Children'S House Montessori School

We’ve had two children attend Children’s House. One began in the preschool program at age four (now in first grade), and the other started in the toddler program for a summer before transitioning into preschool just before turning three. Despite their very different personalities, both of my daughters have had wonderful, nurturing, and growth-filled experiences at CHMS. From an administrative standpoint, I’ve appreciated the clear communication and guidance provided to families around scheduling, including drop-off and pick-up procedures, school events, birthdays, and conferences. As someone who tends to worry about logistics, this structure has been incredibly reassuring. We also appreciate their early (but wide) drop-off window and their EP (after school) program. Our schedule as a family is different every day, so we’ve enjoyed a lot of flexibility with pick-up and drop-off times. Also would love to shout out that they worked hard to open up the school during the aftermath of the ice storm this year DAYS before APS was even open. I’ve also felt supported and encouraged through conversations with administrators about my children, including times when they’ve struggled at school or at home. Mr. Jad, Ms. Denise, and all of the guides are approachable and responsive, and it truly feels as though their door is always open. CHMS has felt like our village. This sense of community was especially meaningful during the post-COVID period, when my older daughter had limited opportunities for social interaction outside of school. From an environment perspective, the guides at CHMS have shown genuine care for my children and created a safe, joyful setting in which they can thrive. I’ve been continually impressed by the skills they’ve developed, many of which I previously associated with kindergarten or first grade. My younger daughter walks into school each day excited to see her friends and teachers, and she comes home eager to share what she learned, what she hopes to work on next, and stories about celebrating her classmates’ accomplishments. My older daughter, now in first grade, is frequently praised for her love of learning and ability to focus, both of which are skills she developed during her time at CHMS. I attribute so much of my older daughter’s independence, empathy, and confidence to her time at CHMS, and it has been special to see those same qualities taking root in her younger sister. We’ve also met friends through CHMS who feel like family, and I’m forever grateful for the school’s focus on community and the events that bring families together.

We had a wonderful experience at Children’s House Montessori School (CHMS) and highly recommend it to other families. From the start, we appreciated how well organized the school is and how much time the school management spent getting to know us before we made our decision. That care and openness made us feel confident choosing CHMS for our daughter. During her time at CHMS, our daughter learned so much—academically, socially, and emotionally. We saw her grow into a confident, independent learner in a safe, nurturing environment where the Montessori approach is thoughtfully and consistently applied. As expats, we especially valued the strong sense of community. The school felt more European-oriented than other options we visited, which made us feel at home. We built lasting friendships with other families, some of whom we still visit and stay in touch with across countries. We are very grateful for our time at CHMS and the strong foundation it gave our daughter.

Children’s House Montessori School has been a wonderful foundation for both of our children. The nurturing environment and thoughtful curriculum gave them the skills and confidence to thrive not only in kindergarten but well beyond. The school’s emphasis on academics, friendship, respect, and kindness has shaped them into curious, compassionate learners. We’re truly grateful for the positive experience and highly recommend this school to other families seeking an enriching start for their children.

We were initially very interested in CHMS and appreciated their time during our first meeting. However, despite clearly mentioning from the beginning that we were looking to move forward only if there was availability, we later learned—after several days of communication—that there was no open placement. While I understand that mistakes can happen, this misunderstanding unfortunately caused us to lose valuable time during our search. I hope the school can improve its communication process to prevent similar confusion for other families in the future.

Teachers and drop off line are great. Administration leaves a lot to be desired. Kids are only allowed to come to school during approved windows which makes scheduling doctor/dentist appointments truly a pain. They also have a whole extra week of winter break compared to APS that we were not initially told (just “we generally follow APS except half days”). We had tried to withdraw at the beginning of the year but they wanted an insane amount for the very few days our daughter had been there, so we stayed for the entire school year. When re-enrollment came around, they didn’t even tell us that they were not offering our daughter a spot the next year (they just assumed we didn’t want to be there with no communication even though we had stayed the entire year after the initial attempt to withdraw). If we hadn’t been having another kid, this would have put us in a very bad spot (we actually probably would have stayed because I don’t like changing things for my kids and the teachers were really wonderful) but we were thankfully on a waitlist somewhere that could do both the infant and our toddler. The administration generally is condescending towards parents and acts like they always know best (if you do decide to go, expect a guilt tripping email at the beginning of the year about how it’s a long day and your kids are tired and you should maybe pick them up early - even if they are in the full time program (and even if they are used to full time daycare)). Would definitely recommend exploring other options in the area before choosing to go here as we have 3 kids and have never had an experience that even comes close to how bad this was. I also have proof of all of the above in emails should the school try to dispute any of this.