[Merged] MONTESSORI SCHOOL in Markham/Richmond Hill/North York area

[fortunekitty500]

For those that have taken a tour of the schools, do you bring your child with you or is it better to leave him/her at home? Do you take the tour during the week or on a Saturday? I seemed to have missed all the open houses at these places. Is it better have a private tour vs. going to the open house? Thanks!

[rvs007]

For those that have taken a tour of the schools, do you bring your child with you or is it better to leave him/her at home? Do you take the tour during the week or on a Saturday? I seemed to have missed all the open houses at these places. Is it better have a private tour vs. going to the open house? Thanks!

I suggest if there is an open house coming up for a particular school, you go check out for things that you can observe (like the school cleanliness, size, amenities, etc.) and talk with the principal and teachers (if they are available). If based on what you see and ask seem ok, then make an appointment for a private tour during the week and during class time. Then you will be able to observe how the school is actually run and how the teachers behaves with the children.

Most of the schools are now actively trying to fill their next year's enrollment quota, so they should have open houses every 1-2 months at least.

[xpwedding]

For those that have taken a tour of the schools, do you bring your child with you or is it better to leave him/her at home? Do you take the tour during the week or on a Saturday? I seemed to have missed all the open houses at these places. Is it better have a private tour vs. going to the open house? Thanks!

I would do both the tour during the week and Open houses. During the week, you can see how other kids engage and see if the kids are happy or not, see how the teacher teaches etc....and get a overall feel. For open houses, I would suggest bringing your child and let the child explore the environment and see if they like it or not. Talk to the teacher and have a better idea of their daily routines and if her way of teaching matches your view.

As I'm seeing more schools are full or already have a waiting list going, if you are looking for upcoming Sept enrollment, do it ASAP and explore your options. Good luck!

[Red_8]

""""""""""""""""""""""""""""update: for those interested, we were at yms. again, this is just our experience. our coworker has their kid in the same class and they love it. having said that, they also just drop off/pick up the kid without any questions asked about the child's day. i like to ask the teacher's or get some daily update on how my child did (ie how they ate, when they slept, bowel movements etc) so the teachers might have thought i was a bit of a hassle since other parents/grandparents picking up their kdis didn't seem to do this. the positives of the school was that there was one other teacher who always greeted us with a smile in the hallway every day. and the principle/front desk seems nice.

my lesson learned, talk to your child's teacher directly during the tour, and observe the class for more than a few minutes-which is all the time we spent observing the class during the tour before paying. if the teachers don't let you observe the class, or at least stand in the hallway out of view to hear what's going on, you have to wonder what's going on in the classroom for the whole day. this is only for young kids, i'm sure if you're kid is older and can tell you what happened during the day, you can be less worried that the child isn't being treated properly."""""""""""""""""""

Thank you for the info. I totally understand your frustration. I've been in your shoes with another school/daycare (Regio kids). I felt I need to reply here, as I was one of the people who posted positive comments regarding YMS. I had my first son in the school 3 years and my second one is starting this September. My son had a great deal of transitioning issues as well, it took him a full month to get used to new place. All along, the teacher hold him up in the morning to watch us leave and wave and had him on her lap almost anytime possible until he got used to her. It was about 2 months after he started at the school that we bumped into her at Ikea and my son could not run faster to hug her.

YMS is known to be more on the disciplinary side and yes some kids thrive in that environment. I know through my own experience with my son that kids from YMS are standing out when they transition to elementary due to the manners they learn here. I am a great believer in routine and discipline and this school was the place for me. Kids from YMS know how to treat each other and everyone else around them with dignity and respect, you would never find yourself in a chaotic situation with them.

As for the comment about child falling sleep I have to add that it is in the best interest of the child to get to the class routine and I believe it's the job of the parent to ensure the child is prepared for the environment they are entering. learn about school routines and do the scheduling accordingly prior to sending the child off to the new environment. It'll be extremely hard on a child to sleep while others playing and sit quietly while others are taking their nap. I have friends that keep their kids up till late at night to get to their own gathering and plans and expect the school to handle a fussy and exhausted child next morning. I'm actually with the school on getting the child to the routine.

well said!

[erinatourkidsnet]

For anyone who may be interested we have a section of our website devoted to Montessori schools, divided into regions for those who might be interested in listings: http://www.ourkids.net/montessori-schools.php

We also have a few articles that may be helpful in learning more about Montessori:

What is Montessori? http://www.ourkids.net/school/what-is-montessori.php

The Montessori method and philosophy: http://www.ourkids.net/montessori-ed...philosophy.php

Top questions about Montessori: http://www.ourkids.net/school/top-qu...montessori.php

Life inside one Montessori school: http://www.ourkids.net/school/montes...ols-canada.php

If anyone has any questions, please feel free to contact us! We would be happy to help

[tonie1]

Hi,
If you are looking for toddler class then I would recommend not to consider Trillium Montessori located on 14th Ave..
The school is good but the key thing which makes a class is teacher and to my surprise the lead /head teacher of pre-casa is a shocker to me..the teacher for that age student (20 months – 30 months) should posses the qualities like ..loving, caring, providing guidance in order to make a strong individual…but this gentle lady is missing all these qualities..and in short I would say she had a bad attitude and arrogant…lack of accountability...
I came across the parents who withdrew their kids, like me because of her behavior and attitude…she thinks she is tough making kids more disciplined however it’s to the height where its disturbing to the kids…another thing is she is not at all ready to discuss the things as if she has the responsibility of entire world and she is running out of time….SORRY MOM and DAD I AM BUSY...
I would give 0/5..

[AlphaGamma]

We read through the entire thread on the schools recommended in Richmond Hill / Markham area. We noticed that everyone is saying that if you can afford it, TMS is the school to go to. We did a tour of the school today and the presentation and tour was good. Obviously, with school being out for the summer, we were not able to view classes in session. Now, our question is why if we can afford TMS, would it be a good school? We haven't seen anyone mention why?

The other one we were looking at is York Montessori @ Elgin Mills & Leslie. There was a previous post about it being horrible where the parent viewed on the outside what takes place during class, e.g. kid sleeping and being forced to stay awake. Is this a one off since everyone else seems to think it's a good school ?

[paulcopcutt]

Both are CCMA accredited so you know that they follow the expected standards of authentic Montessori education. If you are looking to keep your children in Montessori beyond age 6 then TMS offers classes to all ages whereas York stops at CASA. I would be surprised that the one report is a fair reflection of one school, being able to observe with children in the school is obviously preferable. See the CCMA web site link on what to look for in a Montessori school http://www.ccma.ca/page.aspx?menu=67...673&tp=2&lk=no.

I would ask both schools if you can speak to parents who joined the school in the last year with children of similar age to yours and see what they thought.

Just my toonies worth

[gingin]

Does anyone hear/comment about Northwood academy Montessori ? Thanks!

[incanada]

Hello Friends

Did not notice ths thread earlier so started another one for the same but posting my question again here for your valuable inputs. I was planning ot put my daughter in Sunshine Montessori School at Victoria Park and Sheppard and wanted to know if any one has any experience/opinion on the same. The other alternative we had was Abacus Montessori school but they do not have any half day programs hence were narrowing down on Sunshine.

Any inputs on this front would be of great help to decide between the two schools

Thanks

[andralina]

My son just turned six months today, and I'd like to find him a daycare soon. I'm self employed, so I'm flexible, but I'm hoping to go back to work anywhere between six months and a year from now.

I live at Yonge/Sheppard and I see that the closest montessori daycares in my area are:

Central Montessori (they have several locations and at least 3 are very close to me)
Yorktown Montessori
Forest Grove Montessori
Northwood Academy

I've read this entire thread, and I don't see much about smaller Montessori schools. I like the way TMS sounds, but the rates are pretty steep. My husband and I would prefer to find a school that is anywhere from 10K to 15k/ year. TMS is $18K, plus the $3.5k initial registration fee.

Richmond Hill Montessori sounds okay as well, but from what I understand they are a little out of our way, plus their focus on academics worries me a bit.

Do any of you have direct experience with the schools I mentioned above?
Have you heard anything at all about them from friends, reviews, etc?

Any help would be much appreciated.

[Happy Child]

My child is attending Central Montessori YorkMills campus and we are happy with it, Don't know about their preschool much but have friends that started at young age and they seem to be happy. Hope this help.

My son just turned six months today, and I'd like to find him a daycare soon. I'm self employed, so I'm flexible, but I'm hoping to go back to work anywhere between six months and a year from now.

I live at Yonge/Sheppard and I see that the closest montessori daycares in my area are:

Central Montessori (they have several locations and at least 3 are very close to me)
Yorktown Montessori
Forest Grove Montessori
Northwood Academy

I've read this entire thread, and I don't see much about smaller Montessori schools. I like the way TMS sounds, but the rates are pretty steep. My husband and I would prefer to find a school that is anywhere from 10K to 15k/ year. TMS is $18K, plus the $3.5k initial registration fee.

Richmond Hill Montessori sounds okay as well, but from what I understand they are a little out of our way, plus their focus on academics worries me a bit.

Do any of you have direct experience with the schools I mentioned above?
Have you heard anything at all about them from friends, reviews, etc?

Any help would be much appreciated.

[arctics]

Anyone heard of Marander Montessori in Markham? I'm surprised it hasn't been mentioned in this thread.

[parent71]

I'm looking for a Montessori for my son. I went to Town Centre and seems to be ok. Any other thoughts?

[parent71]

Anyone has an opinion on TCMS? Thanks.