My kids (who are now 4 and 6) have been attending Montessori on the Prairie for 2 years. It has been a great experience. I am so impressed with how much they have learned and what they are learning about. Appreciate the wide range of exposure from Art to geography to current events. I was initially concerned whether this would be a good fit, considering my kids were coming from a minimally structured environment but with time and probably a lot of patients from the teachers settled in! Mrs Shanika and her staff are a special group, and my kids adore them all. Mrs Shanika always makes her self available to address any issues or concerns I have had. Huge bonus is the pictures I receive throughout the week! read more

This school has been the best foundation for my daughter! Miss Shanika cares so much about the well being and learning experience of the children and they are very much like her own. Every teacher is so loving towards the children and I couldn't have asked for anyone better. If you want your child to have the best foundation going into public school then this is the school for you! read more

Our daughter has been studying with at Montessori on the Prairie with Miss Shanika since she was 3 years old and now she is now almost 6 years old. Miss Shanika has taught our daughter so much , it is so amazing to see our daughter thrive. Miss Shanika has a great work ethic, is very caring to our daughter and has a good positive attitude. Miss Shanika offers plenty of fun enrichment activities to keep our daughter learning new things and has instilled in our daughter a genuine love of learning. Our daughter is happy to go to school everyday. We highly recommended Montessori on the Prairie to any family out there! read more

My son attended from 18 Mo old to 5 years old and was more than prepared as he entered kindergarten. He was very ahead and is often complimented for his vocabulary and manners - all a testament to his time here. The love and sense of belonging and community is unparalleled. read more

Best Daycare and Montessori School in Central Valley! My son has been in this school since he was 18 months. He was able to eat his own food once he was in. Potty trained in few months. He has learned his numbers, alphabet, days of the week early before he was four. By 3.5-4 he is able to write his name, do math and read. The school and the teachers are very well knowledgeable and are experts with children. The school makes sure that they are well rounded and they make the kid work at their own pace and self explore math problems, science and language. They also learn geography including continents, countries and oceans etc. As a working mom, during his preschool days, this place was most welcoming for my son. The school provides a very welcoming environment and diverse students. To date he has made good friends. The school also engages children in arts (painting and art projects), music (especially Christmas music), yoga and Spanish class. As a health care professional, time flexibility is very important for me. This school was able to accommodate that flexibility as well as for other parents that I know who has their kids at this school. When I chose this school, I have also considered the teacher student ratio. Ms Shanika ensures that each student is given the attention to learn their work. Every week, we look forward to his school work and projects that he has done. I am very amazed of the education that Ms Shanika has provided my kid. Very blessed that we found and chose this school. With the current COVID pandemic, I am definitely very appreciative of what teachers do to our children. I can't imagine the preparation, patience and time they put in. We are very thankful for Ms Shanika and the teachers for all the efforts, patience and dedication in teaching. May you continue to build great students as you already have. Happy to find this place. read more

The best program and best teachers work there. Beyond thankful for them. My girl was 18 months when she attended. Was socially awkward and didn't say a word. Now this girl is the life of the party and is talking none stop. Clean and honest teachers which is the most important thing for me. Highly recommend read more

If you are looking for an authentic Montessori and want your child to receive the best care and education then look no further than this school. Montessori On the Prairie is by far the best Montessori in Tracy. My daughter started back in 2019 at 2 years old, and was not potty trained. By the second day of her being with Shanika, she was fully potty trained! Fast forward 3 years later, at only 5 years old my daughter was in a class with second graders learning third grade work. Everyone is always complimenting my daughter on how advanced she is, and I give all praise to Shanika and her staff. You can tell that teaching is their passion, and they want nothing but the best for ALL their students. Sadly, I had to take my daughter out for first grade, but I'd recommend this Montessori to all my fellow parents who again would want their child(ren) to receive quality care/education! read more

My husband and I were looking for a school and we came across Montessori on the Prairie after doing our research. The moment we had a tour, I felt that this place was going to be the one and I'm so glad we gave this school a try. Our son had an amazing experience with them! He started at 18 months old until he was 2 years old and during his time there, he started to talk so much more! He was able to point out objects, colors, and form small sentences. He would come home with the cute crafts the class did every week. He also made so many friends. The teachers here are nice, and they really care about their kids. They are also very responsive. If you had any questions, they were readily available to give you answers. My family and I recently moved to WA, and it was bittersweet to say goodbye to his first place of care. Thank you all for taking great care of our son! I definitely recommend this school for any parent whose child needs care by loving, caring, and absolutely amazing teachers. read more

Ms. Shanika is an incredible teacher! You will not meet another person more passionate about the Montessori approach than her. Both my kids (ages 3 and 4) have been attending since Jan. 2018 and are doing well because of the nurturing and caring staff. Your kids will receive the best education here. They will learn leadership, teamwork, math, geography, geometry, Spanish, music, art, practical life, etc. The amount of Montessori experience that Ms. Shanika brings is irreplaceable and reflected through the well thought out lessons she makes available to the kids. read more

Before moving to Tracy from San Jose, I did a lot of research on preschools for my daughter and I am so glad I chose this school! My daughter has been attending here for almost 6 months now and I have nothing but good things to say about this place and Ms. Shanika, the head teacher. Ms. Shanika is such an amazing teacher! She is caring, loving, truly passionate, and take time to guide toddler students with patients. Ms. Shanika and I keep an open communication and we work together to help my daughter's progress both in school and at home. Most of all, my daughter loves ms. Shanika and her friends at school. I'm so so glad that I found Ms. Shanika and her Montessori on prairie!! read more

This school is awesome and my son adjusted very well here. They send an update everyday of what he learned and picture of him. They text us on days he's not there to check up on him and give him unconditional love. He comes home with a clean diaper and always in a great mood when we pick him up. Couldn't be more satisfied for his first school. read more

We couldn't be happier with the school and the teachers. Very nurturing, small school. Our kids have done so well here. They truly enjoy going to school! read more

Ms Shanika was our preschool teacher in Mountain View, CA when we just moved from foreign country. My daughter didn't know English at all then. Because of Ms Shanika's patience and kindness, my daughter pickup soon and adapted herself in Montessori quickly. She is 8 years old now and still misses Ms Shanika always. I recommend Shanika for anyone who is interested in a Montessori hands on education. read more

Our daughter starts kindergarten next week and we decided it was a good time to transition our toddler into day care/preschool. We live in Lodi but I work here in Tracy and about a month ago decided to expand our search out of Lodi. I emailed this facility and received a very fast response with an open door to visit the site any time I wanted. Yesterday I showed up without any notice, called to ask if I could tour the facility from the parking lot, and Shanika was waiting at the door to let me in. I was completely blown away with what I saw. As she took me room to room she was explaining the importance of why the rooms were setup the way they were. This was a nice change because our oldest went to preschool that had a wide range of ages all together. As Shanika explained the structure per age group and focus I started paying more attention to the children. There were about 4-6 children per room and out of the 3 rooms with them you would think the house was empty no yelling no running no fighting. It was so calm and easy going. All of the children were focused on different activities and were mindful of everyone else around them. She took me into the room were the older children were... I could not wrap my mind around how brilliant this young minds were. 2 year olds doing multiplications, 3 year old named and located the cities in South America, another 3 year old located the world's oceans on a globe... all of this was unassisted... they just knew it. I had tears in my eyes seeing this in person and the possibilities this will open for all of their futures. She mentioned that when they go on to elementary there is a stage where they may be bored because they go in so advanced. What they learn here will be with them and when they start to go back over it in school at that grade level it will be an easy transition because the basics are already within them. I asked for all the paper work, spoke with my spouse, and called Shanika the very next day to confirm we want our almost 2yr old daughter here. I have never been so excited to pay for day care/preschool. To the parents that have already made the decision to have your children here in this very location... I applaud you! read more

I have worked with Mrs. Shanika for 5 years while I was in college, she is the BEST teacher for primary I have ever known. I've seen so many children who came from various backgrounds such as no schooling, came from a different school, came from a different country and they have all accelerated when they move on to elementary school. She has experience in Montessori education for many many years. She is very structured and firm with her students. I would recommend her for any parent that strongly believed in the Montessori philosophy. read more

Montessori on the prairie was more than a school for us. It was a second home to my children. My kids(twins) started attending the school when they were just 2 years all the way to 4.5 years old and I am nothing than great things to say about the school. They are now so disciplined, well-mannered and well-rounded. The transition to Kindergarten was effortless as they were ahead in Reading , Math and Writing. Ms. Shanika was wonderful. She was so accommodating and very flexible. She cared so much for the twins that they were calling her "mommy" at some point. We are so grateful for her and her team and we could not have asked for a better school for our children. read more