My second nursery school visit was to The Children’s House located at 26 Montrose Avenue behind the Methodist Church. I recognized the characteristics of a Montessori environment from my previous visit to Community Montessori Academy. The children were occupied, calm, respectful and encouraged to work independently. Both snack time and play time looked much more organized, and cleaner, than a typical day in my own home. As a Montessori school, the classroom is designed to teach children based on their level of development rather than following a curriculum determined by educators.
As I mentioned previously, Children’s House canceled its open house because there are so few spots available for the 3-6 year old classes. However, 7 applications have already been turned in for the 8 spots available for the 3-day toddler class. If you would like to see this school, I would encourage you to make an appointment as soon as you can.
Now for the nuts and bolts:
School Days/Hours: For 2 1/2-3 year olds there are only ½ day options for either 2 days (Thurs/Fri), or 3 days (Mon/Tues/Weds). A half day runs either from 8:45-11:15 or 12:30-3:00. Children who are between the ages of 3-6 can participate in either 3 half days, 5 half days, 5 full days or 3 full days with 2 half days. A full day is from 8:45-3:00. There are also early care, and lunch programs available, which are billed in addition to the regular tuition.
Payment: Tuition can be paid either in full at the time of registration, in half (with payments in September and February) or monthly. Tuition rates are: $8,688 for 5 full days or $4,869 for 5 half days. $3,540 (or $3,490 in the 3-6 yr classes) for 3 half days. $2,249 for 2 half days. And $7,415 for the 3 full/ 2 half combination day. Additionally, there is a non-refundable $50 application fee.
Class Size: There is one 2 1/2 year old class with 4 children per teacher. There are two 3-6 year old classes with approximately18 children per 2 teachers. Among the teachers there are both Montessori certified and NJ State certified teachers. All teachers and assistants attend Montessori training classes throughout the year.
Special Programs: During the school year, TCH offers music every Tuesday and French every Wednesday for the 3-6 year old 5 day classes.
Snacks/Food: TCH provides snacks for the children, but does ask that if you child has food allergies to provide your won snacks to be sure the brands of food are safe for your child. Additionally, there is a list of children with food allergies posted in each classroom.
My favorite things about this school are that children help drive the curriculum, the 3-day class has 3 days in a row, and food allergy awareness. The teachers will change diapers for the younger children and each classroom has it’s own bathroom–great for potty training. The 8:45 start time works well for me as my older children start school by 8:30. Morning drop off is outside but I do personally prefer the classroom good bye to the outside goodbye- especially for the little ones.
More to come on more schools and I invite to you continue to follow along.[mappress]
