Morningside Montessori School at 251 West 100th Street #6, New York, New York.

Morningside Montessori is an Upper West Side gem. I can't imagine a better place to start school, especially in NYC. Our son spent two years here before going on to the Bank Street School for Children, and our daughter is about to start next year in the three AM/week program. As a product of Montessori preschool education myself, I knew I wanted Montessori - but I also wanted a warm, down-to-earth community of both teachers/staff and families. MMS offers all of that! The small size helps make it feel like a large family. The teachers truly love children and are warm, patient, and very experienced and effective. The administrators are always easily accessible - and they all know each family very well, which is wonderful - and also helps tremendously come exmissions time. My son and our family at large made lifelong friends. He loved going to school and grew so much - at MMS he started writing his name, labeling his feelings, navigating sharing (often via tricycle play on the great rooftop playground), doing yoga, identifying the continents as well as the planets, pouring his own glasses of water, ... even learning about Nelson Mandela ... the list goes on! I have to say that I was very impressed at how much intention the teachers brought to their plans for the day and how much respect they always show the children in terms of the potential they see in them. Their results made me realize how much more these little people are capable of grasping and mastering than we often think at first. By design, the Montessori method allows for a lot of "free" work time which is great for building intrinsic motivation and creativity, but there was also ample structure and direction. Our son learned a lot more than I even expected he would, across all areas (i.e., literacy, motor skill development, socioemotional development, math, science, practical life skills, etc.) We have such happy memories of my son's time there - he even excitedly visited his old class as an "alumni" this past week. We look forward to having our daughter have just as enriching an experience starting in September!