Shir-Hashirim Montessori

Our family and community would simply not be the same without Montessori Shir Hashirim and Elena, in particular. We have three children from 4 to 13 that have all enrolled at Montessori Shir Hashirm and thrived. If only she expanded her school to Elementary School…
Contrary to any of the one-​off negative reviews, my children adore Elena and refer to the teachers routinely as their «best friends.» Their curiosity for learning stands out amongst their non-​Montessori peers.
I adore the children and the families at Montessori Shir Hashirim and have nothing but respect for what Elena and her beautiful staff do each day.

Our child is a graduate of Montessori Shir Hashirim — Carlton Way (1 year parent & me, 3 years preschool). 2 years after writing the previous review, he is still a boy, still colors «expressively,» speaks «exuberantly» and if you have ever heard a parent declare «my child is definitely not a Montessori kid» I would nod my head in agreement about my own kiddo — he is ridiculously silly and wiggly. Except… by the last six months of preschool, he would argue if we picked him up at 4:45 (elective aftercare was until 5:30) that «there’s still so much to do!» He LOVED school. Loved his teachers. Loved the little 2 and 3 year olds whom he and other 5 – 6 year olds would make sure had snacks and wouldn’t eat alone. This year, he was exposed to solfeggio music scales, French, violin, computer, dance and performed in Don Quixote, The Tempest and The Pirates of Penzance. Artistically, the school created a collaborative project tied in with the Alexander Calder LACMA exhibit where 2 – 6 year olds brought in buttons, Lego pieces, odds + ends from home to make a clay circus and a beautiful 3D mural at the front entrance. As a family, we are thrilled and super excited to begin the new kindergarten /​elementary school journey at our new home — but MSH will always be incredibly special. We lucked out at all the teachers, family friends and buddies our son has made that we hope will last for a long, long time to come. Our son joyfully reads perfectly imperfect road signs and packages in the grocery and has conversations with his pediatrician at wellness check-​ins asking about kidneys or lungs. And on a full moon, we’ll look up at the sky and he’ll say, «momma, I think that may be Saturn over there, but I don’t see any rings.» Montessori Shir Hashirim was phenomenal in raising the bar in our little one’s imagination and wisdom toolkit. There was indeed a place for a silly, wiggly kid after all. (Whew!) We are grateful and will miss all of you immensely. Thank you, Elena.

First of all, while Unilocal would not be the deciding factor when choosing a preschool for my little one, I think it’s a great asset because you get to read honest reviews from honest people. Where else can you find that?
That being said, I COMPLETELY agree with Nicholas D’s review and the other negative reviews of this establishment. I first sent my child to Northwood Montessori in Irvine and ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT! So when we had to relocate to LA, I checked out this Montessori was was APPALLED by the way the teachers interacted with the students. They were very cold– even vindictive! The owner Elena was rude from the minute I met her. As a prospective parent, you’d think she would be a little courteous, no? Not her.
There are many great Montessori Preschools out there and many preschools that offer the great extracurricular activities this establishment does. Sorry to break it to you Elena, your establishment is not SO great that you can treat people like they are beneath you. I would not send my child here– even if it were free.

We’ve enrolled two of our kids at this amazing school. Our oldest daughter is now in the 5^th grade and it was satisfying to see how incredibly prepared for elementary school she was after graduating. Our kids have learned Shakespeare, mathematics, gardening (in the organic garden at their campus), cooking, and other skills that have impressed us. They also have become self confident, comfortable working in groups or alone and generally well adjusted and prepared for the next chapter in their education and life. The teachers are amazing. For parents who believe in the Montessori system, this may be as good as it gets in Los Angeles.

WOW. i am so surprise to have found these reviews on Unilocal.
i was going to send my friend a link to recommend the school for her toddler…
i am so sorry to hear some parents had a bad experience with this school. here’s my testimonial. i hope it helps!
i first heard of the school two years before i got married and had abby.
a good friend of my husband’s invited us to watch his daughter in a play at school.
my first impression of the school wasn’t great. it was right in the middle of busy hollywood and finding parking was no fun either.
then i saw the school. a tiny craftsman house with a yellow fence and baby blue gate. i could see that they had a vegetable garden with a small lemon tree in the front.
as i walked into the gate in the back, i saw the wooden deck with double door wide open with beautiful tree handed painted for the play. it looked like a lot of people put in a lot of love into it (later i found out parents and teachers make all the sets together)
they were performing Midsummer nights dream.
they didn’t not change the word to suit the young children (tho play was shortened) it was full of songs and beautiful costume. the older kids had solo parts and the young ones had group walk-​on parts with short easy lines they can shout or sing. it was one of the most magical things i’ve seen in my life.
i was like what is this crazy school? and later i found out it was Montessori shir-​hashirim.
i have heard of montessori but didn’t know what that really meant…
when i got pregnant with abby i started reading a book on montessori called, «montessori from the start» by Paula lizard & Lynn Jessen (i recommend you to read it if you are interested in sending your kids to a montessori school) they are mother daughter authors. they explain WHAT montessori is and HOW it started and WHY they believe in it.
i won’t go into the whole thing cause who has time. but to over simplify, the montessori teaching believe that the role of a parent is not just be a caretaker of a child but who is responsible to teach children to be self sufficient & autonomous adults.
Montessori does not push a child into a rigid schedule according to their age. kids can flourish according to their own speed and interest. they learn how to be responsible (kids bake and garden in groups), how to share (if you want a snack, you make a small tray and share with others who want it as well), and have fun!
after a morning lessons, they eat lunch together outside (older kids and younger kids together.) and play before their afternoon fun like piano or dancing.
we moved back to LA from NY right as i was all set to send abby to a montessori school in brooklyn. so i had to do what what any overzealous asian mom would have to do. i started researching schools in LA all over again like a mad woman.
i bought a book called «The whitney guide to the LA preschool».
i read every page, made many notes, and visited many of them and gone to mommy and me classes.
the first day at Shir Hashirim’s mommy and me class it was NOT GOOD.
abby lost her mind crying and refused to go into the class room –she’s NEVER did this before, and we’ve been going to classes together since she was 9 months old!- i thought we was never getting in to the school for sure after that.
but debbie didn’t say a word or kicked us out. she gave us all the time in the world. we finally went in and stayed for an hour. we came back the next day for a full day with no crying.
we met with elena as well. i was very intimidated by her. her accent and her really flamboyant fashion sense and directness…
we got in a few months later.
abby cried the first day. my heart tore out of my body.
then the next day she walked in without even looking back.
its’ been almost two years since that first day of school.
all i can say is, i wish i had this kind of education when i was young. then i would’ve loved playing piano and math would make more sense that just numbers. but most of all, i would be fearless and confident that i can do anything i set my mind to do.
as i see abby sing everyones songs from the next play (not just her part), watch her raise her hand to answer questions in front of the whole class and being a sweet «big kid» to the two year olds who just started the school.
my heart breaks in the best way possible.
i don’t know if montessori is for everyone but it was for us.
if you are thinking about a montessori education for your child, come visit the school and watch the kids. meet with Elena (and don’t be intimidated by her! she is really warm and nice once you get to know her!)
DO take mommy and me classes. be patient with your child and with the program (and with yourself)
elena has quoted Picasso to me once with her own philosophy, «every child is an artist. it is our responsibility to help them stay an artist».
i will be ever grateful to Elena and everyone at Shir-​Hashirim. and i hope you find my long testimonial helpful in your search

After three years at this preschool we still cannot get enough of it. Since our son has a summer birthday, we could decide to move him onto the next school, or we can keep him at his current school for one more year. That’s an easy choice! We are so happy to have him at Shir-​Hashirim and since the program is tailored to each individual child he will still be challenged and engaged. He has made so many friends, has had so many great experiences, has learned so many things, and is so incredibly happy there. Here’s to another year!

I just got off the phone with a lady named Elana who is the Director of the school. TO say she was RUDE was an understatement. I would hate to see how she treats the kids. KEEP YOUR KIDS AWAYYYYYY FROM THIS SCHOOOL. She is a nightmare. The type of lady that does not communicate nor listens.
I’m responding to the comment left by the business owner below, as it doesn’t seem to allow me to leave a reply. To think that 4 years later you leave a response relating to my comment and mention some «commercial» validates that the person I was speaking to did not listen to what I was saying at all. That was not why I was calling and in fact spoke to someone named Elana, so have no idea why you are responding. Thanks.

I have had my daughter attend the school and I have nothing but wonderful memories
of her time there. I will never forget my daughter on stage as Juliet (age 4 !) in the production of Shakespeare’s play which was the program aimed at making The Bard
accessible to pre​-school​ers​.It was cute without a doubt but it also has had a lasting educational benefit.
The school has a very solid and thoughtful program helping children develop their social skills and creativity. My daughter thrived tremendously there and loved
the teachers Nellida and Elena .They played an important part in our child’s life.
Alexander G.

This school has wonderful facilities and is beautiful. It also has enrichment programs that appear spectacular — from Spanish to Karate to Dance to Computer Classes. In short, everything appears great on the outside.
It is the inside that is the problem. The school is extraordinarily rigid in its discipline — i.e., if your child talks out of turn, they may be made to sit sobbing in a chair while watching the other children eat lunch, etc.
The teachers and director are also extremely unwilling to discuss issues with the parents and essentially believe that they have no responsibility to communicate with parents whatsoever. The first time you hear about a behavioral issue may be when your child is being kicked out of the school, which the school will also do on a hair trigger.
There is also a cruelness about the place. In our experience there, not once did we receive a word from a teacher about a single accomplishment of our child, or a single nice story about any achievement of our young child.
Although we are not certain, we believe that the teachers were consistently yelling at children, and we know, for a fact, they admit to raising their voices often.
For some children, this school does seem to work well. Our child was frankly miserable there, however, and would come home and start sobbing at the end of the day, crying because she had been made to feel so isolated and did not want to return. Be very careful in selecting it for your young child.