Montessori Preschool / Child Care in Santa Cruz County, CA

Montessori Scotts Valley:
Montessori Scotts Valley (MSV) provides the highest quality Montessori education from birth on, through our infants, toddlers & primary programs in Scotts Valley in Santa Cruz County. As the only child care facility and school in Santa Cruz County associated with the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI), MSV guarantees families throughout the county a true Montessori experience.

Montessori Programs:

- Nido (Infants) Program: 
Our Nido Program (Italian for nest) serves infants from 6 weeks of age to 18 months. Maria Montessori believed that education as an “Aid to Life” begins from the period of pregnancy. Our Nido program specializes in meeting infants’ and parents’ unique needs, and will offer parent education about pregnancy and the young infant’s needs. From birth on, we are all on a path toward independence, and we adults are responsible to guide children along this path. At each stage in development, we must meet children’s needs to maximize their developmental interests and potential.

Infants in our Nido program are given freedom to move, eat, sleep, and communicate at will, guided by special materials and furniture to facilitate this development. Each family works with the Head Teacher to formulate an individual plan for feeding, rest, toileting, and activities. As infants’ interest in communication and movement grows, they begin to seek a broader environment for stimulation and become ready to join our toddler community.

- Toddlers Program: 
The Puffins, our Toddler class, serves children from 18 months of age through to three years. For this age group, we offer half day and full day programs 3 days and five days a week. Specially designed materials and activities that meet the toddler’s interest in movement, independence, order, language, and music fill our Puffins room. Toddler-sized furniture and materials enable our children to confidently succeed in their explorations and endeavors, assisting them in their pursuits for independence.

Each activity includes at least three phases: first, taking the work to a table or floor mat, second, engaging and eventually mastering the task chosen, and third, putting the work away again. Practical Life activities and manipulative materials make up the majority of the activities available to our Puffins.

- Primary Programs:  
At three years, sometimes earlier, children are ready to join one of our two Primary - preschool - environments, the Otters or the Dolphins, where they will stay for three years and through Kindergarten. In this mixed-aged environment children participate in a natural social setting growing into the unique opportunity to be leaders in their third year. The main pedagogical areas of a Primary classroom include the Practical Life area, the Sensorial area, the Language area, the Mathematics area, and the Cultural area. A variety of beautiful and meticulously crafted Montessori materials fills each of these areas, meeting the children’s various developmental stages.

The Primary Program is a three year program, with three age groups in one class. Many lessons converge by the third year, and the purposes of many materials are revealed, as these children enter the age of abstraction and the seeds of knowledge planted in the first two years begin to truly bloom.

- Summer Programs: 
Our summer programs are a great way to continue your child's Montessori education and the perfect opportunity to introduce new students to our school.  Our summer sessions continue the regular Montessori education for students, with extensions in science, art, cooking, and outdoor experiences.  

Children have the opportunity to care for MSV's outdoor organic garden, as well as lots of water play and other outdoor activities.  Children seize the chance to observe the life cycle in action, as well as studying botany, geography, art, math, reading, and writing skills. 

Montessori Environment:
A Montessori environment is a child-centered environment in which children learn real life knowledge through active exploration with Montessori materials. In this prepared environment, the furniture and materials are child-sized and the aesthetic beauty and order of the room provide an environment where children are comfortable, safe, and excited to learn. The materials in a Montessori environment are specially designed to meet children’s unique developmental needs.