Global Montessori School of Westwood has helped my child learn life's skills such as…read moreresponsibility, independence, fairness, adaptability, and positivity. During the pandemic, we have had to adapt to distance learning. It hasn't been easy, but Ms. Advani has helped the kids make a smooth transition while continuing to work closely with each child. Despite these challenging times, my child has learned advanced academic skills. Ms. Advani's friendly demeanor and patience for children to learn at their own pace, encourages them to have a love of learning.

Thank you for teaching my daughter English. Thanks to you, she loves reading. In the Star-test (ELA…read moretest), even though she is in the 2nd grade, she received an evaluation at the level of the 5th grade. I think it was impossible for my husband and I to teach her English since it is not our first language. We really appreciate it.

Absolutely love this place. Wish I had found it sooner for my little one! It's boutique style -…read morereally catering to each child's individual needs. Tami welcomes each child and learns their strengths and weaknesses and builds on them. She will provide you with tools to use at home as well, which is just a glimpse of the passion and dedication she has to the children and the Montessori method. Couldn't recommend this place more. Within a week my son adapted to the routines and thrived from the culture she has created.

We loved everything about this place and the Montessori style of teaching. I think it is very…read morebeneficial. - AK

We appreciated the engaging curriculum and friendly staff. The school fosters both creativity and…read morelearning in a balanced way

I was traveling and needed last-minute help sending my kid to a place that not only taught…read moreacademics, but also good etiquette and kindness. The staff went out of their way to get me enrolled quickly and even took the time to get to know my kid on short notice so that they could personalize the education to her level. The female Director and team here are also mothers, and their own kids come to this school. They understood what I was going through as a busy and stressed out, mama! My kid even started to talk more sweetly and like a civilized grownup afterward. Hah! Thank you for being my angels, and for taking care of my kid in a safe and clean environment so that I could focus on taking care of my brother at the hospital!!

My granddaughter started at A-List right after her 2nd birthday in 2023, and a he graduated last…read morenight as a 5 year old. She flourished in all skills but mostly in her confidence, speaking skills, care of others, and knowledge of the world. She loves nature, growing plants, cooperative play, and working with teachers. She is more than ready for kindergarten. The teachers are amazing, patient, good instructors, and make learning fun. Cannot praise them enough. They make their work a calling not a job. The building is not fancy but they make it such a welcoming environment. If you are looking for a wonderful place for your pre-schooler, do not overlook, A-List Montessori.

What a special school with amazing teachers! We looked for months for a daycare for our daughter,…read morenothing felt quite right until we found A-List Montessori. Our daughter started in January 2022 at 19 months and has had a wonderful transition from being at home with a nanny to a school environment- she has truly flourished! The curriculum is thoughtful and takes into account the individual child and what they need. My daughter loves her teachers and classmates and is always happy to run into the school in the morning. Highly recommend!

Finding this school was truly a blessing. The teachers love the kids and facilities and outdoor…read morespace are wonderful. The outdoor yard is big and grassy (real grass) so the kids can just run, run, run. It makes a difference that the teachers and aides see the children as a blessing from God rather than just a job that pays the bills. My 3 year old talks about how nice Mrs. Ambrose and Mrs. Gabb are. During the week off of school, she started to ask when school was coming back. My little girl knows how to pray and they go to a 10 minute chapel service every Wednesday. It's all so wonderful and adorable. We, like you I'm sure, had toured many schools. We looked at Young Minds, New World Montessori, St Johns, Bright Horizons, and others. Of all the schools we looked at we had a pro and cons list. For Building Blocks, it was all Pro's!

My daughter has been at BBCA for two years and I can't say enough positive things about it…read more I toured a lot of preschools within the area and ultimately decided to send my daughter here because the environment is warm and welcoming, the outdoor space is colorful with a large grassy area, the classroom is clean, organized, and filled with colorful artwork. The teachers are engaged with the kids, they really know each child, and they are so creative with their lesson plans. The school is play based, but my daughter is starting to read, she's writing and spelling words, she's understanding math concepts (counting, adding, patterns, comparison), and her social-emotional development is supported in a nurturing way. The school is great at organizing small events for holidays and for the community. One of our favorites was the snow day where they brought in a snow truck and filled the grassy area for kids to play in. Highly recommend touring the school!

My oldest transferred here in 3rd grade right before the pandemic hit - we left UCLA Lab School and…read morehave really loved the teachers, staff and leadership of the school. The SEL curriculum and Cool Tools reminds me a lot of UCLA Lab's approach -but without the tuition. Last year my other son started kindergarten. He's young for his grade so we decided to repeat kinder and got full support of the faculty and staff to do this - they really listened to us and allowed us to lead what we knew was best for our child. The Faculty is also very diverse which was important to us - we were looking for a school with strong BIPOC leadership and CWC is exactly that - amazing folks for my kids to look up to and aspire to be like - that look like them. One thing I wish there were more of, is the arts - but we are working on it - it's a community with so much room to create and imagine a future. We are so happy we found CWC and aren't going anywhere!

Students to teacher ratio is horrible. They expect you to be available to pick up your kid any time…read morethey misbehave. Letting kids run free through the hall with no supervision. I've heard similar stories from other parents who have found better accommodating schools in the area.

If you are wanting your child to have an educational experience that is rooted in an understanding…read moreof education not so much as "putting in" (seeing kids as receptacles for adult knowledge) as it is about "drawing out" (supporting kids to know themselves, to figure out how to relate to others, how to really be in the world), then this school is the place to be. Our now 6 year old is in his 4th year at the school and loves going to school. He learns a lot, though not in traditional academic advancement terms. He wouldn't pass standardized test on math or reading at this point, but that actually is a plus for us. Because he would pass any test of human engagement. He sees adults not as people to please or to fear, but as humans who have resources (experience, strength, perspective) that he might want to engage with. He is grounded in his emotions, is okay being himself, and also learns about what works for others and how to respect their boundaries while voicing his own. He's developing intrinsic motivation and authenticity. These are lessons and practices oft sought after and rarely achieved. And what a gift to have regular experience of them as a young person. A rare gift. And of course learning to read and write and do math and science matter. I'm confident the foundation he's getting here will set him up to have success with those and to learn not just the content but relate to it. To learn how to learn. If this sounds appealing, I'd encourage you to check the school out. And I'd be happy to talk with anyone who's interested.

A rare preschool that teaches emotional intelligence, not just to kids, but to parents too…read more Play Mountain Place has been incredibly special for our family. From the beginning, it felt like more than just a school. It's a community that really supports both children and parents in building respectful, connected relationships. The head of school, Joe Ringlehan, is amazing with kids and also offers parenting classes that have genuinely helped me grow. I've taken the class more than once, and this year something really clicked on a deeper level, especially around facilitating conflict and allowing children to problem-solve themselves. Recently, my daughter had a challenge with a friend whose family has different boundaries than ours. In the past, I might have felt anxious or just given in, but instead I stayed grounded, upheld both families' limits, and let the kids work through it. It took time (like 30 minutes of negotiating), but they came to a solution together, and it felt honestly revelational. I walked away feeling like I had unlocked a new level of confidence in my parenting. We started in the Little Nursery program with Maydeh, who is truly exceptional. She brings so much warmth, intuition, and humor to the classroom, and the kids absolutely feel it. There's a lot of laughter, and at the same time, children are supported in expressing big feelings, frustration, anger, all of it, in healthy, constructive ways. One of the biggest things that stood out to me is their approach to separation. There's no pressure to drop your child off crying. Instead, they support a gradual, attachment-aware transition, which made a huge difference for both me and my child. The social-emotional learning is woven into everything. The kids talk about "problems and plans," practice setting boundaries, and learn how to communicate with each other in really thoughtful ways. We've even brought things like "special time" and family-style check-ins into our home, and it's been such a positive shift. After two years here, I can honestly say this school is helping raise kids who understand themselves, respect others, and feel confident expressing their needs, and it's helped me grow just as much as a parent. If you're looking for a play-based, relationship-centered preschool that goes deep on emotional development, this place is truly special.

Our 3 year old daughter has loved her time at this school…read more Westside Waldorf has been an amazing experience for our family. The school's approach to learning through creativity and exploration is so refreshing. Our child looks forward to each day, and we've seen such positive changes in their confidence and social skills.

My son is finishing his first year in the nursery, and after considering many options and touring…read more13 excellent programs, I could not be happier about choosing Westside Waldorf for him. Beautiful Early Education Team! Beautiful Campus! We receive the most consistently sweet morning greeting by Diego or Yonni at the gates, (key pieces of the security team) and a warm farewell each day from them as well. Following that, a peaceful journey begins at the nursery. In the mornings, parents gather with the children to ease them into their day away from home. I often miss this 15 minutes of community fellowship, but I love the days that I do make it. My son sees everyone at campus and just goes right into playing. He is a very social, confident and friendly personality. I love the calm, peaceful energy that he is met with by his INCREDIBLE teacher, Archer. His teacher was also a Waldorf student and has dealt with every challenge faced from parents and students with grace and with intelligent responsiveness. He has been consistent in his temperament while meeting the varied demands of each child with flexibility. The daily snacks are apparently delicious according to my 3 year old's accounting. He wants me to make oatmeal and rice and beans the way they make it at school. He has also been known to request several servings of vegetable soup at snacktime! The thoughtfulness of the program and the creative arts is reflected in the best gifts that the children make for us parents for several occasions Not to mention the sweet festivals that feel like utopian moments carved out in time With my son at Westside Waldorf, I enjoy a peace of mind that is invaluable. I know that he is safe and happy, nurtured and building upon his natural gifts while maintaining his confidence and joyous nature. I am so happy that this is a place of peace where my son can thrive and his teacher and the team around him can focus on that work without the residue of drama and trauma that create hostile environments in so much of the world. This place is not ofcourse for everyone. Children must be mostly potty trained when they start at 2.5 years old. Parents must have a commitment to a sense of peace and calm, value a natural rhythm and nature and be commited to allowing this pedagogy to thrive by letting it flow rather than inserting some of our more mainstream worldly ways and ideas.