FAQs

FAQs:

1. What is Montessori?

   • Montessori is an educational method and philosophy based on the writings and research of Dr. Maria Montessori, who opened the first school in Rome in 1907. To learn more, click here.

2. I'm on the waiting list -- what does this mean?

   • Due to state ratios, we do have to limit how many children can attend our school. If a class becomes full, we begin a waiting list. To join the waiting list, we must have received your registration form and registration fee. Students are added to our list in the order they were officially registered (form and fee). If an opening becomes available during the school year, we will contact the families on our waiting list in order. If a spot is offered and declined, that student is removed from our waiting list. If a spot is offered and accepted, the enrollment process starts. If no spot is offered to your child that school year, the registration fee will be automatically applied to their application the following year. You will also get early access to registration the following year.

3. How does snack work?

   • For our Toddler Community, Children's House, and Lower Elementary, snack is provided to the class by one family weekly a few times each year (depending on class size). 

   • For our Forest School, parents send individual snacks for their child daily.

4. How does lunch work?

   • Parents send lunch daily for any student enrolled in our School Day (8:00-3:30) or Full Day (8:00-4:30) programs, and for any child attending Forest Fridays.

5. What is Forest Friday?

   • Forest Friday is a monthly half day where both campuses combine at Asherwood Nature Preserve to spend a morning in nature. Parents drop off and pick up at Asherwood, and teachers return to school in afternoon for staff meetings and professional development.

6. What supplies will my child need?

   • A list of school supplies (and summer supplies) will be sent to the parent/caregiver email address with our digital Welcome Packet (summer packets go out at the end of May, school year packets go out June 1st). 

7. What is the cost of tuition?

   • Current tuition pricing can be found on our Tuition and Scholarships page.

8. Do you offer financial assistance?

   • Scholarship and financial aid information can be found on our Tuition and Scholarships page.

9. What language curriculum does TMS follow?

   • The Toddler Community classroom (ages 18 months to 3 years) primarily focuses on building vocabulary through experiential learning. Students are exposed to rich, expressive language through every day activities and physical, accurate materials. 

   • The Children's House classrooms (ages 3-6) introduces language in this pattern: Spoken Language -> Written Language -> Reading. They use Waseca to support phonics, phonemic awareness, and fluency practice. 

   • Kindergarten – 2nd Grade (Children's House and Lower Elementary) uses UFLI and Waseca materials to support phonics, phonemic awareness, and fluency practice, while the Montessori curriculum provides rich vocabulary development and reading comprehension.

   • In 3rd grade (Lower Elementary), we continue with the Montessori curriculum, focusing on morphology instruction, vocabulary growth, and deeper reading comprehension. We also use SRA for extra reading comprehension practice. 

   • In Lower Elementary (ages 6-9), we draw on Natalie Wexler’s Knowledge Gap and Wexler and Judith Hochman’s The Writing Revolution 2.0 to broaden students’ background knowledge and strengthen reading comprehension. In addition, we follow Dr. Maria Montessori’s Cosmic Curriculum to achieve these same goals through an integrated, holistic approach.