Land Park Montessori Preschool

My child is in the toddler program and we are so happy with his incredible development since starting. From his ABCs to colors to art projects, he seems to come home with something new everyday. More than anything though, his ability for independent play has taken off! He will come home and take books of his shelf and sit and page through them by himself. He is learning to play with his toys and then return them to their spot before moving on to the next toy. He's curious, silly, and happy everyday at pick up. The outside space at LPM is expansive, the facilities clean, and the staff wonderful and loving. We love Ms. Charlotte and Ms. Michelle. They are both so patient and kind, I know my son feels safe with them. Also, huge props to the staff for putting together an adorable holiday program!!! The songs, dancing, Santa were all perfect. We felt so happy to be part of the community.

We have a had a remarkably positive experience with the school. The staff is truly remarkable and the community of students and parents are great. They have a program that keeps the kids engaged and the art my child brings home truly delights us.Strong and self assured leadership, which might be tricky for some parents but has been welcome by us, and top notch teachers & staff make this an easy 5 star review for my family.

We absolutely love LPMS! My first son went there from age 2 to age 5. He learned so much and was so loved. Now at kindergarten (Leonardo DaVinci) he is ahead of the class and easily transitioned into public school life. My second son has been there since 18 months and is well supported in all aspects.To note- the owner will be straight with parents because she really wants to help and make sure every child succeeds. She'll tell it 'like it is' without sugar-coating it. My first son had an ongoing running nose and the owner told me 'this is not normal.' While I was offended at first, it also encouraged me to figure out why this is happening. Sure enough, he needed surgery to remove his adenoids. Along with the runny nose, his hearing was at 60%. Once he had the surgery he was 100% better within 24 hours. It was amazing!! Without the school pushing me, I'm not sure I would have forced the issue with the doctors and saw an ENT specialist. I'm glad I did.This school helps each kid and each family be prepared for the next stages in a child's life. I'm very glad we have had our kids at LPMS!!

My family is thrilled to have found Land Park Montessori. We actually moved our kiddo from a highly-recommended place downtown that we just didn't love, and we're so glad we did.My son experienced the toddler room for about 7 months before transitioning to the pre-school room. We were/are so impressed with both experiences. It's a structured, but nurturing environment, full of talented educators who care about the children. My son has flourished. He recently had some behavior troubles that I found upsetting, but the teachers have been full of both empathy and practical strategies. I feel very well supported as a parent. I've also been impressed with the operations side of the house -- we have had a great experience with Miss Dharmeeka, the director, and would encourage any parent to make an appointment to visit. You can also PM me if you have questions -- I'm happy to answer specific questions about our experience.

My daughter and I had an awful experience here. The owner would call and yell at me that my daughter cried too much or wasn't eating her lunch. My daughter was 2. She would abruptly demand that I pick my daughter up in the middle of the work day and drop her off later with no consideration for my schedule. Sometimes her calls/ rants would go on for 30 plus minutes before she would then just hang up. She once told me that I should withhold dinner from my daughter if she did not eat during meal times, otherwise my daughter would "not turn out good". Had I kept my child in this school, I am confident she would have turned out poorly. I carry a deep amount of regret and guilt for not having pulled my child out sooner.The facilities are not clean. Some of the staff is really nice but this cannot compensate for the complete lack of manners and consideration on the part of the owner-who is overreaching in her assumptions and demands. Since removing my daughter from this school, she has flourished into a happy and confident little girl.

A while back ago, my 2 1/2 year old was expelled after 2 days for failure to share and scratching. DAY 2. There is a normalization period for children which involves more than 2 days. I attribute this action to laziness or the group realizing that they took on one too many students. It is outrageous that a school would not even issue a warning and work with my child. After all, at this age, kids need socialization in order to learn proper peer behaviors.

Hello, Dear Reader! To preface: I am in no way related to, or friends with any staff member of this program, nor am I being compensated for writing this review. In addition to being a tuition-paying parent, I am an educator in the public school system, and in my role, I spend a lot of time in Kindergarten classrooms. I can say with confidence that I feel LPM is preparing its learners to be successful students upon graduation from their program. LPM's curriculum, instructions, behavioral expectations, and classroom culture reflect typical Kindergarten settings. I am thankful for the time that these skills can be practiced in a more densely supported setting (average ratio of 1 teacher to 10ish students) prior to starting public school careers because I know firsthand how easy it can be for students to get "lost" in "the system" of learning in large public school classrooms (average ratio of 1 teacher to 25ish students). In truth, when my child began the LPM program, I was worried that they would not be free to let their silliness bloom (we're very silly at home, and the contrast with the quiet and controlled classroom was striking), so I spent several days shadowing at LPM. What I realized is that having my child learn in a setting with a different classroom culture to my own was not taking away any joy or development- it only enriched their ability to thrive in a variety of settings- in particular- a mirror of the one that was inevitably coming upon entry to Kindergarten. Having the luxury of several full "shadow" days also allowed me to see the windows of unstructured time in which the silliness indeed blossomed- students played excitedly outdoors en masse, happily indoors in partners/small groups, and alone with "toy jobs". I continue to see this joyful part of their day at pickup and drop-off, and feel thankful when I see this as well as the academic rigor that I find during unscheduled drop-ins at random times throughout the school day. The ladies of LPM may be more direct than most in bedside manner, but I quite appreciate the timeliness, candor, and care that underlies their communication. I hope that these models will help my child become a more direct and confident communicator.

We absolutely love Land Park Montessori, we moved from the Bay Area and eventually the waitlist allowed for our son to join. Him and our daughter go and they learn so much, our 3 year old sings every single nursery rhyme he learns and he loves it. The classrooms are overall so peaceful and the teachers do an amazing job helping the kids acclimate and settle in. Each teacher genuinely cares and helps create a safe nurturing environment for every child.

LPMS has a really great outdoor area and playground. The staff have helped my son develop confidence in himself and he really loves going to school each day - he is not always happy to leave! We have relied on the teachers to fill us in on his progress. Ms. Dharmeeka and the other staff have decades of experience and we appreciate their input and observations. The director Ms. Charunika has been flexible and understanding with our needs over the years as well. Before here, we had our son in a good daycare but we are happy that he is learning and there is a reliable curriculum. We learn about their learning goals in the monthly newsletter and from the worksheets that are sent home each day.

I am also a former public school teacher, and have had a really positive experience with LPMS. I have two children who have both attended since entering the toddler classrooms and grateful to Ms. Dharmeeka and the new director Ms. Charunika and their team for the continued love and care they show their students. My children have both felt such close bonds to their teachers, love coming home to show off all their work and fun creative projects, and have developed deep and meaningful friendships. I've appreciated being notified if/when my little ones have had moments of struggle or made made bad choices, and the follow through that the school has had in setting healthy boundaries and holding expectations that will prepare them well for entering school. Thank you LPMS and your team for being such a wonderful and nurturing environment for our children!