Our Wednesday Piano lessons are canceled for this week (March 26th) and next week (April 2nd).  We have scheduled make-up classes for May 21st and June 4th.

Tuesday Piano lessons continue on the regular schedule.

The Montessori House is closed again  today, Friday, February 14th.  (Happy Valentine’s Day!)

The school is closed next week, and will reopen Monday, February 24th.   Enjoy the winter break!

If there is any change in our plans, we will provide an update on school closing as follows:

1. Here in NEWS on the website.
2. Via the phone message at 201-816-8343.
3. Via e-mail to our 2013-14 parents and teachers.

Generally, for the most up-to-date information,  PLEASE CALL 201-816-8343.

The Montessori House is closed today, Thursday, February 13th.

We expect the school will re-open on Friday February 14th.

If there is any change in our plans, we will provide an update on school closing as follows:

1. Here in NEWS on the website.
2. Via the phone message at 201-816-8343.
3. Via e-mail to our 2013-14 parents and teachers.

Generally, for the most up-to-date information,  PLEASE CALL 201-816-8343.

The Montessori House is closed today, Wednesday, February 5th.

We expect the school will re-open on Thursday, February 6th.

If there is any change in our plans, we will provide an update on school closing as follows:

1. Here in NEWS on the website.
2. Via the phone message at 201-816-8343.
3. Via e-mail to our 2013-14 parents and teachers.

Generally, for the most up-to-date information,  PLEASE CALL 201-816-8343.

The Montessori House is closed today, Monday, February 3rd.

We expect the school will re-open on Tuesday, February 4th.

If there is any change in our plans, we will provide an update on school closing as follows:

1. Here in NEWS on the website.
2. Via the phone message at 201-816-8343.
3. Via e-mail to our 2013-14 parents and teachers.

Generally, for the most up-to-date information,  PLEASE CALL 201-816-8343.

The Montessori House is closed today, Wednesday, January 22nd.

We expect the school will re-open on Thursday, January 23rd.

If there is any change in our plans, we will provide an update on school closing as follows:

1. Here in NEWS on the website.
2. Via the phone message at 201-816-8343.
3. Via e-mail to our 2013-14 parents and teachers.

Generally, for the most up-to-date information,  PLEASE CALL 201-816-8343.

If your family is interested in exploring a scholarship (a.k.a. financial aid) at The Montessori House for the school year starting September, 2014 (2014-15 school year), now is the time to start the process.

First, you apply to The Montessori House: please have a look at our Timing and Tips for 2014-15 Admissions.  If you haven’t visited the school, we suggest you call us to arrange a tour for yourself (we recommend you come for a tour during the school day without your child, if possible).  Please call us at 201-816-8343 to arrange a time.

Starting now you can prepare your scholarship application on-line through School and Student Services by NAIS.  Your application needs to be completed before February 12, 2014 (for scholarships for the school year starting September, 2014).

Scholarships are provided by The Friends of Montessori Foundation, and they consider your financial need as well as the depth of their own resources when making scholarship decisions.

Generally, The Montessori House, in January, 2014, will offer your child a place for enrollment, and ask you to commit with a $750 Reservation Deposit.  You’ll hear about your scholarship (if any), at the same time we ask you sign an Enrollment Agreement and complete your tuition deposit (about mid-March, 2014).  Note, the award may be subject to verification of information you submitted; for example receipt and evaluation of 2013 tax returns that you may not have sent to SSS/NAIS before March.

If Friends of Montessori Foundation cannot meet your calculated need, then you may choose to withdraw and receive a refund of your Reservation Deposit.  However, if the Foundation meets your need (or determines that you have not demonstrated a financial need), then you would not be eligible for a refund if you decide to withdraw.

Of course, before deciding to reserve a place for your child, you can wait to hear from the Foundation regarding your scholarship.  But, without a reservation in place, by mid-March we may have filled up your preferred sessions for 2014-15.

Feel free to contact us by e-mail (admissions@themontessorihouse.com) or by phone (201-816-8343) with questions.

The day after we announced the addition of Yoga to our after-school programs,  we read in the Bergen Record about “Yoga for kids in North Jersey”

(Our menu of  after-school instructional programs includes: Piano, Violin, Chess and Yoga.)

The article summarized some interesting studies:

* In a survey from 2004 to 2007 at a Boulder, Colo., school, 4th- and 5th-grade students reported fewer instances of bullying after two weeks of yoga instruction. After the yoga classes, students said incidents of being hit by a classmate dropped 55 percent. The students also reported a 57 percent increase in the ability to control their own anger.

* The journal School Psychology Review published an article in 2005 that found that a group of students with attention problems were able to focus more on their work after yoga instruction. Before yoga, the problem students were able to stay “on task” only 65 percent of the time, compared with their peers who could focus for 85 percent of the time. During the yoga instruction, the problem students were able to focus as much as their typical peers.

* A 1991 article in the Journal of Asthma found that yoga training was helpful in treating children with asthma, increasing pulmonary function and exercise capacity. A follow-up study two years later found that benefits remained, with the children having fewer symptoms and requiring less medication.

We continue to accept applications for Summer Camp 2013 from current, new and former  Montessori House students and their siblings.  This summer our camp themes may include, in no particular order:

• Biomes
• Beatrix Potter
• Bugs
• Spain
• Montessoriville
• Circus
• 20th Century Art: Rockwell and Picasso

Application in the Parents area, or call the office.

We’re thrilled that so many families choose The Montessori House and wish we could offer placement for every family that applies.  Unfortunately that’s not possible.   We offer placement and enroll children until a session fills and then offer applicants the option of a waiting list.   Sessions that fill first are our morning half-day sessions (Montessori Stepping Stones – age 2-1/2 to 3 –  and Pre-Primary Montessori – age 3 to 4) and then our full-day sessions (Pre-Primary Montessori plus Enrichment – age 3 to 4 –  and Montessori Kindergarten – age 5 to 6).   With placement offers starting in January, in the past couple years we’ve had to start waiting lists for some sessions before the end of February.

We understand that families spend a lot of thought and time selecting a school, and having chosen The Montessori House, want to know that their child has a place waiting, guaranteed, once school starts the following September.  (We want the same thing, and if we can 100% guarantee an opening we:  offer placement, issue an Enrollment Agreement, and collect a tuition deposit.)  But, if we’re full we can’t make that guarantee, we can only offer a place on our waiting list and our best guess as to whether an opening before September is very likely, likely, or unlikely  (based on prior years’ enrollment patterns).

Family circumstances change — illness, job changes, relocation, etc. — and places always open up before schools start; we just don’t know how many and when.     Every year we have a openings come up between March and September, and when when we contact families on the waiting list they’ve already made other school commitments (families have to make plans and can’t risk not having their child placed at school, even if that school is not The Montessori House).

Here are some tips to consider if we offer you a place on  a Montessori House waiting list:

• If you really want a particular session at The Montessori House, join the waiting list (no additional charge after you’ve submitted an application).   At the same time make alternate plans for your child, and be sure you can live with those plans  if we don’t offer you your preferred session.  Try to make your alternate plans in a way that you can easily change those plans if we d0 offer you placement.   Defer your decision at another school as long as possible, or make the smallest upfront financial commitment you can, so that you can accept our later placement offer with little downside.  Ask around about whether your alternative school fills up most years; you may have more time to make your final decision, and any school with openings will be glad to enroll you whenever you make your decision.
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• While on the waiting listing for a preferred program, we can almost always offer your child placement in another, comparable program at The Montessori House: for example, our afternoon, half-day session instead of the morning session.  Accepting an alternate Montessori House program puts your family at the Montessori House  (for preferred placement the following year), and it makes it easy to take advantage of an opening in the your preferred program (e.g. we transfer  tuition deposits and payments to your  preferred program).  Of course, if we don’t have an opening you must be ready to attend the Montessori House program for which you enrolled.
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• We do not share the details or specifics of our waiting lists (how many families, a family’s status, etc.), but we do offer our best guess of the likelihood of an opening.  The chances of an opening and an offer change over time.  The closer we get to the start of school, the less likely that an opening will occur (that a family will withdraw from the school, opening a place for your child), but if an opening does occur, the more likely we can offer your child a placement.   Why is that?  First, as September draws closer, it’s less likely a family will experience a situation that requires them to withdraw, and it becomes financially painful to do so (tuition is non-refundable).  However, as September draws closer, most families ahead of you on the waiting list will decline our placement offer, since they’ve already made other school plans and financial commitments.  If in March we have an opening and a family is fifth on the waiting list, most likely one of the first four families will accept an offer to fill the opening.  But, if the opening happens in July, there’s a good chance the first four families will refuse the offer, and the fifth family will receive an offer.  If they’re already enrolled in an alternate Montessori House program, they’ll accept; or if they’ve made minimal commitments elsewhere, they’re able to change their plans and accept our offer.
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• We’re always happy to provide updates to families on a waiting list at The Montessori House.  However, families should realize: 1) the situation changes infrequently and unpredictably and frequent calls won’t change anything,  2) if we do have an opening, we very much want to fill it, so we call families on the waiting list right away, and 3) make sure you have provided us good contact information, and when we call with an offer, be ready to respond quickly, for we want to promptly find a family to fill our unexpected opening.