We are enrolling children 18 months -6 years old for the 2024-25 school year. Our infant class is enrolling for summer 2025 or later. We are giving live video tours of our program and offer the opportunity to reserve a future start date.
We are located on the corner of Chanticleer and Brommer in the Live Oak District of Santa Cruz. Due to many growing families in the area, Little Acorns Montessori is experiencing long waitlists, especially for infants and toddlers. Please contact us early if you are interested in joining our community.
Our programs introduce children to the wonder and variety in the world around them; countries, people, animals, plants, textures, colors, foods, so that they may become interested and accepting of diversity and respectful of all around them. The classroom curriculum includes practical life activities, language, foundation and advanced math experiences, phonics, science, geography, art, music, children’s literature, and fine motor skills. We carefully observe each child and tailor projects as much as possible to challenge each child at their own level.
Interspersed throughout the day we have free play outdoors in a large yard, and the children will be growing flowers and vegetables in the garden.
Children take great pride in independence, and we encourage that wherever possible. They take out and put away projects and materials. They help to keep their classroom clean and orderly and are encouraged to dress and undress themselves as needed.
We offer a variety of schedules including half days, partial weeks and extended day care. Our center is open from 8:00am to 5:30pm, Monday through Friday. We offer a morning half day program with a pick-up time of 12:30 for children 2.5 to 6 years old and 12:15 for children under 2.5. Our full day program offers up to 9 hours of care. We require a minimum schedule of three half days per week, and can develop a schedule that includes a combination of full and half days if needed.
We have two sister schools, Coast Redwoods Montessori, located at 255B Mt. Hermon Rd, in Scotts Valley between Safeway and CVS, and Quail Hollow Montessori, located at 187 Laurel Dr. in Felton.
Infants – the Chipmunk Class
We welcome the newest members of our community, 6 months to 18 months, in a warm, intimate, and safe environment. The emphasis is on building the infant’s sense of belonging and early sensorial and motor development. We provide lots of cuddling and one-on-one attention, as well as circle time and singing. We do not use high chairs, swings or play pens. We provide only activities which require the child to be actively exploring and experiencing. We do not have any electronic entertainment toys. The children are free to move about at all times. We have a 1:4 teacher child ratio.
Toddlers – the Squirrel Class
18 month olds are developing fine motor skills. They are beginning to experiment with independence (What two year old doesn’t say “I want to do it myself!”) and are very interested in practical life activities. They are working on dressing and undressing themselves, potty training, pouring, drawing, and speaking. They are working on social skills such as managing transitions and respecting classroom guidelines. We have a 1:6 teacher child ratio.
Preschool and Kindergarten – the Fox Class
Children between 2.5 and 6 years old are in a rapid cycle of development. They absorb knowledge at an incredible rate and find great pleasure in learning. We provide a variety of materials, activities and field trips to engage and excite them. In the Montessori classroom great care is taken in creating an organized environment, with specially designed learning activities presented in a pleasing manner. A wide variety of academic learning experiences are provided, including math, expressive and receptive language, natural sciences, geography and culture. In addition, we provide art, sensorial and practical life activities which build independence, self-confidence, fine motor skills and observational skills. Children move freely about the classroom, choosing what to work with and teachers provide individual lessons and guidance as needed. Our director and teachers have completed a Montessori Primary Teacher Training Program. We have a 1:8 teacher child ratio.
Enrollment Process
Little Acorns Montessori welcomes and encourages you to observe our classrooms via live video tour. If you have never experienced a Montessori classroom environment, you will be amazed at the peaceful atmosphere, and the focus and high level of work demonstrated by the children.
We offer tour appointments Tuesday through Friday at 9:15 or 10:30. Email: montessoripreschooladmissions@gmail.com
or call 831-464-1400 to schedule your tour. Your tour will be guided by our founder, Mindy Gillen, who will explain the teaching philosophy and methods and answer your questions.
We are a year-round program and can accept new enrollments at any time, space permitting. There is a non-refundable application fee due when the application is submitted. If we are not able to enroll your child immediately, we will let you know when we will be able to enroll your child. If you would like to reserve a future start date and schedule, we require payment of the first month’s tuition as a non-refundable deposit. There is a $250 fee for a delayed start date. Please recognize that when we reserve your spot, we will be turning away other families, and a delayed or cancelled start date can have a great cost to us. You may choose only to be put on our waitlist with a $250 non-refundable deposit, but children with reserved start date will take priority over children on the waitlist.
Students are accepted based on their ability to learn and develop in the Montessori environment and on their ability to respond to direction. We attempt to keep a balance of age and gender in the classroom. Within the list of children with reserved future start dates, we give priority enrollment placement to siblings of currently enrolled families when there is a change in enrollment.
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