Our kids have attended this school happily since 2014. The small class sizes, outdoor education…read moreprogram and advanced math and language courses have made this school a 10/10 for both our kids - highly recommend!!

Mixed bag here...for being in Boise this school is incredibly "woke." First day in 6th grade they…read moreasked my child their "personal pronouns." In 7th grade art class the assignment was to write a report on a contemporary artist. My child was told their pick was "too white male." My child was subsequently instructed to choose a BIPOC artist, with extra points if they were "queer." My complaints regarding this fell on deaf ears. Many of the teachers are pretty decent, but the school tilts WAY to the left. The non-woke portions of the curriculum are good, especially the math and outdoor-centric programs. However, we did put our son in a different international school and he was way behind in Chemistry, Physics, and Biology. His new school has these as stand-alone classes starting in Grade 5. Not so at Riverstone.

TLDR: Punished our 3 year old for potty accidents by making him sit in his own poop until I could…read moreget there to pick him up (despite having clean clothes for him and telling us they would help our newly potty trained 3 year old with accidents). If I could leave zero stars, I would. We have a child who just turned 3 years old in June that we enrolled at Northwest Montessori in August 2025. He had been potty trained for about 2 months before we started but with the change, completely regressed. But we were working on it, asking the teachers for guidance on how to handle it, etc. Our child came home telling me one day that his teachers (Miss Rebecca and Miss Beverly) wouldn't let him play at the station he liked because he had an accident (pooped his pants). But I just thought maybe that's just how a 3 year old tells stories... But then yesterday, I got a call from the school. He had another accident. Now we have extra clothes at the school and in the past the teachers have helped him get cleaned up and change his clothes. This was actually something we SPECIFICALLY asked about during our tour (how accidents would be handled, if they would help with wiping since he's still learning, etc and we were told oh, yes absolutely). Then yesterday I got a very rude call from their "director" Debbie who was angry that my child had another potty accident. She was not kind or apologetic but actually snapped "it's not the teacher's job to do this" ... But this "montessori" has 1 year olds as well. So they are a daycare. They change diapers. They had actually mentioned moving him down a class if we needed to when we started but that was as close as they ever came to working with us to find a good solution. *** And when we enrolled, we specifically asked about this and they said they would make him put on his own clothes but they would help clean him up. She then told me that I needed to come pick him up. When I got there, he was pulled out of his room and sitting in a chair, sitting in his own poop. His clean clothes were literally on the floor next to him that they refused to help him with. Because they were mad that he had an accident, they decided to punish him by making him sit in his poop. Three grown women thought it was appropriate to punish a three year old for a bathroom accident by making him sit with a turd in his pants until I could get there (and btw she initially left me a voicemail so they had no idea how long it would take me to get there or to even get their message).

We feel so lucky to have found an amazing school and community through Northview Montessori! When…read morewe were moving out to Boise, mid-pandemic, it was hard to navigate getting our son in school in a place that we had no real parent network in place. At the recommendation of a colleague, we looked into Northview and we could not be happier. After months of hard-to-navigate online pre-k programs back home, we enrolled our son in the in-person program at Northview mid-year. The teachers and staff were patient, attentive and showed extra care in getting our son situated and back in the "groove" of attending school. We kept our son there over the summer, where they did an amazing job balancing active play and lots of outdoor time, with the right amount of learning to stave off the summer learning loss. Now, our guy is in Miss. Debbie's kindergarten class and we are so impressed, seriously... she is a child-whisperer. Patient, understanding, calm, smart, creative and loving. Miss. Debbie does a wonderful job setting up her curriculum to incorporate many Montessori principles while also preparing students to enter into 1st grade in a more traditional setting. Added bonus, the before and after school care that is still developmentally stimulating and fun! The size, access, communication and flexibility of the staff make this school a working parent's dream! Finally, while I know people are in many different places when it comes to things like COVID policies and masking, I appreciate the thought and care that Northview takes in constantly reviewing the latest guidance and working on ways to keep students and their families safe. For me, this has provided incredible piece of mind. In a time of a lot of change and chaos, Northview has been one of the absolute best things we've found in moving to Boise and we will forever be grateful for the foundational love of learning they have helped to spark in our son.

We attended The Cooperative for the 2018-2019 school year with my then 3 year old. She was in the…read moreT/Th class with other 3 and 4 year olds. This is a small school, filled with so much love and dedication. Is is very different from other classes and schools. You will feel like a family with the other families and the staff. The two teachers, Jessica and Joslyn are incredible. So good with the kids, kind, patient and allowing the kids to learn things that interest them. My daughter adored them. The director is also very present, hopping in and out frequently. There are a few important things to know about The Cooperative. This place is NOT a good fit for everyone. It truly is cooperative. Parents are in the classroom as volunteers. For the T/Th class it's about once a month. For MWF, it will be closer to twice a month. You also need to be on a committee. This could mean, being on maintenance and shampooing the carpets at the end of the year. Or being on the Silent Auction committee and helping plan the big fundraiser. You also sit in a circle at the end of class and do a goodbye so that takes about 10-15 minutes every class too. If you are looking for a "drop off and leave" kind of preschool...this is not it. Ultimately this was the main reason why we couldn't continue with our second year here. With a younger kid (who can NOT come in during your parent helper time) and two working parents...it just didn't work. The second thing you need to know is that this is Play Based. Your kid will not be learning letters with worksheets or singing counting songs. The teachers are marvelous at bringing learning moments into focus based on what the kids are interested in. There is loose structure, but there is no curriculum and the kids are pretty free to explore. My daughter adored painting and did it every day. We loved this school and were very sad to leave. Ultimately it wasn't a good fit for our family, but it IS right for a lot of other people! Their waitlist fills up fast so be sure to tour soon and get on the waitlist in January.

We love this school! It's a great place for kids to be kids and develop there social skills in a…read moreplay based environment. The school director is great and the teachers are absolutely the best! Not for parents who think there five year old should be doing work sheets or jumping grade levels, but understand that kids are kids and the most important part of early childhood development is exploration. Don't get me wrong, this is not some hippie school but it's also not for everyone. It survives on parent support and has low enrollment fees, but parents are expected to help around the class often, which keeps overhead down. We love it and wished it continued through kinder.

Both my daughters and my nephew have gone here for years. All the kids in my house are highly…read moreintelligent and very polite. I owe their positive demeanor to this institution. Any issues I have had with the staff have been addressed immediately and with urgency. This Montessori school is doing a great job, and I hope they continue to educate our youth in the manner they have been.

We have been at Wonder School for 2 years now and what an amazing place for my son! His teacher are…read moreso kind and help work on strategies with him for his big emotions. They genuinely care about every student at the school. We are so lucky to be at Wonder School!

Both our kiddos have gone here. It's a great way to get them started and ready for school. We love…read morethat wonder school focuses on play and kids being kids.

If your looking for an amazing preschool to send your kiddos your search is over! Best preschool in…read moreIdaho! My daughter LOVES her teachers and is always excited to go to school. Heather (Owner of ECP) is AMAZING and her and the staff really care and love the kids. Wouldn't go anywhere else.

We LOVE ECP! Heather the owner is hands down amazing and always willing to go above and beyond to…read morehelp your child grow and learn! Her employees are wonderful! They are so caring, so fun and love what they do! My son loves school and looks forward to going every day! The ECP teachers are like our second family and we are so thankful for them all!

My, and more importantly, my child's experience at Lakewood Montessori could not have been better…read more First off, I was introduced to Montessori as a skeptic of the method. As an outsider, I initially did not see the difference between Montessori and standard pre-kindergarten childcare. My first revelation came about 6 weeks after being there. Our daughter was 19 months old and suddenly came home and was ready to start wearing big girl panties. This was a revelation to my wife and I as it isn't something we had really even discussed. We found that our daughter continually hit checkbox's that we had set forth in our mind and her social development was excellent. All of the teachers that she had through her time at Lakewood were excellent in our opinion. Whenever my wife and I volunteered at the school, staff was friendly and I would always rave about how well children were behaved and classrooms were very orderly. The transition from pre-primary to primary Montessori was really quite seamless and most importantly the transition from Montessori to first grade was excellent. We couldn't be happier with our experience at Lakewood Montessori.

I write this review in response to Megan, because I find her review to be unfair and with little…read moreauthority. Lakewood is a wonderful school. I worked there for over a year and had such a fantastic experience. I went to college to be a teacher, but this was my first experience with the Montessori curriculum. After years of studying and working in academia, Lakewood made me fall in love with this program. The children are taught more than academics, and more often than not, they were at levels higher than those academically required at their age. As for Meg, I am unsure where her credibility to write such review comes from. I worked with her for 2.5 months of the maybe 3 months she was there. On several occasions she confided in me, and I can say with fair certainty that this was a job taken in disparity rather than for the desire to do it.  Unfortunately, yes she came in during a time when we were shorter on staff due to several pregnancies, the summer season, and staff transitions. However, the directors always made sure no one missed their break, worked too much, or was left alone. And you, Meg, I write this here because I have no other means to communicate with you. I find it absurd that you talk about too much chaos/stress and lack if warmth, when you are about as tough as a twig and as warm as an ice pack. You became stressed just by having to take ONE upset child on a walk. And it was basically protocol to offer a hug to any child that was troubled, and yet you looked scared just to hold their hand. Also, this "I am experienced in early childhood education" nonsense? You are 21 years old and haven't gotten a degree, or even gone to college. In all our conversations about students, class, and technique did you ever mention this expansive knowledge. Often you came to me for help and advise.  Do not put yourself in the same place as those of us who actually poured our time, energy, and heart into this subject. I am truly disappointed by how ungrateful you were about the opportunity you were given. You were put in a class with one lead teacher who has 10+ years of Montessori experience and another lead teacher with a heart of gold, both of which took on several "assistant tasks" to ease your stress. Not to mention accommodations done for the sake of your "health and well being" by the administration. And don't say "I was told I was not a fit" when the director found out you were looking for another job (after just 1.5 months) and was still told you were welcome to stay until you found a new position. Which was more than generous considering how negative you were throughout the whole experience.

My 4 year old has been going to this school for almost a year now. All I can say is wow, one of the…read morebest preschools I've ever had my kids attend. The teachers are all great and so friendly, and academically, my daughter has just excelled in her speech, phonics, letters, numbers, shapes, writing, coloring, science, history, etc. We will most likely keep our daughter here when she starts kindergarten because we are so pleased.

I have two daughters who have participated in Challenger School (Bloom Campus). My oldest attended…read moretwo years of preschool and is finishing up kindergarten. First and foremost, the teachers and staff do a wonderful job supporting and teaching the kids. The environment is positive and respectful. Both daughters learned to read at three years old. Even more impressive is the culture where kids learn respect, accountability and self reliance. The teachers have cultivated a love of learning and my daughters know they can do hard things. I highly recommend the curriculum as it incorporates song, art and play into academics..