I was excited to send my child to a Montessori school for the summer and would consider enrolling…read morefor next year. Unfortunately, I was disappointed because I didn't see hardly 'montessori' learning in the class. Not sure if it's just for the summer or it's how they operate during the school year. Frankly, I found her old preschool to be better than this Montessori school. I still believe in Montessori method of learning but the "Montessori" word has be thrown out so easily and quality of "montessori' is not regulated. Just Beware to parents who are interested in sending their kids to a Montessori school. Ask a lot of questions. They charged a lot, but I feel my kid didn't get much out of it. In 3 hours my kid was in school, they went outside to play 2 times, watched a movie, and lunch. Everytime I picked up my kid it was usually a free quiet time, but none of the kids there did Montessori activities. they were reading books. Not that reading books is bad, but I was hoping the kids were more exposed to Montessori learning. According to my kid, they didn't have story time, and singing. After experiencing this, I decided to send my kid back to her old preschool which we loved so much.

My daughter has been going to this preschool since June 2009 and she loves it. The teachers are…read moreall very friendly, kind, and energetic, and the facility has lots of mind-engaging, learning activities in addition to the usual gamut of toys and outdoor play structures. I like that the teachers give me plenty of feedback about my daughter's day, how she napped, who she is friends with, what they are learning, etc. This is also one of the least expensive programs in the area, especially for a Montessori school. There are cheaper programs but they are NOT schools, they are just daycares. I want my kid to actually LEARN something!

This place is great. Our daughter went here for years. Even after moving on to public school she…read morekeeps in contact with her preschool friends and teachers.

It is just an awesome place to take your kids. Drive up the lane and you know you have found it…read more Wide open spaces - the goat greets me and then I am met by gracious people that seem like family. My kids beg me to go on weekends! Plus they learn their letters, songs, Spanish and numbers. My oldest is doing addition and subtraction. I couldn't ask for anything more.

For the 2013 - 2014 school year, Village Montessori provided school day and after care Monday…read morethrough Thursday for my 2 children, 3 years and 5 years Doris provides a safe, loving, learning community in her mixed age Montessori classroom. During the main school day, there are 2 teachers and 16 children, fantastic ratio for children of this age. She has established process and discipline with the children, but does so in such a loving and consistent way. For instance, children are expected to clean up (and once properly instructed) held to a high standard to complete the task. When my children put their minds to something, there is very little they can't do. I've had to learn this just as much as my children. I love the songs my children come home singing. The map of Europe my daughter punched out from construction paper and assembled correctly blew me away. When you visit, notice how calm and focused 16 3 to 5 year olds can be when given this consistent direction, proper instruction and calm, effective redirection. When staying for the full day, older children who have aged out of nap time get additional instruction in "challenging work", which includes language, math and social studies. Sleeping arrangement for younger children is in a separated room on sleeping mats and is kept quiet. Wow, check out the outdoor space! It's an unexpected oasis, and lots of time is spent out there in the nice weather. Doris keeps in touch with a blog and emails after hours when there is something I need to know about my children, either good or bad. It's kinda nice to hear the good parts. The facility is a single family home near Lake Grove used exclusively for the school. It's clean and well maintained and set up for kids to thrive. The school is off for the month of August and all Lake Oswego SD holidays. As both parents in our family work full time, we had to scramble, but for the 2 Augusts for which we have participated, the change in schedule has ended up being a welcome change of pace. Price per quality is wonderful when compared to other Montessori options in the Lake Oswego area. Strong Recommend.

From the owner: Primary Montessori Classroom age 2.5 through 6. Small class size, maximum 16 students with one…read moreteacher and assistant during class time. Home like environment with Montessori trained teacher able to implement knowledge and materials used in traditional Montessori classroom. We follow the child and keep an open dialog with parents as to the child's needs and progress. We allow children to join us that are "not yet fully" potty trained, but should be in appropriate clothing and are willing to try to use the toilet. We have before and aftercare available and have a sibling discount to extend to our parents. Conferences are held twice a year and we have a parent ed night scheduled once a year. Monthly newsletters are available via our blog as well as other pertinent info reg. school procedures. German as a second language is offered and implimented in daily activities. All staff is state certified and maintain the 15 hr. required continuing education in early childhood development.

We moved both of our kids to Cascade Summit after them being at another Montessori school from the…read moretime they were both 3 months old. We really agonized over this decision but ultimately we have been very pleased with the move. Our son who is older and had a tough time adjusting a first told me soon afterwards "can we please stay at this school?" and has talked about how much he likes going there. The teachers and staff are wonderful and I have no hesitation leaving my children with them all day. The class sizes are great and I can tell how much time and attention my kids are getting. My four year old is already doing addition and subtraction and learning so much about various countries, the human body, how to write, etc. And for my toddler, they have been fantastic at assisting and supporting potty training which is such a nice bonus. She cannot wait to run in and hug her teachers and friends every day. As a parent and working mom, I really appreciate that we have NEVER once had to keep our kids home because the center lacked ratio, something that happened constantly at our last daycare and was a source of extreme frustration. Their prices are fair, they provide all the food and snacks, and they have minimal days that they are closed, in particular if you choose their extended day program. The people and other families are friendly, and the place has a great vibe to it, something you can sense as soon as you walk in. Overall this daycare center has been a great find and a huge asset for our family. I highly recommend them.

After almost two years, I no longer felt my child was safe at Cascade Summit Montessori. There were…read moresome positives. There are some wonderful staff and teachers. The school property is gorgeous. The playground is nice. Lunch and snacks are included in tuition, which I believed was reasonable. We tried to give the school time to regroup during this past year because we saw so much potential, but, it never got better. We received very little communication from our teachers, if any. The turnover has been extremely high. In less than two years, we've been through 3 directors and 5 teachers. We often did not know who would be teaching our child any given day, or if our teacher would even be there. The inconsistency was hard to ignore as you try to build your child up to depend on adults and to be able to rely on their teachers. A new teacher would arrive with a new routine, new rules, new keywords and phrases...and a few weeks/months later...a new teacher would arrive. The turnover rate just left our child in limbo, shuttled between classes, different teachers, different rules, for over a year. It was not a consistent, positive, nurturing experience. I was willing to overlook many of the negatives. But, this school has dealt with multiple shutdowns in the past few weeks due to COVID exposures. We would often find out on a moments notice, sometimes AT the door to drop off our child, that the classroom was closed. When we asked about reimbursement due to a staff-related exposure closure, we were told that there weren't any "fiscal updates." They didn't offer more vacation days or any other compromise or compensation. They didn't even care to follow-up or mention it again. When we inquired about their staff being vaccinated, they said it was a personal choice. But, when the classrooms closed due to a staff-related exposure, we were told to keep paying. After multiple COVID exposures, classroom closures, and extremely high teacher turnover, the school began requesting the assistance of parents to find substitutes. They also requested parents who would like to "do more within our community" to "volunteer" during pickup and dropoff to help take temperature checks for children at the door. This reminded me of one dropoff experience where I waited patiently at the door with my child, along with another parent and their child. When it came our turn, the teacher came to the door and taped a piece of paper to the door with a phone number. She cracked it open slightly, enough to let us know that "we're full, we're in ratio." My child looked up confused and said, "They're full? No school today????" The teacher said that we just needed to call the number and a teacher would come to the door. I asked if it wouldn't be too much trouble to let someone know, as I had left my phone in the car. She said "sure", closed the door, and went back to her classroom. Within a few minutes, before I could leave the parking lot, the director...and the same teacher...were at the door helping a new line of children. They were "full" and "in ratio" just a few moments prior. But, these are small examples of the inconsistent leadership at this school. Lastly, and what hurt the most, was when we told the director that we no longer felt our child was safe and we would be leaving Cascade Summit Montessori. This is the school my child had spent the past two years at. Two years. Almost half of my child's life. When I said we no longer felt safe and would not return, the entire email was "We are sorry to see her go." They didn't even bother to ask one question, or even leave a salutation, signature, name, nothing. That was how it ended. Seven words. When I arrived to pickup her remaining belongings that day, the director was notified I had arrived. I saw her helping other parents. She looked my way, but didn't bother to say a word. Nothing. After two years, I would expect a school to be more invested in my child, invested in their safety and their care, and be more professional. After two years, they could only respond with, "We are sorry to see her go."

This school has educated a couple of generations of Salemites now. It's run by a wonderful family…read morefrom Sri Lanka. Head teacher Shanti, her husband and one of their sons, along with another teacher who was a former parent at the school herself. The kids truly learn.....academics, nature, compassion, character...... It's a wonderful option to have your kids be able to stay enrolled during their "kindergarten" year so as to have a true "full day" kindergarten rather than the typical half-day. Our son has thrived there the past two years and never complains of being "bored" as he used to do. He's learned to read and write and count and more. Once a week they have Japanese culture and language lessons and they grow to love their Japanese teacher. Several times a year they put on programs where all the students sing and dance, learning various cultures, languages, and styles along the way. The interaction of this school and our own efforts have been completely in sync and we will be sad to leave them but are truly grateful for the solid foundation they have helped give our child.

I absolutely love this school. I went here as a child in the 80's and the same family is still…read morerunning it. They have two wonderful teachers and other teacher's aides that help run this amazing Montessori school. They focus on letting the child explore their interests and encourage them in their learning. Your child can start here as early as 2.5 years old if they are 90% potty trained (very few accidents. The cost of this school is less than some other Montessori schools around and the quality of learning and teaching is awesome. My daughter has absorbed so much in the few months she has been there. They offer half day or full day preschool and kindergarten, plus before and after care at a very minimal fee! They do field trips twice a year, and do a craft and show and tell on Fridays. I can't begin to truly express how great this place is!

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.

As current parents of two children at SunGarden (one in each room), we couldn't be happier with our…read moreexperience. New to the area, we wanted a local Montessori provider where we could feel connected to the community. From the first day we dropped in (literally) to tour the school, the director, guides, and staff made us feel welcome. Since then, we've continued to have great experiences with the school, the parents, and the community. We love living in West Linn and often comment that SunGarden was the best decision we've made here. Specific to the school, we love the building and yard, the amount of outdoor time the kids get (rain or shine, they go out!), the pictures we get from the guides, and the ongoing parent/guide conferences. There are opportunities to connect with the guides, have drinks and coffee with other parents, learn about the curriculum, and interact with the whole community (annual events). SunGarden is the right place if you're looking to be a part of a Montessori community where your children will be cared for and given individual attention.

My verdict: either mismanaged or malicious…read more Our son attended Sunshine Montessori Preschool for a year. We looked past a few red flags because our son seemed satisfied with his experience. Then, just six weeks before his third birthday, we were informed that he did not have a spot in the three-year-old classroom and that his spot in the two-year-old classroom had been given to a child on the waitlist. Yes, you read that correctly: Our son was forced out of this preschool without justification, and we were given six weeks to find new childcare accommodations at a time when most providers have six-month waitlists! After asking around, it became clear that this situation is by no means common for childcare providers. I won't get into the other red flags we identified because frankly, they pale in comparison to this infraction. I have had some time to process everything, and it has left me split between two conclusions: either Sunshine Montessori is managed so poorly that they failed to continue to care for our son or, for reasons I can't comprehend, the leadership at Sunshine Montessori made a malicious decision not to continue to care for our son. I'll leave you to draw your own conclusion. My only advice is to proceed with caution if you're considering leaving your child in the care of Sunshine Montessori Preschool. You too may be left scrambling to find a new provider on short notice.

Not a good environment for neurodivergent kids, significant lack of support or willingness to try…read moreimplementing simple accommodations to help them succeed (e.g. visual schedules), and only surface level engagement with the NWRESD process. My child was enrolled for approximately 8 months. Of the handful of places my child attended over the years this was by far the worst experience we had. The first red flag was when they declined to attend my child's IFSP meeting. They were uninterested in collaborating with us to develop strategies to manage challenging behavior (and would later send my child home early several times because they were unequipped to deal with it) or collaborate on accommodations they could implement. We left sunshine a month earlier than planned because we were so fed up, felt like they saw our child as a "behavior problem" that we needed to fix, and I was left with anxiety about how my child would do in kindergarten and beyond. If there wasn't such a shortage of childcare we would have moved programs earlier- the only thing that kept us there was a lack of availability. We also thought Sunshine overall felt unfriendly. The head teacher barely looked up at drop off to say hi and it didn't seem like the kids worked on very many engaging projects. I'm used to my child coming home with paintings, and paper plate animals, and handmade balls of wool, or cut out/glued on/colored paper, or seeing their artwork on the walls of the classroom- but that wasn't the case here. I want to be fair and say I don't think everything was terrible. My child made friends, she liked her room teacher, she made progress in academic learning, very occasionally brough home cute craft projects, played with some fun toys, had access to interesting learning materials, and I didn't fear for her safety. If your child does not need additional accommodations, is fairly self directed, follows verbal directions, and can still for extended periods they may do fine here. If they are wiggle worms that need extra movement in their day or have learning challenges, I strongly urge you to look elsewhere. My child is now THRIVING in kindergarten and I'm so thankful for the support they are getting at another school. I'm also so thankful to the NWRESD teachers that visited in the sunshine classroom and reassured me throughout our struggles my child was acting in age appropriate ways and doing their best even with such lack of support.

This school is such a loving and nurturing place for the youngest learners and we feel very…read morefortunate that our children have the opportunity to come here. Their independence and confidence has come along in leaps and bounds. Heather is a highly experienced teacher. It's clear she loves teaching and is gifted at it. She cares deeply about her students in a way only someone who has a calling to teaching could. As parents, we appreciate all the tidbits of knowledge she shares with us that have helped us overcome some of our parenting challenges at home. We are happier parents and have happier children. She also brings her musical talent to school (she is a professional jazz singer) and it's been wonderful to watch our children's love of music blossom as they sing the songs they've learned at school. We would highly recommend this school to other families in the area who are looking for a Montessori school.

My wife and I consider ourselves very lucky to have come across Happy Children's Montessori. Its…read morebeen a blessing to not only have our children attend but has given us, as parents, a valuable experience in being a part of high-performing and demanding school. I came across their location and website with a Google Map search looking for Preschools. The preschool itself makes use of a few rooms of Hillsboro Presbyterian Church. Though its not directly affiliated with the church, the school does share Christian values, by having themes during each month (ex: Respecting others, Self-control, Honesty, Patience, and Kindness). As the title of the school implies, it implements a program based on the work of Maria Montessori. The school also make use of methods based on the book Love & Logic when dealing with issues or areas of conflicts with kids. The kids typically get a lesson on an item of their choosing or something they're encouraged to work on. From there the child works on demonstrating proficiency and is on to their next piece of work. The emphasis is definitely on the child's "work". The kids start a project and can return to it each and everyday until they get it done. They learn how to respect one another, each others' space/work areas, ask for assistance when needed, and how to politely move around. Its not only about work and learning, there's time for play, outdoors in a safe play area, or a large indoor playroom for running around and burning off extra energy. They plant flowers in a garden, have a field day near the end of the year, and hold 2 concerts, 1 before Christmas break and 1 before the end of the school year. They have 1 field trip a year, when they visit a local pumpkin farm or an apple orchard during the fall. We couldn't ask for a more well-rounded preschool and more loving teachers. Heather and Kaycee really are angels to our kids. Guiding them, celebrating their achievements, and making them feel warm and welcome at all times. I will forever be thankful for having come across this school, making the choice to apply/register, and having the opportunity to get our children enrolled. God bless you, and thank you for reading our review.

My daughter has been part of the toddler program since September and we have been THRILLED with…read moreWLCP so far. We have felt so welcome at the all-school activities we have attended, and I love the way that the toddler program gradually introduces kiddos to preschool (with a parent present). Teacher Cathy's relational and play-based approach really resonates with our family. We will be back for the 3's class next year for sure and look forward to building more relationships over the next couple of years.

We absolutely love West Linn Community Preschool! The school feels like a mix of Montessori…read moreinspired practices, forest school and environmental/sustainability focused all in one! We have felt such a strong sense of community since joining. We adore Teacher Cathy her gentle and kind presence has made our son feel so comfortable and has made his transition to school so easy. Teacher Cathy always has invitations for open play and sensory exploration. She takes the time to get to know each family personally, she is a true gem! We can't say enough great things about this school, so thankful to have found it.