Garden Montessori School

Contacts

Address:
495 Verona Avenue, Danville, CA 94526
Get directions

Website:
gardenschool.net

Phone number:
+1 925-837-2969

Categories:
Establishment   School  

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Reviews about Garden Montessori School

• Steph Smith

  Sep, 08 2018
  ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
  What a fantastic little school! Caring, insightful, experienced teachers! A really beautiful, fully equipped facility! Truly challenging & child-centered curriculum! Happy, engaged, socially connected children! A very special place...
• TJ Williams

  Jan, 16 2018
  ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
  Here are the reasons why our family LOVES Garden Montessori:
  
  1. FOSTERING A LOVE OF LEARNING: We firmly believe that that learning is a lifetime endeavor, and specifically sought a learning environment that would set the foundation for an enduring love of acquiring knowledge and exploration.
  
  At Garden, we were so pleased to find that the curriculum here covers the people, plants and animals of all 7 continents (over a period of two years). They cover art and science (rotated over two years), one year culminating in an Art Show while the other year culminating in a Science Fair. On one visit, I watched a child cut out a species of fish that swam in South American waters (active learning and simultaneously practicing manual dexterity) and excitedly informed me about the fish.
  
  2. DEVELOPING INDEPENDENCE & SELF CONFIDENCE: At Garden Montessori, the teachers have worked magic in building up her sense of self. She has blossomed tremendously over the past two years under their guidance - evolving from a scared little girl who didn't like to be without her family to one that confidently asserts herself and can work independently for long periods of time.
  
  3. HOLISTIC LEARNING (versus rote memorization): We toured a large number of preschools and noted that many children were learning by memorization. They can easily recite their numbers, "1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ..." but didn't understand if you said, "Can you hand me 5 pencils?"
  
  We love Garden Montessori because they teach a core understanding of a subject matter, and not through rote memory. They don't teach children to memorize that the word "cat" is C-A-T, but that the construct of the word is C-AT (cat), which can also be H-AT (hat) or B-AT (bat). Basic principles that can be applied in other situations.
  
  4. CHOICE IN ACTIVITIES: In other preschools, we noticed the children were organized into small workgroups that worked on a single exercise (example: making a butterfly, because they were learning about butterflies that day). But what if the child didn't want to make a butterfly? Another reason we chose Garden is because each day, the school is set up with a wide range of activities that all support the learning of a concept - and the child is able to choose from among the activities set out. We subscribe to the fact that individual choice (which is not free play) supports active and engaged learning.
  
  5. GRACE & COURTESY: In short supply these days! At Garden, I've noticed that these elements are a part of their everyday curriculum. The older children are taught to mentor the younger ones. During the fall, the children practice a simple task of pouring and serving tea (over and over) - culminating in a Mother's Tea in December - a demonstration of their ability to practice grace and courtesy.
  
  6. CALM & ORDER: One of the most astounding aspects of Garden Montessori is the miniature child-sized kitchen. During our first visit, our jaws dropped when we watched this 4 year old set out his own place setting, microwaved his own snack, and cleaned his own dishes afterward - oblivious to our stares. After that - we were sold!
  
  7. SETTING: And lastly, Garden Montessori is located on a 1/3-acre in a residential neighborhood, within a home that has been reconstructed to adapt to the scale of little ones. It has a large green space for the kids to run during free play, a vegetable garden, and play structures. It's home-like and it makes me feel good to drop off my daughter there. Because it's in a neighborhood, I can understand why the school has a strict drop-off/pick-up protocol - they are simply being good neighbors. I have found that each of the teachers are available to discuss any issue during the course of the school year.
  
  8. MOST IMPORTANTLY ... Our daughter LOVES her school and her teachers. What more of an affirmation can we ask for? So we love it as well.
  
  I would encourage anyone to make an appointment to visit and judge for themselves.
  

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