We came into awareness of Montessori by accident. I (Jessica) moved to Charleston in 2010 for residency and frequently passed by the 20th Street campus. I noticed the bright "Mountaineer Montessori" lettering on the side of the building and was curious, so I looked it up. The Montessori approach sounded so interesting and novel, yet natural and intuitive to how children learn. I wished I could have gone to a Montessori school as a child. It appealed to us deeply. I knew then that if I had children, I would be interested in enrolling them in a Montessori program. After starting a family and describing the Montessori style and teaching philosophy to Eric, he was game. 

In summer of 2021 when our oldest child, Jenna, turned two years old, I contacted MMS to get information about enrollment the next year as a 3-year old into their Primary program. Little did I know, they had just created the Toddler program. Their information night was that very evening and I could attend if we were interested in finding out more about their newest program. We had not expected to enroll Jenna anywhere until the following summer, but faced with the very interesting opportunity to pilot this new program, we decided to go ahead and take the plunge. That was 5 years ago. Jenna is now in her second year of Lower Elementary, our middle child Hannah started as a Toddler and is now in her second year of Primary, and our youngest, Jacob, started in the Toddler program this year. 

We and our children have thoroughly enjoyed being a part of MMS. Each of them have very different strengths and personalities and the Montessori teaching style has supported all three of them very well as individuals.

It is amazing to be able to observe the controlled, quiet "busyness" of a Montessori classroom. We have noticed that not only our children, but others who attend MMS tend to be remarkably independent, confident and capable beyond what one would typically expect for their age compared to others.

 I recall one particular time standing in the hall waiting to sign out one of the girls. I was approached by a charming Lower Elementary student who was very bright, inquisitive and was capable of carrying on a complete conversation with me, an adult she just met. That is not the norm these days when interacting with children, but it seems so many MMS kids are very connected to reality and their environment.

MMS is special to us particularly because of having had the unique opportunity for all three of our children to start in the Toddler program. None of our children had been to daycare or away from parents/grandparents before entering the MMS Toddler program, so we have a bit of a sentimental attachment to where all three of our children had their first introduction into the wide world on their own. It has been very interesting to see how the program has developed and fine-tuned things over the years, and I sometimes wonder how the program may have been shaped by our children's time there.

Our kids love going to school every day. One common thing they enjoy is to be on vacation or even outside in the woods on our farm and to find an interesting item to take back to school to share with the class. As parents, we have enjoyed the ability to help contribute to the MMS community in ways that we can, such as repairs to the playground, or providing materials for the classroom or garden. Our children take great pride in helping others at school and get very excited when their parents are involved in a school project.

As all parents, we want our children to be happy and well-adjusted, productive members of the community. MMS helps foster this by encouraging independent thinking, self-confidence, exploring the world and understanding their place within the community.

Children are empowered. They are not coddled, but allowed to grow and develop their capabilities without being hampered by a strict traditional classroom or curriculum. They are treated as equal members with their own valued contributions.

Our biggest hopes for the coming years would be MMS expanding into offering a High School program. MMS has been steadily growing and we think the community could support this.