before because I just wanted to forget this situations and let it go but right now I feel it is very important to let families know how horrible is this "Montessori" school so they don't make the same mistake I did. teachers are unprofessional, they are like in a bad mood all the time, they play YouTube songs in the cellphone and make the kids sit around to watch the song in a cellphone, really? We pay almost one thousand dollars for that? What a joke. My kid loves to run as every 3 year old, at the time one of the teacher told me that one day he will go run to the busy street full of cars if he didn't stop running and it wouldn't be their responsibility, seriously????? Next day I took my kid out from that horrible school and I regret that he spend almost 9 months in that school. The same teacher was screaming to one little girl because she was singing while waiting for his parece to pick her up, also my son broke his elbow and there was any explanation of how this happen. Another day one of teachers was telling me how annoying was one of the bigger kids and she told me he was a bad influence for my kid and I should change him to the other location (I feel it was unprofessional to talk bad about another little kid with me as a parent I feel bad for the other mom) , I don't know, it was really the worst decision we made to leave our son in their hands. Too many things happen over the time he spend there than I don't have enough space to talk about it, but trust me, there are better schools around with the same price or better, think twice about living your kids there. For my part I regret it, waist of valuable time for mi little son, not major learning, the last teacher he had, was very disrespectful with us when we try to talk to her about the incident of running, when we went to pick up my son's belongings she was kind of happy to see us leave. Very sad we waist valuable time for my son in this school that doesn't have anything about montessori. Also a lot of bullying between little kids, as you can see in other reviews. My son was crying all the time when I leave him there and later I completely understand why. So sad I didn't see it coming. read more

My child started and 2 and finished the program through. She is in Kindergarten and is way ahead of what they expect for a kindergarten thanks to the time and effort the teachers here dedicated to her. I would recommend this for school for parents that also plan to assist in the education. I absolutely love this school!!! read more

I enrolled my 2 year-old at the West campus for 1 month. If you are referred here from WeeCare, it is nothing like WeeCare and you will be disappointed immediately. The issues with this school will not change unless there is a big cultural shift among the teachers. I chose to leave before trying to address and solve the issues with the teachers one-on-one because the issues were too big for my husband and myself. There were maybe one or two teachers who really seemed to care for the kids. Mostly everyone seemed bothered, overwhelmed, or overworked. The school needs more teachers. We decided to leave for multiple reasons: -When the kids are in the large outside play area, all the teachers are clumped into a circle, chatting, and not watching every area of the yard. It is no wonder why previous reviewers have said their children are sent home injured with no explanation. The explanation is your child was not being monitored or interacted with until after the event happens. -1st day I drop off my son, two teachers were sitting in the corners of the room scrolling on their phones. I had to interrupt them and say, "hey, this is my son's first day"... -Daycare portion of day is too chaotic. All kids are together in the same small room. Teachers are in the corners, anxiously waiting to go home, hardly interacting with children. -The teachers from the school portion are already gone by the time I got off work. I therefore had no communication or updates to see how my son was doing. -One morning we were late to drop off and dropped off during the school portion. The teacher was showing the class the Baby-Shark video on her phone. If that is your attempt to teach kids a song, then I don't know what has happened to teaching. read more

I couldn't love this school more. All 3 of my kids have gone through this school, starting at the west campus. They've all done full day with before and after school care. They are so loving, smart and helpful with all the kids. They taught them so many life skills, respect, and had fun! My 7 year old still gets excited to go see his old teachers at the west and main campuses. My older boys went to main campus and that is wonderful too! I have never had a bad teacher or experience. I recommend the school to everyone and feel so fortunate we found Montessori Children's House for our kids and are forever grateful. read more

All three of my children attended MCH - my youngest from the time he was an infant and my older two from the time they were 5 and 3, respectively. All three love it there. My youngest, who is now in public school returns each Summer. While he attended MCH during his preschool years, he was MORE than ready for his public school transition and although he is on the younger side of the spectrum - he thrives in the classroom and is an AP student. In fact, all three are AP and I give credit to MCH for engaging them early on. My oldest loves the staff and environment so much she works as a Teacher's Assistant in the Summer and plans to study Child Psychology in college as a future career. We regularly see the children around town at Target or the grocery stores and they flock to my daughter and can't wait for Summer to see her again. It's a very loving environment. The class sizes are small, which I love and the attention to each child is far better than in public settings. The school grounds have every comfort a child needs along with other students from the Christian school that is downstairs. There is a magnificent park right next door the children can play at, well shaded and every playground item they need to get a good workout. There are NO bathrooms in the classrooms. The bathrooms are located downstairs in the mail courtyard and the amount of kids to bathroom stalls is better at MCH than in the public schools. The Teacher's know each child very well and keep them close and protected. We have never had any security issues in all the years we've gone to MCH. I can highly recommend MCH to parents who want a quality educational experience for their child. read more

This place was a total disappointment our daughter attended for 5 short weeks (thank God!). She attended the house on the West They held a meeting for us to discuss my daughter concerns of not staying still, exploring when it wasn't time too, throwing tantrums, etc. (she's 2 duh that what a 2 year old does!) (keep in mind that I have a B.A. degree in child and development from a nearby CSU, which they did not know of at the time) and basically told us that there program was designed for "cookie cutter kids" (a slap in the face). We were appalled and they also stated that they didn't have enough staff to meet her needs and their numbers would soon go up to 22 kids per class starting September. The rooms did not have air conditioning and they had a smell of urine to it. The toys were probably as old as the building and outdated/faded colors. So glad we found a much better placement in Long Beach where our daughter is thriving and growing in her developmental stages. read more

My 4.5-year-old son has been attending traditional preschool since he was 3. He's bright but unfocused, so his father and I considered Montessori an excellent option to get him more engaged at school. MCH encouraged us to get our son started ASAP so he could adapt to the Montessori way sooner than later and thus be better prepared for kindergarten. This sounded great in principle, but ended up being disastrous for our son. During his short stay at MCH, his father and I were repeatedly asked if he'd ever been to preschool, learned his letters or his numbers. Since we had thoroughly and repeatedly discussed these "yes" answers and our reasons for moving our son to Montessori before even registering him at MCH, we were shocked to have the question asked even once following enrollment. To be asked multiple times was extremely troubling, especially in conjunction with his teacher's repeatedly expressed frustration that he would just wander around the classroom while the other students worked. Despite our explaining several times that this was unsurprising with his just having come from 1.5 years of teacher-led education, explanations we should not have had to proffer to an alternative teacher (even apart from our pre-enrollment discussions), she was frustrated by his inability to immediately adapt to a whole new classroom approach. Apparently 3.5 weeks should have been more than enough to seamlessly integrate with a minimum of input from staff. The classroom style change was jarring to my son, as was the . . . different . . . socialization of kids there. Every child seemed to have an opinion on how right/wrong my son was doing things, which they told me virtually every time they saw me. His mistakes--ones that would have been addressed quickly and individually at his prior school--were addressed in front of the classroom. The other kids' food for thought was my son's discomfort, lending absolutely no ease to his adapting to a new classmates, new classroom, new school, and new approach to education. Based on how much his classmates thus knew about my son's performance AND how willing they were to share with me, I was increasingly unnerved to imagine how much my son was probably hearing like things. Then, as if the different socialization backgrounds wasn't enough, the kids had already found their social groups for the year and weren't much interested in expanding them for the "wrong" kid. In 3.5 weeks, our confident, articulate son became quiet, sad and withdrawn. Daily, he begged us not to take him back, but we told him adjustments are hard and that he'd fit in with time and patience. It was only a startling conversation with his teacher that made me finally understand just how much negative feedback my son was receiving at MCH, and how far away this was from being a matter of simple adaptation. I don't know a single adult who thrives by being torn down by microaggressions instead of being actively built up, and yet my much-newer-to-this-world son was expected to find his bearing in a sea of negativity with little support. Suddenly, my son's quick regression at home made sense. My husband and I agreed that the environment there was so toxic for our son that forcing him to tough it out in the short term would only be to his long term detriment. If his teacher wouldn't even bother listening to us as parents, instead asking us the same questions over and over again and not bothering to listen to our answers, what hope did our son have of being heard? We agreed we would ask our son whether he wanted to stay. The three of us discussed his experiences that afternoon, concluding with asking him if he wanted to keep going. We were thoroughly unsurprised when he said he never, ever wanted to go back. When we said he didn't have to, it was like a flip switched; just like that, he lit up like he hadn't in weeks and showed his old, sweet, hopeful self. We feel so, so much better having resigned ourself to paying a month's tuition for a school he won't actually attend than forking over our money AND our increasingly heartsick son. Montessori might have worked for him, but MCH definitely did not. Still, I am giving it three stars because it appears that kids who start early and at the beginning of the school year thrive in this environment. My three stars is an average of five stars for what clearly works for those kids and one star for my family's terrible transitional experience. While others might have had positive transitional experiences, there was little positive in ours, and I would like potential transferees to be aware of potential risks of transferring older--e.g., not 2.5 or newly 3--kids here, and/or doing so mid-year. read more

Love this school! I wish I would have transferred my son here sooner. He's only been here a few months and have already learned so much during such a short period of time. LOOOOOVE Miss Lila! She is so sweet and gentle with my little one and he looks forward to seeing her every day. The tuition is also only half as much as what I was paying before at another school, but I feel that my son is learning 3 times as much as what he was learning at his old school. I highly recommend and have already done so to family and friends. :) read more

Extremely affordable and great teachers. I find the staff to be extremely caring with just enough to make little independent 3 year olds. My son has enjoyed his first year immensely and have met many wonderful parents/children through this school. I think just the fact that half of his classmates are children of teachers ... that says a lot. The curriculum is challenging but also the teachers are motivating yet nurturing. Being attached to a park is a nice locale as well for afternoon jaunts over to the park during nice sunny days. I think it's funny how many parents will judge a school based on aesthetics... new equipment, new building, new this or that... everything has to be sparkly new. I judge a school a lot on it's teachers and the type of clientele it attracts because ultimately, that's what makes the experience for your child. read more

My son was in this school since he was 2 1/2 years old. he grew so much with being a very intelligent, loving and a disciplined boy. Ms. Rashika at the west school is an extraordinary teacher. you got Dhevin to this level of Academics. Miss Julia was an great teacher as well. Sad that we had to leave the school to put him into ABC unified School district. The teachers will be etched in our hearts forever. thank you for all your hard work. read more

When it became time for my son to begin preschool, I had NO QUESTION in my mind to which school he would attend. The answer is Montessori children's House West. I know this because I was a previous teacher at that school from 2009 to 2012. The experience I had not only as a teacher and now as a parent words cannot describe. Every single staff member takes full pride in making sure the students receive the best possible education, care, and feeling As though they belong to a family when they are spending their hours each day at the school. I would highly recommend this school for anybody interested in giving their child the best possible jumpstart on education. They highly focused on academics and they follow the Montessori style of teaching step-by-step.My son who is now four years old almost 5 has been attending for the past two years. My two-year-old will begin in September as well I would never send my children to anywhere that I do not feel 100% positive that this will be the best place for them. Great school, great staff, great everything. read more

I can't understand why anyone would send their child to this school. I visited this school for my 3.5 yrs old. 1- The school is located off a major intersection and is right on the main street. It is too easily accessible from the street. There are no locks on the main gate nor any division of playground to rest of property and no security of any kind. Anyone can just walk right in to the school playground and no one would know unless it was playtime and they were in the yard. 2- There is only one classroom per level and the kids learn, eat, sleep and use the restroom in one room and it is not a very large room.. I think that would feel more like a prison then a school. 3- The play area is shared with another preschool that is on the same grounds so you have the added traffic of other parents and possible threats to the children. So basically picture one large yard that has multiple buildings and 1-2 of the rooms of one of the buildings is Monetssori Children's House and the rest are another school. read more

Wow, I do not get that one-star review *at all*. Montessori Children's House is a *great* environment for kids, and I've never for one moment felt that my child wasn't safe here (even on the day the Sandy Hook news broke). The staff encourages learning at every level--my son started reading and doing arithmetic at age four--and his teachers have even course corrected a few behavioral issues that could have become bigger problems down the line. Because the school isn't staffed or run like a prison, the kids are all quite independent and happy--I even had my ID checked by one of the newer staff members when I came for pickup one day, even though seemingly every child knows every other child's parents on sight. I'm not sure what world "Diane E" lives in, a place where schools magically aren't near busy streets (in Long Beach? good luck) yet *are* locked down in preparation for some massive invasion. I'm beyond pleased with Montessori Children's House and how good its staff members are at doing their jobs. It's going to be a sad day when we move into the public school system, that's for sure! read more

All I can say is wow! The teachers here are so patient and caring. They truly love what they do as well as truly care about the children they teach. I have children in both preschool classes - and the girls love all the teachers. They are always happy to see them and give them a minimum of one hug before they leave every day.... They are good at comporting as well as distracting the kids when they have emo days and don't want mommy to leave. They are constantly challenging the girls and provide individual goals. They are wonderful woman and I never worry about the well being of my child. They will definitely do kindergarten there next year. Ok update: My oldest completed kindergarten this year and was so excited every day to go to school. She loves her teachers and loved everything that they learned in class. This year unfortunately we have to go to public school both my daughters are very sad that they have to leave their teachers as am I. I truly urge you to try this school! read more

We had such a wonderful experience at Montessori Children's House. My son started the program the day after he turned two and was with MCH until it was time for TK. He was in two classrooms and all of the teachers and staff were absolutely incredible. Not only did they care for him then; they care for him now--three years later--we still keep in touch. MCH provides a learning environment that allows children to excel at their own pace and build upon their strengths and weaknesses. Our elementary school teachers commented on how well prepared our son was for elementary-level learning--all thanks to MCH! And if excellent learning isn't enough, MCH also has wonderful activities and events that tap into children's other skills and talents. If you want a safe, warm, nurturing environment for your children, look no further than MCH. We couldn't have been happier with our choice and recommend MCH to anyone looking for an outstanding place for their pre-school aged children. read more

My kid was formerly at Montessori on Elm and we pulled her after a horrible experience with Ms. Cassandra and the "teachers" who with the exception of 1-2, are not Montessori trained educators. So we pulled our child and enrolled her at Montessori Children's House on Atherton. WOW! What an absolute difference. Here the owner, removes herself and has a highly qualified Director run her school. Ms. Jessica was wonderful, caring and has quality, classically trained Montessori Teachers. Ms Leah, in K/1st is the Belle of the Ball. Ms. Nelly was good, but tough. The only reason we pulled our child after 1st grade, was that we wanted her to experience different teachers, and although the school has grades 1-5, they only have one educator for the advanced grades. However, our kid is thriving in a good public school and is in the GATE/Excel program because Montessori Children's House really does prepare their students for advancement!!!! If you're in Long Beach and looking for a Montessori, I would highly recommend MCH! read more

Parents, Please do not enroll or send your precious ones to this center. Yes, of course I agree the price is extremely affordable. It is not worth the health and safety of your child /children. I visited this center two times for my 3 year-old fraternal twin. Here are the 2 most crucial reasons I found out from my visit and why you should NOT send your child/ children to this center: Reason #1- I was shocked and disbelieve to find out that they served children crackers for breakfast. I asked one of the staff if this is the daily breakfast for the children. She replies yes it is. We serve crackers for breakfast and snack.No drinks. The only drink they get is from a water drinking fountain in the classroom. I was speechless and disbelieve. So I decided to revisit the next day in the afternoon during snack time, of course, it confirmed what the teacher had said. Parents, Would you, yourself eat crackers for breakfast every day? These children do. Reason#2. Guess where these lovely adorable children take a nap every afternoon? In the Church Auditorium with no access to drinking water or bathroom. I don't know if the children are able to sleep at all in this sleeping arrangement. I noticed constant noise from adult going in and out of the Adults restroom. And the staff taking their lunches in the kitchen, talking and laughing out loud. Since the kitchen is inside the auditorium, I was also curious if the teachers ever smell gas leak. One of the teachers said yes, few times. She said she brought this to the administrator attention and the administrator had said that someone did not turn the kitchen stove off all the way. Parents, put yourself in these adorable children''s shoes, how would you feel spending your afternoon nap in this area with gas smell? Just wondering. Parents, base on my recent visits, I don't know how this place, so call Montessori/Day care is operated and survive without any inspection or investigation from the Health/ Safety Department. Best wishes on your search. read more

Our twin daughters have attended this school for nearly three years now. I cannot say enough about this school and the incredible staff. You will NEVER regret sending your child to this school. The main teachers in both classes, Ms. Lila and Ms. Shayamani (and yes, we experienced both with each girl in separate classes) are incredibly kind, loving, patient and caring. Our girls loved to go to school, because they knew they were loved. They are way ahead for their age academically, also: At age 4, they can read, write and do math, including addition, subtraction and simple multiplication. They can do word finds, simple crosswords, etc. They come home talking about science and using words like "entomologist" and "metamorphosis." They know the body parts of all types of insects and the parts of a flower. They understand pollination and have explained to us how volcanoes erupt. It's truly jaw-dropping -- and they LOVE learning it. The instruction and level of education is second to none. My mother has her master's in early childhood education and was constantly blown away with the work the girls would bring home and the things they would discuss. The school also stresses independence and self-motivation. I didn't have much to compare them to in this area, but have recently come to realize that, thanks to MCH, they are incredibly independent and self-reliant for their age. They can get themselves ready for school from start to finish, fix their own breakfast, etc. They love to help me with chores at home and are adept at sweeping, wiping up crumbs, folding blankets and laundry, making their beds and all the life skills Montessori stresses in their practical life sections. Beyond that, on more than one occasion we solved a discipline problem at home by one conversation with their teachers. Their teachers would discuss it with them and their word was the law. We were having trouble with one of our daughters refusing to buckle into her car seat. I spoke about it once with Ms. Lila and that night, the offending party came home with a handmade card and picture for me that Ms. Lila had helped her make. In it, she promised to always put on her seatbelt -- and we never had a single problem with it since. Not one. She later told my husband, "I promised Mommy in the card that I would put on my seat belt and I will never break that promise." I have no idea what Ms. Lila said, but I'd been battling her for weeks over this issue!! This is because all the staff there care and they truly understand the children and their hopes, fears, worries and needs. Ms. Jessica, the director, is lightning fast about getting back to you on email or by phone. For example, several times I wrote her expressing worries about my twins and some "girl problems" on the playground. She wrote me back at 10 p.m. one night, a lengthy, lengthy email with tons of her own observations and details that I wasn't even aware of myself. From the way she talked about my girls, it was clear that she really KNEW them and understood them. One of her observations was extremely helpful in resolving the situation. On other less heavy stuff, she also replied right away, always, and I never had to ask a question twice. The support staff -- Ms. Grace, Ms. Geetha, Ms. Lia, Ms. Chandra, Ms. Vanessa, Ms. Theresa and Ms. Maria -- are pure gold. They care for the kids so much. When we left, because we were moving out of state, these women all gave the girls gifts. They learned about meditation from Ms. Chandra and now love to meditate for fun. They loved getting hugs from Ms. Theresa, reading with Ms. Vanessa and they loved Ms. Grace singing to them. They love Ms. Lia's "Elsa braid" and getting special treats from Ms. Chandra, who truly developed one of the most special relationships I have ever seen with one of my girls. Ms. Maria was only occasionally with them as she is in the kindergarten classroom, but they also loved her and talked about her often at home. We also loved the diversity in this school. It's an incredibly diverse mix of students and the fact that the owner, Ms. Malki, and many of the teachers originally are from Sri Lanka made it very special. The girls would occasionally pick up Sri Lankan phrases from their teachers, they know the Sri Lankan flag and know all about Singhalese New Year (which we had to look up!) What an incredible, eye-opening experience for kids at such a young age. I have gone on and on, but in short -- we can't recommend this school enough!!! read more