Our Programs and Activities
The more they are here, the more they learn!
Full-day program (8:30 to 2:30) MWF
4:1 ratio! The same three nurturing, experienced teachers every day for the class of the same 12 children! They absolutely thrive with this consistency! Our goal is to send them to kindergarten confident, with a love for school and learning, and ready socially, emotionally, and academically! The children work at their own pace, and we provide for them with thoughtful attention to each child and their individual needs.
Our curriculum includes a beautiful, hands-on Montessori program, fun daily Spanish classes, songs, stories, language development, fingerplays, games, arts and crafts, academic learning, and preparation for TK or kindergarten. We also host a formal tea party to practice grace and courtesies, provide plenty of year-round outdoor play, and hold winter and graduation performances. In addition, we support social-emotional development, language skills, and music education.
Our lessons are individually paced, and we offer small-group Pre-K and TK preparation. We provide two snacks daily (organic fruits and vegetables when possible). We also include a lunch program (you provide your child’s lunch). Lunch is a special bonding time during which children take turns setting the table with plates, placemats, cups, and cloth napkins, and ringing triangle bells to call everyone to the table. They pour their own water from small glass pitchers. Our Spanish program consists of engaging lessons that incorporate songs, fingerplays, books, and basic concepts, including counting, colors, and themes such as farm animals. This way, the children are practising Spanish concepts and have fun learning them. We also teach a little basic French in our European study.
We hold hands and sing a “Bon Appétit” song in the language of the flag of the day—we currently sing in English, French, Spanish, or Swiss German. “What do we say before we eat? Bon appétit!” Children practice good manners, and when excused (with a song), they clean their spot and wash their dishes (which are placed in the dishwasher after school). Of course, we assist when needed, and everything is taught in an age-appropriate way that encourages independence and confidence.
Our Continent and Cultural Study emphasizes that we are all the same and all different—and that is what makes the world beautiful. We teach geography through simple map-making for those who are ready, studying the continents to encourage cultural appreciation and learning something about each one, such as music and dance, food, landmarks, location, and animals.
We love having families contribute by sharing stories about their travels or heritage. If a family’s homeland is on another continent, we love to add its flag and learn a song in that language. To culminate the study, we create a pretend passport!
At Montessori Fun, our primary goals are to have fun, make friends, and love school. We also want them to graduate ready, confident, and capable both socially and academically for the next step in their education.
Activities
We work on basic skills such as sitting at circle time, waiting for a turn, phonics and pre-academics, academics, socialization, problem-solving, language development, and courtesy.
We also offer Spanish, music, art, gardening, stories, movement and dance, science, and arts and crafts.
We provide a lunch program during which the children take turns setting the table for all their friends and ringing the bells to call them to lunch. The children love this!
We host two evening potlucks each year for all families at the park just a block away. We love our unit on The Nutcracker, where we also practice theater etiquette and attend a local school performance at the LBC.
We typically plan two or three field trips per year. Parents often choose to drive their children, though we are happy to help coordinate carpools as well. One of our favorite outings is a visit to the local pumpkin patch!
We also host a Halloween parade to the nearby park, followed by a snack with any parents who are able to join us. During the holiday season, we present a short performance, singing songs in front of the small Christmas trees at the Town Green. We are happy to support and celebrate other holidays as well, and we warmly invite families to share their traditions with us.
At the end of the school year, we celebrate with a formal tea party, complete with porcelain china and classical music, where children practice the manners they’ve learned throughout the year and dress in their finest attire. We also take end-of-year school portraits on this special day. The year concludes with a fun promotion ceremony, featuring caps and tassels, a small performance, and a potluck celebration.
Outdoor Play Area and Covered Deck
We have a fun, shaded, double-gated outdoor yard featuring slides, a climbing dome, easel painting, swings, and flower gardens for the children to care for. With a large covered deck, we are able to play outside almost every day, rain or shine. We spend as much time outdoors as possible, often incorporating an outdoor classroom with work activities and circle time.
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The Classroom
is prepared to encourage maximum age-appropriate independence. The children choose individual work activities from the shelf, and put them back when finished completing the cycle and learning age-appropriate responsibility. They learn to care for their classroom and to clean up after themselves with child-size tools. This enables them to feel the pride of true competence, and promote positive self-esteem as a basis for learning.
Multi-ages in the classroom are good for everyone. The younger children learn so much from the older ones and the older ones get a huge boost of confidence as they help the younger ones. When they start as the youngest and stay until Kindergarten it is an amazing process! Their confidence soars at the perfect time, just as they move on into Kindergarten where they will again be the youngest in the school.
We have excellent TK and Kindergarten preparation, and many parents choose to keep their children here instead of a TK program because of the quality of the education they receive here. We have such small groups and individualized instruction with teachers that really know them as individuals, and the children master the skills they will need academically, emotionally, and socially. We help them prepare for the changes they are going to experience, practicing centers, bells, standing in line, and raising hands. Our graduates have flourished! We have children who graduate to public schools, Cali Calmecac and other charter schools, private schools like Sonoma Country Day School, The Healdsburg School, and many other schools as families often commute from other cities to attend Montessori Fun.
Spanish Every Day With a fun Spanish lesson every day we offer perfect preparation for Kinder at Cali Calmecac or another Spanish Immersion school. Si usted no habla Engles, no preocupa. Podemos ayudar y traducir para los ninos y ellos van a estar hablando Engles muy rapido! Es buen experiencia para todos.
FAQ’s
Does my child need to be potty trained?
It is preferred, however, if they are not there 100% we can help and support you.
Are parents required to volunteer time?
No, but you are welcome to volunteer if you like
When will my child start to read?
Many children do learn basic phonetic reading before they graduate into Kindergarten if they stay for TK, but not every child is ready And that is OK! We offer lots of fun academic preparation
What sets Montessori Fun apart from other preschools?
The small setting of only 12 children per day ( amazing 4:1 ratio) with the same teachers, the joyous Spanish program, the expertise of the teachers, have earned the school’s excellent reputation . The home setting is a perfect bridge from home to school. They have the rest of their lives to go to large setting schools.
What happens if my child has separation issues?
This is very normal, and if the parent is secure in their decision the child will begin to recover quickly. We will help them to get involved and comfort them if they let us, if they are crying. You can always text us to check on them. A short and sweet goodbye ritual is good and sometimes it helps to bring a small love object from home. It usually doesn’t last even two weeks, there are just too many fun things to do here!
A Day In The Life Of Montessori Fun
Daily Schedule (subject to changes for weather and the unexpected)
- 8:30 Arrival Transition– Short and sweet goodbyes are easiest! (Text us for quick updates on how your child is doing.) Playdough, art projects and outside play. Try not to be late- they need this transitional playtime.
- 9:00 Ring Bell, line up, take roll, come inside, change into slippers.
- 9:15 First Circle (English) ABC’s Letter of the Week Sharing, stories, calendar, jobs, lessons, and presentations.
- 9:30 Free choice work time, including snack. Bathroom reminders (we remind little ones every hour or as needed).
- 10:30 Second Circle Fun Spanish songs, games, and stories, new work presentations.
- 11:00 Outside play
- 11:30 Morning children go home, full-day children stay, Outside play
- 12:00 Afternoon class joins. We wash hands and begin the lunch program -two children set the table for everyone and we hold hands and sing a simple “Bon Appetite” song in the language chosen by the flag helper. We practice good manners and pleasant conversations or stories and stay sitting throughout the meal. So much to learn!
- 12:30 They take turns clearing their place and washing their dishes (we put them in the dishwasher later). Outside play
- 1:00 Afternoon class with a long story, circle time followed by small group lessons kindergarten preparation, and individual work time or outside play.
- 2:15 Wash hands, have a snack and a story outside
- 2:30 Some children go home, others stay for aftercare until 4:30
The classroom is a peaceful place, on most days anyway, a place of working and quiet for concentration, or relative quiet amid the singing, and happy chatting between the children. They learn good study habits and responsibility when they choose and carry the work from the shelves to a table or rug, do the work job respectfully, and return it ready for the next person. They clean up any spills with “drying cloths” available to them and return the cloth to the basket when finished. The children learn to sit ” criss-cross applesauce” and to listen at circle time, with practice. We use inside voices and we save pretend and loud running games for outside and respect our special classroom environment. Montessori’s work is grounded in reality. But children also like to pretend and play and do lots of play the rest of the day and outside.
The children love having a place of their own to care for, and their classroom is just for them! They have small chairs, small utensils to clean up with, and fun things set up for them to do within a consistent structure they can count on. They love it here!
With only 12 children per day, the children reap the benefit of the low ratio with an individually based curriculum. We have excellent kindergarten prep and often parents choose to keep them here instead of a transitional kindergarten (TK) program to benefit from what we have to offer. Kindergarten is not what it used to be! We prepare them for the current Kindergarten curriculum they will need experience with.
