Kourtney Barros (teacher, Park Hill): Montessori is the way to reach each child and their full potential. Each child is given their own path of education and it’s honored and respected by the adults around them. I’m Kourtney Barros, I am a co-teacher in the toddler green room, and I’m a Montessori mom as well. One of the things that sets the Montessori Children’s House of Denver apart from other Montessori schools is that we are accredited with the American Montessori Society and we offer an authentic Montessori experience for all students and families. All of our lead teachers have received Montessori certification, which means that they have spent a lot of time studying, thinking about, and implementing the Montessori philosophy in the classroom. In keeping with Montessori philosophy, our toddler environments go from 12 months through 36 months.

Julie Buck (campus director, Mayfair): The principles of Montessori apply to every fiber of every day, from how we talk to the children and interact with them, to how we do the work, how we maintain the environments, it is all intertwined. And we hold ourselves to a really high standard.

Kourtney Barros: When a toddler enters our environment at 12 months, the first thing they do is observe. Sometimes they’re walking, sometimes they’re not, but usually within a couple of weeks they’re walking because they’re extremely motivated to walk with all the other walkers in the classroom.

Julie Buck: Oftentimes it’s a family and child’s first experience going into a school setting and being away from their parents and caregivers. Our goal is to have a smooth successful transition for everyone: the children, the teachers, the families.

Kourtney Barros: So many of the places that these children live and play are not set up for them, they’re set up for adults. So our Montessori environment sets them up for success at their level. Everything in this classroom is their size and they can do what they need to do in this world and feel successful.

Sarah Mohagen (assistant executive director): Each environment is going to be looking at the children and what they need in that general period of time. So, for the toddlers, they are very focused on learning their independence Somewhere right around 12 months to 18 months is when your toddler starts pushing you away and that’s because they are gaining their independence and they want that. So the environment is set up so that they can be independent for themselves.

Michelle Heine (executive director): Practical life for a toddler brings what we call OCCI, which is order, concentration, coordination, and independence and that’s kind of the foundation for everything else that we do in the classroom: learning to dress and undress, to toilet, to experience where work goes on a shelf. and when they experience success at those things it fosters that independence and that love of intrinsic learning.

Kourtney Barros: Because we’re in Denver, we can be outdoors almost all year and every campus has a beautiful outdoor environment.

Sarah Mohagen: The children are always under supervision, we’re always making sure that we have line of sight of the children, by giving them their space so that they can still work and move freely.

Mavis Morua (teacher, Park Hill): Order in this community gives them security and also the opportunity to explore, and that freedom to explore is so critical. What really motivates me to do this work is the purpose that I believe I am contributing to which is touching the future in a way that is so profound. And I think that oftentimes toddlers just aren’t given the credit that they deserve for being very developed human beings.

Julie Buck: Our children are happy. That I think is the main thing that we see: they love to be here, they are excited to come in, they are excited to be with their friends and do all of the amazing things that we know they can do.

Kourtney Barros: The best thing I ever did for my own children was observe the classroom that they were going to be in. If you are interested in Montessori, go and observe, sit in the classroom, feel it out, see the amazing things that these children are doing. You will see two-year-olds who can flip their coats, put on their shoes, serve themselves snack, and bake a loaf of bread. It’s not just a school, it’s a family.