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Our Approach
Woven from Many
Beautiful Traditions
At Montessori & Me, we've woven together the very best of several beautiful traditions into one warm, coherent way of caring for young children. Here's what that actually means for your child's day — and why we do it this way.
Montessori at the Heart
Everything begins with the Montessori method — Dr. Maria Montessori's century tested understanding that children learn best through hands-on discovery, at their own pace, in a carefully prepared environment. In our classroom, that means authentic Montessori materials on low, open shelves; long, unhurried work periods where a child can concentrate deeply; and teachers who observe closely and guide gently rather than direct. Children practice real, purposeful work — pouring, sorting, counting, writing, caring for their space — and build genuine independence, focus, and a love of learning that lasts. Ages 18 months through 6 years, in a mixed-age setting where the little ones learn from the big ones, and the big ones grow tall by helping.
Reggio-inspired wonder
Alongside our Montessori foundation, we draw on the Reggio Emilia philosophy — the idea that children have a hundred languages, and that wonder is the truest starting point for learning. In practice, this means we don't just hand children crafts to copy. We offer provocations — a beautiful arrangement of natural materials, a real question, an invitation to explore — and then we watch what unfolds. We follow the children's own curiosity. We treat the environment as a third teacher, arranging our space to invite discovery. And we practice documentation — capturing children's ideas and words and making their thinking visible, so learning becomes a story we tell together. Montessori gives structure and independence; Reggio adds open-ended creativity and child-led wonder. Together, they're a beautiful balance.
Truly bilingual — Spanish & English
This is something few schools can honestly offer: our classroom is genuinely bilingual. We use the “one person, one language” approach that language researchers consider ideal for young children. One of our teachers speaks only Spanish; the other speaks only English — all day, every day. There are no flashcards and no drills. Instead, children live inside two languages the natural way — through play, songs, meals, and real conversation — and absorb both the way young children are wonderfully wired to do. For a child, this is the easiest time in their whole life to become bilingual. We simply give them the environment to do it.
Nature-based & outdoors
Our days happen largely outdoors, under the open sky. Children tend a real garden, from seed to harvest to table. They care for our animals, learning gentle responsibility and deep empathy. They explore natural science with their hands, and make art from the earth — petals, leaves, clay, and light rather than plastic and glitter. We believe the years from birth to six should be spent close to the earth, in fresh air, moving real bodies through a real world — not in front of screens. It's calmer, healthier, and simply how children are meant to grow.
A love of real food
More than anything, we want children to love fruits and vegetables — to pull a carrot from the soil, wash it, and eat it with delight. Food is part of the curriculum here: we lovingly prepare and serve fresh, organic, plant-based meals and snacks, much of it harvested from our own garden. Children help grow it, help prepare it, and learn where food comes from. It’s not about rules — it’s about helping every child build a joyful, lifelong relationship with nourishing, whole foods.
The world, one month at a time
Every month, our little explorers journey to a new country. We cook its food, hear its music, make its art, and learn its stories — from Mexico's monarch butterflies to Japan's moon-viewing. It's how big empathy and a truly global heart grow in small children: not by being told the world is wide and wonderful, but by tasting it, hearing it, and making it with their own hands.
The Heart of It All
Learning to Be
Before children can go out and do great things, we believe they must first learn how to be — kind, loving, thoughtful people. So woven through every single day is our character practice: gentle, daily invitations to be love, be kind, be thoughtful, be grateful, and be compassionate.
be love · be kind · be thoughtful · be grateful · be compassionate
We don't just teach these as rules; we model them, live them, and let children grow up inside them. We talk about each child's "love light" — that when your own light shines, it helps everyone else's shine too. In a room of just 6 children per teacher, there's time to truly nurture this.
This is the part you can't quite put on a brochure, but it's the part you'll feel the moment you walk in.
Come feel the difference
The very best way to understand our approach is to see it — to walk the garden, meet our teachers, and watch the children at work and wonder.
Monday–Friday, 9:00 am – 3:00 pm
Morning care from 7:00 am
After-school care until 6:00 pm
East Pasadena
Ages 18 months – 6 years
Bilingual (Spanish & English)
or call (626) 768-8402