Montessori Schools in or near Telfair (Houston, Sugar Land: 2013, credit, day care)

[Htown2013]

Looking for good Montessori schools in or near Telfair. Have heard of Cambridge Montessori in NT, Telfair Montessori, and Casa dei Bambini. Very little info on the last two because they are so new, and Cambridge got mixed reviews, but couldn't tell if it was the school or just parents not liking the Montessori method. Any info on these, good or bad, is much appreciated.

What do you know or have heard of these three? Any others to consider? From what I've read, I think my DS would do best in a Montessori environment.

[nisw]

Riverbend montessori

[Failed Engineer]

Riverbend is the only Montessori school in the area that truly understands the curriculum. The others have it in name only. But the facilities are newer and shinier at those other schools.

[Htown2013]

Originally Posted by Failed Engineer

Riverbend is the only Montessori school in the area that truly understands the curriculum. The others have it in name only. But the facilities are newer and shinier at those other schools.

What exactly do you mean? How are they different? Are you saying the others are bad? I'm assuming you looked into all of them.

[MumHouston]

Originally Posted by Htown2013

What exactly do you mean? How are they different? Are you saying the others are bad? I'm assuming you looked into all of them.

Montessori is an educational method that any child care facility can include in their name. Only Montessori programs that are recognized by AMI (Association Montessori International) truly follow the pedagogy set forth by Maria Montessori. The accreditation process is costly, and I am sure that there are some schools who embrace the Montessori philosophy without being part of the national organization, but you must understand the approach in order to identify true Montessori schools.

"I" would avoid any school that is AMS (American Montessori Society) certified, their programs deviate from the original teachings and often align with current educational trends.


What is Montessori
Parents & Families | AMI USA

[aba030]

My 2 year old son goes to the Casa Dei Bambini in Riverstone, and we are very unhappy with the management. The owner cares only about maximizing profit. On 3 different occasions now we have been given extremely short notice of a teacher change. In the spring his teacher was leaving the country for a 1 month vacation and we were told 2 days before she left, in the summer his teacher was going to be on vacation for a month and we found out the day before, and for the fall session which started this past Monday, we found out when we showed up at school on Monday morning that his scheduled teacher had moved to another Montessori school. The owner is deceptive and does not notify parents of changes because she knows it will give families an opportunity to consider moving to another school.

The Casa Dei Bambini in Telfair has the same ownership as the one in Riverstone. I highly recommend looking into another school. If you want more details, feel free to PM me.

[Htown2013]

Originally Posted by aba030

My 2 year old son goes to the Casa Dei Bambini in Riverstone, and we are very unhappy with the management. The owner cares only about maximizing profit. On 3 different occasions now we have been given extremely short notice of a teacher change. In the spring his teacher was leaving the country for a 1 month vacation and we were told 2 days before she left, in the summer his teacher was going to be on vacation for a month and we found out the day before, and for the fall session which started this past Monday, we found out when we showed up at school on Monday morning that his scheduled teacher had moved to another Montessori school. The owner is deceptive and does not notify parents of changes because she knows it will give families an opportunity to consider moving to another school.

The Casa Dei Bambini in Telfair has the same ownership as the one in Riverstone. I highly recommend looking into another school. If you want more details, feel free to PM me.

Thanks. I could find no information on them, which is a red flag, so will rule them out.

[Htown2013]

Looked into Riverbend Montessori, and I'm sure it's a great school, but not sure it'll work for us for logistics reasons. We have long commutes, and both Cambridge Montessori and Telfair Montessori are open 6:30am-6:30pm and close to us.

Riverbend is further away and is only open from 7am-5:30pm. The more limited hours and further distance makes a huge difference with University and Sweetwater congestion during rush hour. Given our commutes and work schedules, that really won't work for us.

I'm not a stickler for 100% Montessori as long as the school is good and the kids learn, grow, and thrive. We did look at non-Montessori schools as well. Does anyone have any actual experience or knowledge with Cambridge Montessori or Telfair Montessori?

The non-Montessori schools close are kids-r-kids, young leaders, and primrose. I heard terrible things about primrose, so they are out. Wife did not like kids-r-kids. Young leaders were very rude to my wife and didn't care about our son, so that ruled them out, plus thought they used media and TV way too much.

[MumHouston]

Are you open to considering schools between home and work, or near your work? Commuting with a child will allow you to use the HOV lanes.

Kids-r-kids, Young Leaders and primrose are not schools, they are day care centers with curriculums that don't align with best practices for preschool children.

[Htown2013]

Originally Posted by MumHouston

Are you open to considering schools between home and work, or near your work? Commuting with a child will allow you to use the HOV lanes.

Kids-r-kids, Young Leaders and primrose are not schools, they are day care centers with curriculums that don't align with best practices for preschool children.

Unfortunately no. We need one relatively close by. I travel all the time, and my wife works in 2 different locations. What are the top 2 or 3 in the area? Does anyone know anything about the two Montessori schools I mentioned? We could go further out into First Colony Sugar Land if the school was open to 6:30, but Riverbend is not.

Would really like some info on Cambridge Montessori or Telfair Montessori. Even if they aren't 100% Montessori, how do they stack up as schools?

This is for 2 years PK to prep him for Cornerstone Elementary for Kindergarten in 2 years. We need to start him soon.