Secret Garden Montessori

Reviews 3

IN

Ina Parker

Where to start? My husband and I moved our two-year-old son to Frenchtown from New York City one year ago and are thrilled with our relocation – not least because we were fortunate enough to enroll our son in Secret Garden Montessori. Every day when we drop him off he is excited to learn in the extraordinarily loving, exciting environment there, and every day when we pick him up he is filled with stories and ideas about all that he picked up that day at school. This year he has moved up to the primary class and despite the larger class size, he is absolutely thriving. I recently observed class and was blown away by the level of individual care, attention and focus the teachers manage to shine on each student in turn, and at the same time equally impressed that so many kids, who are at any moment not under the teachers direct instruction, could all be so self-regulating and so great at helping themselves and each other with their work-- expectations are laid out peacefully and clearly, the classroom is stocked with an incredible range of interesting "work" for the kids to engage in, and the kids take to the balance of freedom and structure like bees to honey. Also, for a relatively homogenous area (compared to New York City at least) we are thrilled with the racial, ethnic and economic diversity at the school-- our son is not the only child of color nor the only adoptee in his class, and we have never had a single moment worth of cliquish behavior or insensitivity from any children or family at the school. Unlike some other private schools that we investigated pretty thoroughly before choosing Secret Garden, one never feels that ones parenting is being judged or regulated by the school, but rather that the school is adaptable and welcoming to all kinds of families. We are truly thrilled with Secret Garden and recommend it very highly – as the last reviewer said, our only problem with the school is that our son will age out eventually!

SI

sinkships82

Montessori philosophy itself makes so much sense for raising a kind, independent child who loves learning. Paired with the magical staff that we are so fortunate to have at Secret Garden, I couldnt imagine a better place for my son to experience the beginning of his school career. There is such a wonderful proactive community of staff and families here. I feel very secure knowing that my son is in a calm, caring, peaceful environment, and he is so proud to show off what he learns in math, word sounds, and especially practical life situations like folding towels and helping to cook! I never thought someone with his energy level would fit in such a calm classroom, but the fantastic staff helped him along the way and his progress is so obvious! My only regret is that he will be too old for Secret Garden someday!

SY

Syerra Brice

My Friend, Olivia mom works here!

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