I don't know why it's taken so long (about four years) for me to review this place, but it deserves…read moreabout five-star "as good  as it gets" review.  My boy was there from about 18 months until almost three years old, and really appreciated the place, particularly after mixed experiences with a subsequent Montessori school. It is open to children from 15 months to 6 years old.  The facility is the basement of a large residential home. The owner-headmaster of the school (and a much school in Issaquah) lives upstairs. The entrance is around the back, shielded by the house from the street noise of Bel-Red Road. Access from the parking lot is by a nicely landscaped boardwalk.  The schoolyard is securely fenced, with lots of forested natural scenery outside the fence. The highlight is a stream called Country Creek, through the corner of the school's property. (It starts near Cascade View Park and flows into the Sammamish River.) The city has it marked as salmon spawning habitat, but I haven't seen its salmon run. Indoors, there's a toddler school room, and preschool room, and some office and other private space. Both classrooms were brightly lit and cheerful even in the gloom of winter. They were spotlessly clean -- and our boy was there before pandemic. It was well equipped, with learning materials organized Montessori-style.  The teachers were dedicated and caring, and because of the small classes they always had abundant time for the children. And because the owner is a Montessori teacher who lives upstairs, a familiar substitute was always available when teachers needed days off.  Communications were excellent: a simple form with a few little status updates, written notes about anything unusual during the day and scheduled events ahead, plus availability to talk about any concerns at pick-up time. (They weren't champions with e-mail, but better at it than a subsequent school.)  A highlight event (scheduled well in advance so parents could see their kids' delight) while our boy was there was a visit from a mobile petting zoo. A truck (maybe more than one) arrived one day with rabbits, goats, sheep, assorted other animals -- and a pony. Their staff set up cages and hand-wash stations, and let the kids interact with the animals. In the parking lot, kids took turns riding the pony. Now I want to look at my photos and videos and share them with our boy.  The tuition was very affordable. In part, that's probably because it shares overhead with the owner's house. But it's also due to the place's one inconvenience, that parents had to send lunches when dropping off the children.  A note about Montessori schools in general: the learning style is exploratory and largely self-directed. Budget permitting, I think it's ideal for most toddlers and preschoolers, except for some with special needs. But it's not such a clear choice for elementary school and up; if a child absorbs a strong sense of self-motivation to work at school, it's superior. If not, a conventional classroom with stronger guidance may be a better fit. But Prime Time enrolls kids during the early years when Montessori is best for most children.  In retrospect I wish we had kept him there until he was too old, but we had previously wait-listed him at another Montessori school (which provided excellent lunches). Our reasoning had been to transfer him while he was little, to get the disruption of changing schools over with earlier. But as it turned out, the pandemic was a vastly greater disruption to children (and adults) of all ages.  After all that praise -- and the observation that the inconvenience of sending lunches was balanced by the very reasonable price -- I feel comfortable giving Prime Time a five-star "as good as it gets" without any concerns about grade inflation.

Great school with small classrooms! Loving teachers. They provide a very clean and nurturing…read morelearning environment and really love the kids! The playground area is very beautiful and offers lots of things for the kids to do.

SMS has provided foundational learning experiences for my three kids over the last 6yrs (youngest…read morestill attending). They are at an excellent location, easy commute from our work places, and have an excellent family-like staff & environment. Highly recommended!!!

I highly recommend SMS. It is the best and one of the most mature Montessori schools in the Redmond…read morearea. Family run and teachers stay for decades. I cannot say enough good things about them - they are excellent. The front desk staff, Jane especially, greet you with smiles and any information you need as well as help for any issue. Teachers are attentive and thoughtful, and they communicate well to parents. For issues and concerns they pick up the phone when you call, they do what they say they will do and most important - our kids loved their teachers and we parents got to be proud of our children's development. I had my two girls go through their pre-school program in 2014-2020 time frame and I couldn't be happier - big shout out to Mrs. Kerr and Mrs. Digdhe in class room 5!

oth our kids have attended Cascadia since PreK. We had heard about this wonderful institution from…read moreour colleagues and were very intentional in our choice. Mrs Keeton's leadership and high bar for the teachers and students is amazing. Cascadia provides our kids with a safe environment (home away from home) where there is focus on academic rigor but also on whole child development. Mrs Keeton and all the teachers/staff genuinely care for the children and set a high bar for them both academically and socially. It is also very well recognized amongst other middle/high schools of the region (Overlake, EPS, Lakeside, Eastside Catholic etc) and Cascadia alum have made great impressions at these schools. If you are looking for a nurturing yet academically rigorous school, this is your place!

My both kids attended Cascadia and we thoroughly enjoyed our journey through Cascadia. Cascadia…read morenot just provides strong academic environment, but also overall development of the child - development in terms of social, emotional, public speaking, creative writing, confidence building, respect for others. The director of the school knows each child personally and involves actively in the child's development. Cascadia is a small, closed, connected community which differentiates Cascadia from many other schools in the area. Some might consider the smaller school size and lack of at-school activities to be drawbacks, but that did not bother us as our kids always had time to pursue their interests outside school as well. Our kids are not at Cascadia anymore, but they look forward to meeting teachers and other kids at every opportunity possible. Even after our kids graduated from the school, parents still try to keep in touch and help each other. We are pretty fortunate that our kids attended Cascadia and thankful to teachers and Mrs. Franklin.

We've had a wonderful experience at Evergreen Montessori Academy! The Montessori curriculum is…read morethoughtfully designed and encourages our child to grow into an independent, curious, and confident learner. It's been amazing to see how much she developed both academically and socially through hands-on learning and self-directed activities. One of the things we appreciate most is the low student-to-teacher ratio. The teachers truly get to know each child and tailor their support to meet individual needs. It's clear that the staff genuinely care about the students, and that makes a huge difference in how our child feels about school every day. Another unexpected bonus has been the lunch program. Chef Renato prepare food that is healthy, balanced, and kid-friendly--and our child actually looks forward to lunch! It gives us peace of mind knowing she is being well-nourished during the day. We're so grateful to have found a school that aligns with our values and supports our child in such a holistic way.

My daughter Nora is having a great time at school here. She not only has learned to respect other…read moreteachers and friends, but also has become more independent and confident. I highly recommend EMA.

Our son has been here 2 years. Great staff and our son made…read moresome great friends and enjoys the teachers and playing here.

My kid started at 3 at this place and WOW this place is amazing!…read moreThis place provides the perfect setting for kids to develop and grow! On top of that we REALLY LOVE the TEACHERS! YES every single one! They love the kids and treat them with love!. Our kid have developed so much from this place. It was the best decision that we have made for our kid! We are really thankful to all the teachers that helped our kid grow and we are going to miss this place alot! Highly recommend this place!

To recommend DWs post from 10 years ago - this is statement is still accurate in 2025…read more This school is fine for easy-going kids who would do well anywhere. They absolutely do not focus at all on the social or emotional development of the children. Any and all problems are considered the parent's problem to fix. They also hire teachers with no secondary education background, and have no business calling themselves a dual accredited school when they can't support a class structure - it's chaos in there

heaven. i attended this school from pre-k up until 3rd grade and it was the best school ever. i…read moremade so many friends and so many memories and every day was a good day. i now have PTSD because in 3rd grade i was criticized by some teachers for having special needs and was sent to a crappy public school against my will that was absolute hell and i also got PTSD from that school. so i have trauma from being practically abused by being transferred to a terrible school against my will but it was worth it

Great Montessori! My son's first experience with school and he loves it! That's what matters,…read moresomething he is comfortable with and enjoys!. In just 3 months of attending Rosehill Montessori Preschool, he has matured beautifully from a toddler to a little boy who is more independent and can express himself much better. Storm, the teacher of the school is great with children. To list a few things that I like: 1) She is very clear in her communication and the kids get it and learn to follow instructions so that things can get done! 2) She is kind and compassionate when the situation demands it. So the kids grow to love and trust her quickly 3) The classroom is filled with a varied set of tasks and exercises for skill building for little hands and to engage their minds. 4) The school has a great assistant teacher! She is very creative and playful with the children 5) The school is kept very clean and tidy considering so many little hands are at work! 6) The backyard is a fun place when they have their outdoor play session every day 7) The kids eat their lunch in school so its a great way for them to get more social and independent. 8) Festivals and holidays are celebrated with fun, excitement and lots of fun crafts. Overall a great school and I love the Montessori approach!

We just love this school. can't say enough good things about it. Storm and Kelsey are phenomenal…read moreeducators. Our 2 sons currently attend and they both love going to school. Why we love it: 1. We are big believers of the montessori method and Storm is the real deal when it comes to Montessori. It's clear when you walk into the classroom but also in how she communicates with the kids. 2. Small class size - we really wanted a calm environment and find that our boys thrive in it. 3. Outside time - we love that they are in a yard surrounded by flowers/trees/nature. They get to participate in planting (which they love!). Storm has a very sweet/calm dog and we were nervous about it at first because both boys weren't comfortable with dogs. Now, they love to greet any dog that passes them! The exposure got them not only comfortable but actually interested in dogs. We also love that the arrangement of the backyard really inspires imaginative play (as opposed to purely physical activities). 4. We love getting all of their "work" on a weekly basis. We get folders of art/craft projects, writing projects, etc every single week. 5. Academically, our 4 yr old is starting to read and write (and most importantly, is genuinely interested in learning). 6. I love that they have responsibilities at school (helper jobs). They get super excited about them and are learning basic life skills (like folding towels). We HIGHLY recommend it and are so very thankful to have found them!!!

Our son has been going to Mango Montessori for close to a year and he is about to start…read moreKindergarten this year. We moved to Redmond from West Seattle where our son was doing fantastic in the previous daycare. In Redmond we tried a number of places (tours and placements) and were reluctant to keep moving him. With other daycare in Redmond he would come home overly energized, struggling to focus and difficult to put down for the night. After going to Mango Montessori, it was night and day difference in behavior. Our son become more composed. He picked up where he left from in West Seattle and started progressing in his learning. He is now far ahead of where we thought he would be for his age, reading full words, writing & counting to high numbers. And drop off and pick up is a breeze. For anyone looking to invest in your child's future in the right environment for a balanced curriculum with great teachers look no further then Mango Monteessori. They're devotion & passion for kids education is clearly apparent and greatly appreciated.

Our 4 year old has been happily going to Ms. S.'s Montessori school since last September. We were…read morenew to the local area and after visiting a number of in-home and stand-alone day-cares, we knew right away that this would be the place. Heck, I wish I could be a kid again just so that I could go to kindergarten there. So many experiments and crafts for the kids to do, culturally diverse, small (10 max, I think?), and a really pleasant and caring atmosphere. I am just a little worried that when our 4 year will go to public school, she'll be bored since she has already learned all the letters of the alphabet this year. But, they do so much more than academic basics: it's the whole Montessori curriculum. I do wish they would go outside a bit more to play, but we make up for that at home. I also like that they don't charge an arm and a leg unlike some other options in the area that we explored and didn't like as much.

Our 2.5 yo son has been going to the Growing Tree for 6 months now, and we couldn't be happier. He…read morehad previously always been watched by his grandparents, but when he turned two we decided we wanted to enroll him somewhere he could learn to interact with other kids. We visited a bunch of daycare facilities, especially the big named ones, but none of them fit our schedule well and we had not heard the best reviews from a lot of them. We heard about the Growing Tree from another mom and initially we were drawn to them because of their flexibility. But quickly we realized how much these teachers care and how much we love having them in our sons' life. He comes home and talks all about 'school'. He has learned so much and asks to go to school almost every morning now. We couldn't have found a better place for our little man to go to and spend his mornings.

My kid started at 3 at this place and WOW this place is amazing!…read moreThis place provides the perfect setting for kids to develop and grow! On top of that we REALLY LOVE the TEACHERS! YES every single one! They love the kids and treat them with love!. Our kid have developed so much from this place. It was the best decision that we have made for our kid!

Both of my kids attended TLC Montessori, with one starting during Covid and the other as a toddler…read more It's a fantastic school for overall development. While many parents focus on academics, I was more interested in how my children were learning new things, participating in concerts, and performing on stage. They gained a wide range of skills and became more independent. Ms. Kim and all the teachers are well educated and dedicated, always looking happy and smiling, and greeting everyone with a welcoming attitude. They treat the kids and their families like their own. Other children in the neighborhood who also went to this school have grown up to do really well.

TLC has been an excellent experience for both our sons. We moved to Sammamish at the beginning of…read morethe pandemic with 4 and 2 year olds and were looking for a school and were new to Montessori. Our neighbors recommended TLC and we couldn't be happier. The school never closed during Covid and managed a once in a lifetime pandemic with grace and foremost, childrens' safety in mind. our oldest son is now in public school and has excelled because of the foundation the Kim's and all the great teachers provided him. Couldn't recommend the school more highly.