Learning Garden Montessori School

Our experience being a part of the Learning Garden community has been incredible. The teachers are filled with endless love and devotion to the students, and give so much care to cultivate each child to their potential. We began at Learning Garden when our daughter was 2.5 and stayed through age 5, up until she began Kindergarten. During those years, she developed a love of science, math, and the world around her. Her teachers filled each day with love and created an environment where students were curious and excited to learn. Thank you to the wonderful Learning Garden teachers, and to the families that became such good friends over the years.

Learning Garden has been such a wonderful community for our family. Both of our kids attended, our daughter is now in 1st grade and son is in his last year there. The teachers create a positive environment that cultivates a love of learning, wonderment about our world, and respect and love for others, self, and the earth. Something I really value about our experience is that our kids have learned to value focused attention and feel pride in their work. Our kids also learned to know themselves and understand how they want to focus their attention. The Montessori approach supports this, e.g., having choice in what works to engage with. We also love the Montessori approaches to math that help kids take conceptual leaps in a tactile way and the creative ways the teachers have come up with to teach reading. Art and all forms of expression play a big role in their day to day, including dance parties. There has been great communication with the teachers over the years and we trust their insight into our children. Bogdana has made a heroic effort to listen and support the needs of the community during this pandemic. All the teachers care and go above and beyond expectations. As an example, the teachers came and took our kids on outdoor walks when we weren't able to attend in person. Learning Garden has also taught us much as parents, in terms of ways we better support our kids and model for them what we want to see in the world. We are so grateful for our experience.

I truly cannot say enough good things about Learning Garden and the wonderful teachers. My son came in mid-year 2021 at age 3.5. He was welcomed with wamth and compassion. Like another reviewer mentioned, Bogdana and Abby really take the time to get to know each child and their family, and learn what home life is like. I really appreciate their willingness to have conversation and to work with us to come up with plans and approaches so there is consistency between school and home as we all work on skills together. They truly care about each child and family so much. My son has flourished, and comes home every day fulfilled, confident and not over-stimulated. The school is calm, and operates on a basis of kindness. I think it's part of a Montessori learning environment, but there is always a schedule of the day and a lot of order in the classroom. They work with children to become problem-solvers, develop empathy and compassion skills, and of course do a wonderful job teaching skills like math and reading. They have learning modules each week, for example the rainforest ecosystem, the solar system, etc. My son loves to tell us about it and share art he's created, ideas he has, and concepts he's learned. Bogdana is so thoughtful and sends recap emails every week or two to describe the goings-on at the school. I really do feel like they prepare children for the world, teaching them to approach life with love and kindness. I don't know how they do it but they've mastered combining a home-grown, loving, free spirit vibe with a more rigid, zero-chaos environment and that truly could not be better for our child and family. We are so thankful to have found LG at just the right time and we (including my son) look forward to another year there.

Learning Garden Montessori is a magical preschool where both my boys developed independent skills, became global citizens through the interdisciplinary and cultural studies they participated in, and formed long lasting friendships. The beauty of this school lies in the stable and amazing staff. Bogdana and her experienced team of educators understand how to create a structure through which students not only independently engage in activities they are interested in, but also cooperatively learn with one another. Both my boys, who are very different learners, thrived at Learning Garden and now associate school and learning with joy and community. We feel lucky to have had their education experience begin at this school.

We adore Bogdana and her team at Learning Garden! We’ve been going for 4 years with 2 boys. I value the life skills, education and love they’ve given our family. Highly recommend!

This school is absolutely amazing! We cherish our daughter’s experience and are so blessed to be enrolled here. The kindness, depth of education and integrity is unique.

Where to begin.. This school has been an absolute treasure to send my 3.5 year old daughter to and we couldn’t have asked for a more loving, welcoming, and knowledgeable environment. From the staff to the classroom to the other families attending the school, we have had a top tier experience. My daughter started at 2.5 y/o and the teachers made her feel to welcome and capable right away. I’ve seen her flourish at The Learning Garden both in her academic ability and social/emotional interaction with her teachers and peers. Additionally, Bogdana and Abby have both taken so much time to get to know our whole family and provide my husband and I with encouragement and support that even parents of toddlers need. When we have had issues arise, Bogdana and Abby are quick to lend an ear, kindness, encouragement, and advice, going so far as to offer integrative approaches and support in the classroom that backup lessons we’re trying to teach at home. My daughter even comes home and pretends to be “Teacher Abby” and walks all of her stuffed animals through art class. GAH! Can you even?! This place is amazing for all varieties of personalities, stages, and abilities. I can’t recommend it enough. You walk in the classroom and can feel so much love and peace. I highly recommend sending your kids here if you want to feel confident in the care and knowledge they will receive day in and day out.

Our family had a sad and disappointing experience at Learning Garden. We originally chose the school because we loved the Montessori approach and believed that the school was going to be a loving environment for our daughter. After my daughter attended Learning Garden for 3 months, it was clear that love, compassion, and understanding of child development were lacking from the teachers, especially Bogdana, the director/owner of the school. Our daughter was going through a tough developmental period 2 months into attending the school, and she started resisting instructions from her teachers. She was also growing her molars at that time and generally tired because she was in the afternoon class and still needing her naps. Bogdana and Abby, the lead teacher, instead of offering more patience and support to her, continually calling her "defiant" and described her behavior as "ignoring our instructions." Bogdana said that in her 26 years of teaching, she had never a defiant student like our daughter. They kept telling us that the reason she was not listening to them was because we, as parents, didn't do what we were supposed to do to help her learn to listen and follow instructions at home. During one of our conversations, Bogdana brought up a chart for developmental expectations for our daughter's age and said that she was not performing accordingly. They repeatedly asked us to take our daughter to the pediatrician to diagnose what was wrong with her. Bogdana appeared very warm and loving to our daughter and us before this happened. After we voiced our concern, her interaction with us turned completely cold. She stopped acknowledging our presence by saying our names, not even saying hello to our daughter when she arrived at school. Near the end, when our daughter sensed she was not respected at school, she started to act out, and the staff just didn't want to deal with her anymore. One day when I came to pick up my daughter early, Bogdana asked me to physically remove her from the classroom because she was crying and that was too distracting, saying "You need to take her out so I can read to the other children." We are still appalled by this lack of compassion from an educator. The final event that made it unbearable for us to continue sending our daughter to Learning Garden happened when she wanted to be addressed in a new way, and the teachers refused to acknowledge her request. We believe that everyone, including kids, have the choice to experiment and explore their identities, and their new identities should be honored. We tried to have a conversation with Bogdana and Abby to help them understand our wish but Abby refused to meet our request and Bogdana ignored it repeatedly. It came to the point where our daughter felt very nervous to go to school, and she is still talking about it now, 3 months later. The reason I gave the school 2 stars is because they do have a good curriculum and set up. The classroom is cozy, the outdoor space is nice, and my daughter loved a lot of the songs and activities at school. We would recommend this school to children who are always compliant. My daughter is now attending a neighboring Montessori school where she is very happy and feeling very loved. None of her new teachers see any behavior issues in her and are very happy to have her at school. After experiencing our daughter's new school and seeing the way they work with kids and the parents, we noticed a lot of odd things about Learning Garden. For families considering joining this school for the first time, trust your gut when something feels wrong.