Montessori At The Park

When we first moved to RSM we didn’t find any preschool that we felt comfortable putting our daughter in. Shortly after moving to our new place we found this new school Montessori at the Park and loved it. Our daughter had an amazing time there! By the time our daughter went to kindergarten she was reading on her own and doing math problems on her own. She’s now an honors student at RSM Intermediate. 11 years later when our son was ready to start preschool we came back to MATP and found most of the same teachers still working here and we were so happy to see familiar faces that remembers us and our daughter. Mrs. Heather and Ms. Jessica made my sons preschool experience such a memorable one! We thank all the staff and Mrs. Roxy for running such a reputable school for our kids to call home while we’re at work! We will always remember MATP and will come visit you shortly!

We’ve had a great experience here thus far. Our child has been through 3 different classrooms, and the teachers have been wonderful in each one.

My 13YO daughter went to Montessori in lake forest from the age of 18 months to 1^st grade. We loved it. My now 4yo daughter has gone to MATP for the last 2 years and we’ve had no problems. She enjoys going and is a smart bright girl. She’s learned many things at this school. The teachers are all very nice and engaging with the children. We have randomly picked her up at many times of the day and they are always doing something fun. My now 5 ½ month old is in the infant room part time. She’s adjusting nicely and we feel comfortable having her there.

I was extremely disappointed by this school! I sent my 3 year old son here full time. He started in the toddler room for about a month b/​c he had just been potty trained and needed a little extra help in the restroom. He loved the toddler room mainly because of Miss Afsoon. She is wonderful! My son loved her as most of the kids do.
That is about the only positive experience my son had at this school. Once he moved into the preschool class (Miss Emily’s room) things began to go downhill. He started to get upset every morning when it was time to go to school. He cried and did not want me to leave him there. Obviously, this concerned me. I started to stay for a good 15 — 20 mins to watch him in the morning. I was noticing that there were a group of kids that were being mean to him. Every time my son came near them they would yell «ewww get away from him! He can’t play with us!» This not only upset my son but broke my heart as well. There were 3 teachers in the room when this was going on and not one of them said anything. I brought this to the attention of Miss Emily b/​c she was one of the teachers in the room at the time. She just brushed it off saying that this group of kids had been together since they were toddlers and are kind of «clicky». I left that morning feeling sick to my stomach, not so much by what the kids were saying to my son, but how the issue was ignored. That day, I left work early to get my son. They were all out on the playground. I was speaking to Miss Emily at the time and watching my son play. As I was standing there that same group of kids poked my son in the face with a stick, grabbed his hat by the neck string to pull him and then pushed him down a hill. My son started crying, which he almost never does. I ran over there to make sure he was ok. Miss Emily was talking to me at the time and missed what happened, even though I was able to talk and watch my son at the same time. The other kids and I that saw what happened told Miss Emily what the group of kids had done. All she did was sit them down and tell them to say sorry. Her voice was not stern at all.
After this, I called Roxy the director to have a sit down meeting. My husband and I met with her and Miss Emily about this. We were told that this was not going to be happening again and that there would be a teacher near my son at all times for a while so that if something was said or done to him, they could correct it.
I brought my son to school the next day feeling better but nothing had changed. All of the teachers were just standing around the edge of the playground chatting with one another, not interacting or watching the children. This was typical from what I witnessed every morning.
Later that day, I left work early again to get my son b/​c I just had a sick feeling having him there. When I went to pick him up, I was watching him play, and again… no teachers around him. They were on the outside of the play yard talking to one another… even with me standing there. I thought they would at least pretend like they were watching my son. Anyway, I saw one of those kids run by and shove my son. None of the teachers saw it or did anything! This was the last straw! That day I called Roxy and told her my son was not going back to that school. She was emotionless. She could have cared less.
After this, when trying to find a new school for my son, he kept telling me «Mommy I want a school with no pushing!» How awful is that.
Not only did this school not watch my son or the other kids, they lied about it, and let the bullying continue to happen. My son now has fears of going to a new school.
Thank goodness we did find a new school and it is a whole new world. The teachers are caring and wonderful, the children are all very sweet, b/​c they are taught to be nice to one another.
I do understand that children will push or say things to one another, but it is the teachers responsibility to reprimand bad behavior and teach them that it is not OK.
On another note, my son fell behind in his letters, and numbers while at this school. I’m not sure what exactly they were doing there, but most of those teachers were only there to collect a paycheck… with the exception of Miss Afsoon and Miss Heather.
I wish I had never sent my son there!
The only thing I am thankful for, is that now I appreciate my sons new school so much more!

My oldest daughter started school here when she was 18 months old in their Toddler Program. We chose this school after visiting 8 others near our home in Coto. As I’m sure every parent understands, it was difficult for me to drop my child off at her first day of school but I had a really good feeling about this school from the first time I visited. The teachers in the Toddler room are amazing. My daughter still talks about Ms. Afsoun and Ms. Shaz. They were genuinely interested in my child and our family as a whole. My daughter is now in the Preschool program with Ms. Heather and Ms. Jessica and she can’t wait to go to school every day to learn (not kidding) and see her friends. My youngest just started their walking infant program and it’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. She is 18 months and loves hugging her friends. The teachers in here are incredible as well. Ms. Roxy is the director of this school and she knows every child and parent and is also very involved. I’ve had a lot of friends who have children who are just now starting school and/​or parents I’ve met at the park who are looking for recommendations so I thought it would also be a good idea to post a review here. I could go on and on… visit this school if you live in the area and are looking for a great place for your kids.

We are on our second experience with MATP and we couldn’t be happier. My older son is at the top of his second grade class! My younger son’s learning has really taken off in the past few months. We firmly believe in the Montessori approach and the team at MATP know how really get the most of the children.

When we lived in Newport Beach my daughter was in a ChildTime and we are so happy that we moved to RSM if for no other reason than we love the MATP program so much better! The teachers and staff really provide an environment that cultivates learning and they want the kids to succeed. I love it that my daughter has pride in the projects she works on. Everyday she is so excited to show me what she’s done and tell me about her day and it reaffirms our decision to put her in this preschool! I would definitely recommend Montessori at the Park to anyone looking for a facility that cares for the kids and their education!

I checked out many preschool programs in the area and as soon as I saw Montessori at the Park, I didn’t look any further! My son started in preschool and I ended up keeping him there for Kindergarten because it was a full day program. Our local school had a 3 hour Kinder. program so he would have been in daycare for most of the day. He has flourished into a confident learner. My daughter has been there since she was 6 months. She loves it! It is such a relief to know that my kids are well-​cared for and happy while I am at work all day. The teachers and staff are so loving and attentive. The curriculum is excellent and the extracurricular activities are amazing.