A Little World Montessori School

My son attended ALWMS for about two years (2010 – 2013). He already started off as a vivacious and intelligent baby so I wouldn’t give the school all the credit! You must know that this school is not for every child/​parent. It is definitely an acquired taste. ALWMS is not Montessori certified. I signed up my child, knowing it was not Montessori accredited. I wanted a preschool that was in my price rang, close to my house and not just a daycare. I also liked the long hours; I used to drop my son off as early as 7:30am and pick him up around 5:30pm. I also want to state that I work as a childcare provider myself so, I can see from both parent and teacher point of views.
When my son started, he was just over 2 years old. At the time, Ms. Elaine was the head teacher. There were two other women there was well. Ms. Elaine was a little stand-​off-​ish at first but once I started to converse with her, she and I got along pretty well!
The owner of the school teaches at her other school, which is located in Rodeo. She is not there to over see the other teachers (which accredited Montessori schools require a head director on site).
They have a lot of Montessori «toys» and a very nice play yard. My son used to get minor injuries here and there but he’s a boy, an energetic one! Kids get hurt sometimes when they play, it’s normal.
(Other parents would complain to me about this particular issue a lot).
My son was always independent as a baby but he got more focused in educational work when he joined ALWMS. They had puzzle time, which was great because we didn’t have time at home to work on puzzles with him. The teachers worked with the kids on counting and writing to 100+. They taught my son great educational things that my husband and I both appreciated so much being we both work full time. We really had to have an open mind and communicate with the teachers and our son to make sure everything was going smoothly daily.
There were times when I got frustrated with a teacher or the amount of work but I thought to myself; hey, they’ve got long hours, my son is happy, the price is right, he is learning lots of educational and fun, interesting things. I’m glad I kept him in the school until he went to Kindergarten. All the class work was easy and he got a lot of praise from his Kindergarten teacher.
Like I said in the beginning, this school is not for every child/​patent. You really need to do your research because this school is NOT a daycare. They have play time, then they also have focused education time. As a parent you need to chose a play base school or a academic school. I thought this school was a good balance for my child but it may not be a good match for you and your child.
Good luck

I believe this is a excellent Montessori pre-​school! The children are well cared for, and are given the tools to prepare for kindergarten.