San Anselmo Montessori School

If I could give San Anselmo Montessori (SAMs) 10 stars I would. This school is so magical from the nurturing teachers to the well-planned classroom design and outdoor areas. I fell in love the first day I toured--so much so that I refused to tour another school. Though many Montessori schools can be extremely regimented, SAMs is more the perfect marriage between Montessori and fun. My daughter is super excited to come home every day and tell me everything she learned. This is huge -- making learning fun from a young age will resonate with my daughter for years to come. SAMs also brings in special guests for classroom enrichment including authors and musicians. And the kindergarten is a very special experience -- especially for ensuring your child can read before they reach 1st grade. But more than that, the kindergarten teacher is the kind of teacher that my children will rave about as adults -- she's that special.

San Anselmo Montessori School (SAMS) is an incredibly supportive, nurturing and friendly learning environment. The school provides both the structure and autonomy necessary for children to thrive. The property and grounds are highly conducive and the staff and teachers are unsurpassed in quality and approachability. I know first hand that they do absolutely everything they can to consider safety and well being for the children. From emergency plans, CPR, and first aid kits...to extra clothing and supplies for each child "just in case." Michele, the Head of School, has been with the organization for decades and knows everything inside and out. She's an incredible resource and has hired a top-tier staff. Their overall programming allows for a wide variety of work schedules. I would highly recommend the school to anyone who has kids within that age group, and it should definitely make the top of the list when considering schools in the Marin area. You will not find a better program.

We had two of our three boys attend Preschool and Kindergarten at SAMS and our biggest regret is that our oldest son didn't get to go there because we didn't live in the area when he was young. We truly love everything about SAMS - the kind, attentive and loving staff, the peaceful, child-led classrooms, the curriculum that makes learning interesting and exciting, the greenhouse classroom where they learn about nature and sustainability, the music program and special guests that come in regularly, including author visits and animal experts. The staff at SAMS is also very good at helping children navigate social situations and helping them grow socially and emotionally, as well as intellectually. We also feel lucky that our boys got to attend Kindergarten with Denise at SAMS. The Kindergarten provides a warm and loving environment where, in addition to getting the children ready academically for the next step in their education, they also learn the importance of being good people and leaders for the younger children, how to relax their minds and bodies through yoga and meditation and get to experience going on field trips to interesting and thought-provoking places. And so much more... Over the past four years our boys have thrived at SAMS and we believe they are and will continue to be better people because they had that opportunity. One of the toughest parts of having our boys get older is knowing that they will no longer be able to attend SAMS. We will always keep in touch with the teachers and value them as friends and mentors. I cannot recommend SAMS highly enough.

Both of our boys attended SAMS and we / they absolutely loved it! Our oldest son is a very focused, rule-follower who really enjoyed the ability to have sustained focus on whatever he was working on at the time. Our youngest child is different in a lot of ways -- more willing to move on to new experiences quickly and less of a rule follower. We honestly didn't know if he would fit into the Montessori program. With the nurturing care and dedication of the teachers at SAMS, he thrived and adapted well to a school / learning environment. The teachers at SAMS are absolutely wonderful -- so caring, dedicated, sincere, real, humble, and incredibly talented. We felt really lucky to be part of the SAMS community. We recently moved to a new city and our younger one went into a Montessori program mid-year. The program is considered to be on the stricter end of the Montessori spectrum and he fit right in thanks to the familiarity and nurturing he received at SAMS. We highly recommend SAMS.

Both of my boys have attended SAMS and they absolutely loved it! Not only is the main classroom beautiful and cheerful, but the outdoor garden and greenhouse classrooms are nothing short of amazing. But the best part of SAMS is the incredibly dedicated and nurturing staff. They are what sets SAMS apart from most preschools. From the thoughtfully prepared "work" to the amazing classroom enrichment guests I feel SAMS helps to foster a true love of learning in the children.

Both of my children attended SAMS and had an amazing experience. The teachers incredibly talented and dedicated to instilling a love of learning in the students. The school offers a wide range of learning opportunities, including field trips, creative projects, and educational guests. You could not ask for a better learning environment.

Our daughter is at San Anselmo Montessori School (SAMS) and she loves it, as do we! SAMS is the type of environment you walk into as a parent and wish you could go back to preschool! The outdoor area is beautiful and spacious. It has a grassy knoll, a big shady tree, and wonderful play equipment . . . no faded plastic toys here! There is a magical learning garden and greenhouse that the children use daily as an extension of the classroom. The kids are always busy and happily going about their “work." This might include drawing maps, slicing bananas for snack, or studying new bugs they find in the garden. The teachers are the heart of the program and I can’t say enough how warm, nurturing, and supportive they are. SAMS is a true Montessori program with highly trained teachers, materials that are perfectly designed to engage and challenge, and a mixed age class of 3-6 year olds where kids learn from each other. In addition to that, SAMS is unique among Montessori schools because the program also includes a lot of outdoor playtime in the daily routine. This was really important to us when looking for the right preschool because our daughter is interested in all things social and has a very active imagination. At SAMS there is plenty of time to develop great friendships and engage in imaginary play. Guest authors, musicians, and biologists visit on a regular basis further enriching the children’s experience. SAMS is a gem and we feel so lucky our daughter gets to start her educational experience there.

SAMS is a wonderful school, stable and well-run, with good facilities and very caring and experienced teachers. This is an excerpt from a note I wrote to the teachers there when our older daughter finished preschool and was moving on, and our younger one was about to join the SAMS community: "I heard Alison Gopnik talking on Forum the other day about her new book, The Gardener and the Carpenter. Her bottom line, which of course isn’t news to any of you, is that children don’t need to be built, but rather to be given a secure and loving environment, so they can grow on their own. I thought of you all, and [our daughter’s] time at SAMS, and how much she has grown over the last two years, and how thankful we are to you for providing such a safe, fun, warm, interesting environment for her to grow. Thanks to your guidance, patience, and attention, she can happily play with big kids, goof around with little kids, and work through a conflict about what game to play with a friend without any help from an adult. It also amazes me how consciously she seeks out a challenge. “Hard is fun!” she says. How cool is that? So thank you for providing such a wonderful garden (both literal and metaphorical), allowing her innate work ethic to flourish, so she still knows that hard is fun, and that work is satisfying. Our family feels extremely lucky and thankful to be part of the SAMS community, and we are looking forward to several more years of it!"