The preschool serves up to eight children ages  3 through 5, 7:45 a.m. - 5:45 p.m., Monday through Friday year-round.

The program is endorsed by the Children's Environmental Health Network as an Eco-Healthy Child Care. 

Sandpiper Montessori features a thousand-square-foot, first-floor interior with two grassy play yards adjoining. The outside environments include an organic vegetable garden, sizable sandbox, riding toys, playhouse, and climbing structures. There is a shaded patio just next to the inside space where children can enjoy additional activities when the weather permits.

Lyn Mead, teacher, holds an M.A. in Education from Gallaudet  University and a pre-primary credential from the Montessori Education Center of the Rockies in Boulder. She has had over 30 years of experience in early childhood education. Her skills in music and dance contribute to the creative aspect of the program. 

Bi-weekly Spanish language classes (conducted only in Spanish) and informal American Sign Language  practice throughout the day offer additional opportunities for the  children to take advantage of this period of cognitive flexibility. 

Curricular themes change throughout the year.  Each lasts two months so the children can study their interests within it in depth. The morning work period provides up to three hours of uninterrupted time to engage in the various carefully prepared individual and small group activities. At the "meeting time," which  takes place at the end of the morning, and other times the group is together (lunchtime, afternoon snack, cooking projects, storytelling times, spontaneous gatherings in the play yard to look at creatures, etc.), the sense of community is enhanced with shared experiences. 

Literacy is encouraged throughout the day by means of the regular reading of stories and non-fiction books and many opportunities to practice skills prerequisite to reading such as initial sound games, rhyming songs, the dramatization of stories, and the like.  Those children who are ready to read are encouraged to do so. Daily storytelling times when all are invited to participate enhance the children's command of oral language as well.

The fundamental tenet of Montessori is that a child learns best within a social environment that supports each child's unique development. Dr. Maria Montessori based her method on her scientific observations of young children's behavior. She established a "children's house" in the San Lorenzo slums of Rome in 1907.  She had observed that children learn best in a home-like setting, filled with developmentally appropriate materials that provide experiences that contribute to the growth of self-motivated, independent learners. 

Dr. Montessori watched children create themselves through purposeful activity and encouraged educators to understand that the most important years for learning are from birth to age six. Her belief was that the Montessori teacher is to function as the designer of the "prepared environment" and to serve as the facilitator of the children's experiences therein. Many activities are self-correcting, thus fostering the child's confidence in his or her vital part in the learning process. 

Sandpiper Montessori is a small, personalized educational setting that offers just such opportunities for the child whose family has opted for a high-quality, affordable preschool experience. Please contact Lyn Mead to schedule a visit: (303)516-1786,  Sandpiper.Montessori@gmail.com

Other Montessori Websites:

Montessori Connections: Goals of a Montessori Program 

What makes Montessori unique? http://www.montessoriconnections.com/aboutmontessoried3.html

Video: "Montessori Education for the Early Childhood Years": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OM1Gu9KXVkk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?V=OM1Gu9KXVkk