Blacksburg Montessori School

My son has nearly finished his first year at Blacksburg Montessori. He's my third but was very apprehensive about preschool. Lynne and Marilou were very accommodating and welcomed us to visit several times last spring so he could adjust to them, the classroom, and the other kids. By the time fall came he was ready to go off on his own and has had a wonderful year. His younger sister is very excited to be joining her brother at school in the fall.

Coming from an educational background, I knew immediately Blacksburg Montessori was the right fit for our oldest daughter. Their caring, nurturing, open ended learning, no nonsense, respectful, and fun environment is one any parent would love for their child. Our daughter entered public school well rounded, respectful, empathetic, self sufficient, mindful of boundaries, knowing how to hold herself accountable, and is currently in the Gifted and Talented program. We love these women so much that we were more than anxious to send our second daughter, who is following quite closely in her sister’s footsteps. This environment has been a truly amazing gift for our third daughter who has had quite a few delays… including a speech delay. Her vocabulary and social skills have exploded and we’ve noticed such growth in her since August. The calming environment really allowed her to focus and thrive. Lynne and Marilou have been such a intricate part in the small village helping us raise our children, and we’re unbelievably thankful. They give it their all each and everyday. Hands down… the best.

After touring almost all of the preschools in Blacksburg and talking to many friends about their own children's preschool experiences we chose Blacksburg Montessori School. Our daughter takes a while to warm up to new environments and dislikes chaos so many of our tours did not go so well. She immediately took to the calm environment at BMS during our tour last spring. I was impressed by the kindness of the older children who offered to show her how to work with some of the Montessori learning tools. The teachers, Lynne and Marilou have very high expectations of what their preschoolers are capable of within the guidelines of what is developmentally appropriate for each individual child. And while each child does work independently and learns to focus on specific tasks quite early in the year there is a definite community feel to the school and among the children who play so well together. We are meeting lifelong friends and BMS is fostering lifelong learners.

Both our daughters loved Blacksburg Montessori. The school has been a beloved part of the Blacksburg community for 20 years. Lynne and Marilou are kind, caring, accommodating, and supportive teachers, and there are lots of activities for the kids to explore, in a cozy, fun, Montessori environment. We treasure all the wonderful times when the girls would spontaneously burst out in songs learnt at school, and the lovely artwork they regularly brought home. Our kids have fond memories of finding treasure in the sand-pit, gourd-hunting in the school-yard, costume-walk at Halloween, and the annual visit to the Fire Station across the street. With entertaining and engaging Montessori activities, they learnt colors, shapes, counting, letters, continents, vocabulary, and more, through fun play.

We love this school and found our daughter telling us and doing things we'd never shown her. I recommend this place to everyone.