Since the end of December we’ve been placing children into all our programs for September 2016.   We’ve completed placements to children returning to The Montessori House and their siblings, and we’re now placing new applicants.   While most families we speak are interested in placement for September 2016, we already have a growing list of applicants for September 2017.

Openings for September 2016.  Of 100+ students currently enrolled at The Montessori House, we now count about 60 who will return to the school next September (most of the other 40+ students have “aged-out” of our programs and will attend their local elementary school).  That means we’re placing about 40+ new students — 16 new students in our Montessori Stepping Stones program (age 2-1/2 to 3), about 25 new students in our Pre-Primary Montessori programs (age 3 to 4), and a handful of new Kindergarten students (age 5+).

As occurs every year, we have the greatest interest in our full-day programs (Pre-Primary Montessori/Enrichment and Montessori Kindergarten) and our morning, half-day programs (Montessori Stepping Stones and Pre-Primary Montessori) — these sessions fill the fastest and have the longest waiting lists.  In fact, the Stepping Stones morning session is filled already, largely with the younger siblings from Montessori House families.  The last sessions to fill are our afternoon, half-day programs (Montessori Stepping Stones and Pre-Primary Montessori).

To be considered for placement, families submit a paid application (download here).  While we only offer families placement after a school visit and tour, families are welcome to apply either before they visit, at the visit, or after visiting.

We offer tours most school days.  Tours are most informative  when the classroom is filled with students and teachers.  Consequently we only conduct tours when classes are in session.  A personal, private tour  usually take about 45 minutes, with a generous amount of time in one or two classrooms — depending on your child’s age, we will show you the program they would enter in September 2016, but also show you the programs available in future years.   (Note, we can only spend time in the classroom on an “adults only” tour — a quiet infant carried by the parent is permitted, but no toddlers in the classroom please.)    Note, you may submit an application before you tour.

We generally schedule tours at 9:15 or 10:15 in the morning, or at 1:15 in the afternoon.  Please call to schedule a personal tour by calling us at 201-816-8343.  Or, we’ll contact you: e-mail us your contact information and we’ll reach out to schedule a visit.  Alternatively, on our Admissions Page , you can request our free Schools Checklist (at the right under “How Does Our School Compare?”enter your name, zipcode and e-mail in the boxes) , and we’ll e-mail you  information about booking a tour

Timing for Your 2016-17 Application: For families who are confident they want a placement offer for September 2016 from The Montessori House, we recommend submitting an application immediately.  Some families delay: to finalize plans to move to the area, to look at other schools, or they mistakenly assume they have plenty of time.  The cost of an application is small, and delay in submitting an application will reduce a family’s options now that we’ve begun placements  for next September.

Summary of our enrollment process:  At the end of the calendar year, we offer all our current students an opportunity to re-enroll for the following September.  Once we’ve completed re-enrollment, during the 2nd week of January, we  make enrollment offers to new families, more or less in the order we received a paid application.  After the end of January, we have rolling admissions and continue to offer placement in a session until that session is filled, at which point we start a session wait list.  A family may choose to enroll in an alternate session (e.g. afternoon rather than morning, or half-day rather than full-day), but still join the waiting list for their preferred session.

We urge families interested in entering September 2016 to act now: schedule a school visit and submit an application .

For more information please contact us through our website or call 201-816-8343.

Ms. Phyllis baked a special Easter bread for her students: a Slovak Paska.
A few families asked for the recipe, which may be found here.

The Montessori House will be closed today, Thursday March 5, due to weather.

We will schedule a make-up class for after school Chess Club.

Mar 12: 2015-16 Enrollment Agreements and Tuition Deposits Due

Apr 2: School Closed — Spring Break

Apr 13: School Reopens

We celebrate Valentines Day at The Montessori House this week.  Why?  Because the school and office will close from Friday February 13th through Sunday February 22nd.  We re-open on our usual schedule on Monday February 23rd.

The Montessori House is open today on the usual schedule.

Conditions vary locally.  Parents should use their judgment and feel free to keep children home, come to school late, or pick up early, as they see fit.

If children arrive late or leave early, please be patient, as it may take some time to respond to your request.

Due to weather, The Montessori House will be closed Monday, February 2nd.

We expect to re-open Tuesday February 3rd on the usual schedule, conditions permitting.

If our plans change, we will update our website, and our phone message.   

We hope all families are safe.

Due to weather, The Montessori House will be closed Tuesday, January 27th.

We expect to re-open Wednesday, January 28th on the usual schedule

If our plans for Wednesday change, we will update our website, and our phone message.  Please note, if we lose power we may not be able to update the website.  For the latest information on Wednesday plans, please check our phone message after 7 a.m. on Wednesday  (201-816-8343). 

Finally, even if the school opens Wednesday, parents should evaluate their unique snow and transportation situation and should feel free to keep children at home.

We hope all families are safe.

The Montessori House will be open on its regular schedule today, Monday January 26th with the following exceptions:

1. Beginner Chess is canceled this afternoon.  We have a make-up class scheduled for March 23rd.  Parents should pick up children at 3:00 p.m. dismissal.  For Chess students we will provide After Care until 3:20 p.m. at no charge.
2. If you plan to use After Care today, we ask that you plan to pick up your child by 4:00 p.m. to allow our staff to leave before the worst of the blizzard begins.  If you will not arrive by 4:00 p.m., please call before 4:00 p.m. to provide your estimated pick-up time.

We will confirm before tomorrow, but most likely The Montessori House will be closed on Tuesday, January 27th.

On Sunday, I was in a restaurant when I saw one of our parents from 4 years ago.  Her daughter was with us for 2 years, then the family moved to NYC.  The child is now at one of NYC’s public schools for “gifted and talented” children.  The child is doing very well in all academic areas, and she is always happy.  The mother told me that the other parents in her child’s class keep asking her, “What did you do that she’s doing so well?  And why is she happy?”  The parents then go on to say that they have their children enrolled in after-school academic programs, have private tutors, etc., but the children aren’t “#1” in the class, they don’t like school, and they’re unhappy.  The mother told me that her response to the parents is always the same:  “I started by sending her to a Montessori school, and then I followed their advice:  I do NOTHING with her except read and play, and I don’t make her take anything but fun classes after school; she likes gymnastics.”  The mother told me that all of the parents seem VERY skeptical of her, as though she doesn’t want to “divulge” some secret formula to success.  Just as the mother was telling me this, the father, who’d been listening to the story, said, “The funny part is that it’s much easier to be a parent when you just read and play with the children, because the parents love it and the children love it, and then the children love learning the other stuff at school.”