Welcome to Northwest Montessori
Northwest Montessori School has offered high quality education to the children of Seattle for more than 50 years. As the first Montessori School in Seattle, fully accredited and recognized by the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI), Northwest Montessori is proud to offer nurturing, non-competitive, multi-age classrooms with an emphasis on social, emotional, physical and intellectual development. Through our primary and elementary school classes, Northwest Montessori School has prepared thousands of children for lives of initiative and meaningful involvement in their community.
At its core, the Montessori philosophy respects children as they are and creates carefully prepared classroom environments that foster the fulfillment of each child’s highest potential. Montessori teachers use the dynamic educational approach to carefully observe and best meet the evolving developmental needs of each student. The three-year age span in each classroom also allows children to progress at their own intellectual pace, to learn individually and together, and to grow into social and emotional maturity naturally.
At Northwest Montessori School, our richly diverse student body is filled with excitement and a deep enthusiasm for work, learning and creativity. They also exhibit a sincere desire to help and mentor others. And they excel at academics. We administer The Iowa Test of Basic Skills tests to grades third through sixth. Our annual academic assessments consistently show that our students score above the 80th percentile in the national norms of standardized testing.
Ultimately, Northwest Montessori’s trained teachers and faculty work together with parents to support the growth and formation of a whole child-one who is independent, able to think critically, and approaches problem solving in a unique way.
At Northwest Montessori School, our richly diverse student body is filled with excitement and a deep enthusiasm for work, learning and creativity. They also exhibit a sincere desire to help and mentor others. And they excel at academics. We administer The Iowa Test of Basic Skills tests to grades third through sixth. Our annual academic assessments consistently show that our students score above the 80th percentile in the national norms of standardized testing.
Ultimately, Northwest Montessori’s trained teachers and faculty work together with parents to support the growth and formation of a whole child-one who is independent, able to think critically, and approaches problem solving in a unique way.
Programs
The foundation of Northwest Montessori School begins in the Primary classroom, known as a children’s house, with 2 1/2- to 6-year-old children. In our carefully prepared environment, children are active explorers who gain mastery over their surroundings and the materials in them.
Montessori materials are specially designed to help children internalize their natural sense of order. Practical life exercises offer the child self-help skills and the development of motor coordination with materials that mimic simple household tasks—pouring, sorting, washing, etc. Sensorial materials, aesthetic and mathematic in nature, assist children in developing precision of movement, sharpening their already heightened sensorial abilities.
The classroom is arranged according to subject area, and children are always free to move around the room. There is no limit to how long a child can work with a piece of material. Children are introduced to the world at large through geography, nature studies, mathematics, cultural diversity and Spanish lessons. Other parts of the classroom are dedicated to art, music and drama.
At any one time in a day, all subject areas are being studied by children of all levels in one classroom. The Primary teacher is trained to present lessons to one child at a time while overseeing the many children who are working on a broad array of tasks. The teacher, through extensive observation and record keeping, plans individual lessons that enable each child to flourish, follow an interest and move to a new level within the three-year curriculum.
Northwest Montessori School offers two programs for primary aged children, 2½ to 6. One Primary program offers a half day, 9 a.m. to noon, for children 2½ to 4. Older children, ages 4½ to 6, may attended for extended day, until 3 p.m., by invitation. The Dawn-to-Dusk, or all-day, program is open for all children from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. during the school year, including school breaks and offers a summer program. All Primary level programs are five days per week.
In accordance with Montessori curriculum, the Elementary student aged 6 to 12 is ready to venture from the shelter of family life and begin interacting with society. Fueled by a deep thirst for knowledge, the student is tireless in a quest for answers.
Our carefully prepared Elementary environment at Northwest Montessori responds to these needs. The Elementary students freely choose their work daily from eight academic areas of the classroom. Working alone or in small groups, the students further their understanding of the universe. Along with our diverse curriculum, Northwest Montessori also offers Spanish, drama and after school programs.
Our Elementary teachers are specially trained to present lessons to each student based on observations of the child. In this way, each student receives an education that is uniquely tailored for that child.
Elementary students move beyond the classroom by planning regular going-outs when research needs merit the gathering of further information. Each year Northwest Montessori Elementary students are responsible for planning and executing a camping trip. This effort bonds the classroom community and supports the development of independence in each child. While given freedom in the environment, our Elementary students exhibit responsibility. To facilitate this, our teachers hold weekly, one-on-one meetings with each student to monitor projects and set goals. The freedom to pursue desired work in the classroom is dependent on the child’s responsibility to these meetings. This approach encourages self-discipline while preserving each child’s natural excitement about the process of learning.
Elementary students attend from 8:45 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. daily. Northwest Montessori School offers before and after-school programs for the elementary students at the Woodland Park Branch. Our Early Birds program begins at 7 a.m. and lasts until class begins at 8:45 a.m. During this time, children are free to choose activities, including games and art projects.
Coocadagy, the Elementary after-school program, is available five days per week until 6 p.m. The children engage in many community activities during Coocadagy, including art classes, swimming, soccer lessons, and trips to parks and museums. Both the Coocadagy and Early Birds programs are in addition to tuition, and can be scheduled together or separate. The Coocadagy program is flexible, allowing for participation five days per week or less.
Tuesday Drama Llama Sessions
This fall, we are offering a young writer’s workshop. The company members create their own script and musical scores to be presented in a staged reading for family and friends.
During winter, we incorporate the best of self-generated processes. Children in this company produce works such as Ojo the Unlucky, Around the World In 88 Keys, The Elephant’s Child, A Mid- Summer Night’s Dream, The Wizard of Oz, Hassan and the Arabian Beggar King, and A Proper Au Pair, our tribute to Mary Poppins. These shows are performed in theaters with singing, dancing, acting, and attention paid to sets, lights, costumes, sound and advertising. The children are exposed to the full range of possibilities in the performing arts.
During spring, children take this time to tour a smaller scale show to our three branches.
Thursday Drama Llama Sessions (Fall and Spring)
We continue the ever-popular, Auto Cour, a process inspired by Ecole Internationale de Theatre Jacques Lecoq. Here improvisation and its rules and movement techniques and analysis meet. Through the process of discovery, children learn many basic components of creating their own piece of theater.
Each year, Northwest Montessori School provides Summer programs that feature both fun and learning for our students. Dawn-to-Dusk classes continue as normal but with an emphasis on summer activities.
In the Elementary school, summer camps are offered and current and new elementary students are invited and encouraged to join.
Summer Programs
Our Summer Program starts mid-June and ends mid-August. The school will be closed from the end of the normal school year at noon until the start of the Summer Program. In addition, there is no care offered from close of the Summer Program to start of the new school year so that we can perform maintenance tasks and prepare for the new school year.
Wedgwood – Dawn-to-Dusk is open 7:00am to 6:00pm.
Woodland Park – Dawn-to-Dusk is open 7:00am to 6:00pm. Students from Jacqueline’s Woodland Park class are invited to join. The Elementary school will offer a summer camp program and children may be signed up to participate from 7:00am to 6:00pm or from 9:00am to 3:00pm, depending on your scheduling requirements.
West Seattle – Dawn-to-Dusk is open from 7:00am to 6:00pm. Half-day and extended day options are both available.
Our History
