LiMai Montessori Academy

I found this amazing school back in 2012 when my baby was 2 years old. We needed a school because our stay-at-Home super dad was ready to return to corporate America. We toured ALL the other schools in the area and NONE compared to this place. 1. It’s inside of a house. Big relief #1 because she’s used to a home-like setting 2. The staff was awesome! 3. They had a visiting day! So I was allowed to try it out and see how she did before paying the non-refundable deposit. 4. The backyard was huge and had REAL GRASS! Not this manufactured stuff. But the things of my childhood. 5. There are real animals. And I love animals but apartment buildings don’t let you have chickens soooo my poor city born, only-child was severely lacking in the “taking care of others” category 6. The kids get gardening, fitness, cooking, yoga, Spanish, Science, and Music classes ALL INCLUDED in the tuition! (Say Amen somebody!) My daughter THRIVED! LiMai makes sure that each student is on his/her own path of learning. They don’t force whole group instructional periods on children. Instead, the children freely move from one activity to the other until they gain a level of mastery. Then they are given a lesson on the next, More challenging, activity. Fast forward to today... I fell so deeply in love with Montessori and LiMai that I went back to school and got Montessori certified (in addition to my Masters in Early Childhood Education). Finally, I waited until a position because available and came back to work here. Today (Oct. 2017) my “baby” from 2012 is now in 2nd grade and my youngest son just started his 3rd year at LiMai. Ever met someone who LOVES their job? Well I LOVE my job! I could go on and on about how awesome this place is as a parent AND as a teacher but I’ll save that for when you come for a visit. Give us a call and ask for Mrs. Alexis!!

On October 4, 2016 I really didn't know what to expect on my first day at The Montessori Children's House. Walking into the facility, in the city of Cypress, I felt as if I had been whisked back to my preschool days. The air smelled sweeter, my steps became lighter and the sound of children's laughter played subtlety in the tree lined background. The safety gate shut behind me and I was suddenly immersed in the Montessori way. While this was my first day at work, for the children it was business as usual. I was astounded to find that each child was busy working on some playful activity while actually engaging in the educational methods intended for each activity. I watched young Madison trace, with her fingers, the smooth path of the number 7 while reciting to herself the name of the number on the sandpaper counting cards (this activity is intended to promote early handwriting through playful engagement). Maddox was stacking solid wooden cubes that ranged from largest on the bottom to smallest on the top. He even stopped to show me, a Physics Major, how the center of gravity on the blocks must be aligned in order for the blocks to stay stacked and balanced. (This activity helps the children to establish a familiarity with gravity and its mechanics). I was watching these little geniuses in amazement when Alice placed a small fabric mat next to my feet and set upon it a set of cylindrical blocks. She looked up at me and asked innocently “Will you play with me?” I answered “Of course, I'll play with you! How do we play this game?” She showed me how to match the colors on the blocks and how to organize them in matching pairs. Soon after, she announced joyfully “We did it!” picked up the blocks and her mat and neatly placed the blocks back right where she found them. (maintaining the prepared environment and practicing a sense of order are both a part of the children’s everyday life in the Montessori way). That's when I realized that I wasn't here to instruct or baby sit. Amazingly enough, these children are actively engaged in their own education, I was just here to help and observe. A few moments later, my Spanish class was about to begin and the children came into the classroom. None of my classes were larger than 12 children but they were arguably the most engaged audience I have ever worked for. They sang every song I taught them, engaged eagerly in every activity and even addressed each other in their new found Spanish vocabulary. These first days at work have made it clear to me that there really is something special going on at The Montessori Children's House in Cypress I'm just glad to be a part of it.

Couldn't ask for more. My son has flourished at MCH. The teachers are fantastic, loving, attentive and so warm and understanding. I've often seen Ms. Anu hold new students that need comforting for the entire afternoon. They truly meet your individual child's needs. It was very hard to make the choice to enroll my son in preschool because he had so many issues in other school environments where he was was almost "kicked out" of because he wouldn't participate and would be disruptive. They told me that he was very sweet but "too advanced" and bored. And that he wasn't willing to do anything unless he absolutely wanted to and that he seemed to buck at group activities. (The moment all the kids sat down for circle time he'd get up and run around the classroom and the teacher. When the kids would get up to do the hokey pokey. He'd sit down at the table and pretend to play drums). Almost every teacher very nicely recommended that I home school my son because he really needed constant one on one attention that a traditional school just couldn't provide. And then I called MCH and spoke with Ms. Alexis and truly cried at the end of our conversation. I told her about my son and she seemed so excited to teach him. She said that he sounded amazing (what parent doesn't like to hear that!). She told me how they work with children on their level and individually with the Montessori method. And that it was ok if they didn't want to participate because they also absorb by observing. When I told her how he loved to make up lengthy stories and could read, she said that they could help him write and illustrate his own book to inspire him to work on fine motor skills. When we visited the school we were in awe of its beauty. Its like a secret garden. Instead of the typical little tikes playground sets, your surrounded by the sweet shade of decades old trees and a tree house and swing right out of a children's book. There's chickens, bunnies and a tortoise. I think this environment for the kids lends a natural peace and calm that provides the background for such imaginative play (instead of just getting in line to go on the slide over and over again like on most playgrounds). And the Montessori materials they use are genuine, mostly wood/natural and just beautiful (another "Montessori" school we visited just had 99 cent store items in plastic bins). They have a science area and library in the middle of the school. And even a lending library for parents to borrow books about education and parenting. My son loves MCH has learned so much. He has come home telling me about how they caught caterpillars and were observing their life cycle at school. And I got to watch him help release the butterflies into the school's garden once they matured. He's told me about how things decay and get "mushier and mushier." He knows all the continents and can show me them on a map. He's always singing new songs from school that he learns from Dr. Perrah who plays an instrument for the kids. He came home showing me tree pose and how he does yoga. He can now add and subtract and is reading chapter books. And he can write! ( I could hardly get him to hold a crayon for more than 5 minutes before). I think he now participates actively because he wasn't pressured to or punished and excluded for not doing so like they often do at many other preschools but was instead given the time to observe and grow into the group. And they got him to take naps again! He would tell me how Ms. Deepa would help put them to sleep and that he loved when she would pat his back softly. He's since outgrown naps but because the school is multiage they have brought him in to learn with the older children during that time. (Another preschool had mandatory 2 hour naps. Even 5 year old kids had to sit on their mat quietly for the entire 2 hours even if they didn't sleep at all.) I feel so blessed to have found MCH for my son!