Everything my son and I have experienced at Creative Bridges has reflected a warm, nurturing…read moreenvironment where children are encouraged to learn through creativity, exploration, and play. The owner, who has since become a personal friend, is deeply passionate about early childhood education and is dedicated to creating a safe, engaging, and supportive space for every child. My experience with Creative Bridges, confidence in the owner's character, the dedication of the staff, and the thoughtful environment they have created, I highly recommend Creative Bridges to families seeking a preschool with a strong focus on children's growth, development, and well-being all while having fun in the process.

This 32 year old school is a phenomenon and a rarity. It's a Cooperative School - meaning it's set…read moreup for high parental involvement, family support/education, and daily opportunities to interact with the kids, parents, teachers, the owner/administrator, the on campus Speech & Occupational Therapists, and even the PE Coach! The teachers are wohighly trained, warm, & friendlyThe school has had to make adjustments for Covid, of course. My grandson was in a public developmental preschool for a speech delay. It was only 6 hours a week and I was shocked at how little parental involvement, communication, and education existed. I placed him in Creative Bridges the remaining two days a week. Long story short, I ended up placing him in Creative Bridges full time, which was a wonderful decision I learned my grandson was way behind with both his fine & gross motor skills, and had numerous other issues needing investigation. His speech and confidence absolutely blossomed at Creative Bridges. Long story short, he was just diagnosed with autism at age 4 & 1/2 years old, but is still thriving at Creative Bridges.

You may notice that many of my reviews are 5 star; that's just because it's more fun to write about…read moregreat experiences like Villa Montessori than it is a bad experience. Villa is a God-send for my daughter Kylee. Kylee attended Hopi for a couple of years and it just wasn't working. We moved Kylee over to Villa beginning in 4th grade and she immediately loved it. She is blossoming as a reader and is having fun with her assignments in the Montessori environment. The student to teacher ration is really great. Kylee's classroom of 28 students has a teacher and TWO full time assistants. At hopi Kylee was really struggling, and at VM she has not only become a better student, but also a more confident, assertive, and creative little girl. The 28th Street campus across from Camelback High School is brand new and the setting is just lovely. I feel good about taking Kylee to school here. She is learning, she is safe, and she is loved there. What more could a parent ask for! Hat's off to Villa Montessori. If I could give it 6 stars I would.

We're going into our 8th year as a Villa family and I am so grateful for this wonderful school…read more Both my kids are thriving socially and performing at or above grade level, based on state testing. It's true that if you're looking for a very rigorous/college prep academic experience, this likely isn't the right fit for your family. Villa seems to focus more on fostering curiosity, creativity, independence, community, and leadership. And yet, proficiency in reading, writing and math somehow just seem to happen. Our kids' teachers have been so caring and exceptional at creating a safe and positive classroom community where learning happens naturally. The handful of times I've brought a concern or request to administration, they have been extremely receptive and taken action where needed. It's clear the staff and teachers really care about the kids and their families. No school is perfect, of course, but Villa is a great fit for our family and I'm certain they will be well-prepared for high school when the time comes, both socially and academically.

We have been very happy with our experience at Shadow Rock. The director is great at communicating…read morewith parents and the teachers are wonderful. They all truly care for the children. My four yr old son does the half-day program and looks forward to going each day. They keep the kids busy with so many arts and crafts and play, plus they have a HUGE outdoor playground- something our last preschool was lacking. If education through play is your jam then THIS is the place to go!

Our son has attended this preschool for three years and it has been a wonderful experience! It's a…read moreplay based education but he is learning so much (counting to 100, learning to write his letters, science experiments, art projects, learning about different cultures, etc) and is ready for Kindergarten! The teachers are phenomenal, caring and good listeners, great at communication. I would definitely recommend this school to parents!

We had such an amazing experience there with our son, who was part of their pre-k classroom!…read moreIncredible teachers, so much play time, and the co-op aspect of the whole thing was incredible!

This will be our 3rd year as a family at the Co-op and I can't recommend it more for not only your…read morekiddo, but also the community that comes with it. It is so nice to get together with like-minded parents that just want a place where their kids can play and explore. You yourself get a chance to be in the classroom and help out, play and see all of your kids' friends interact. Soon you will be getting your feet in the sand yard, going to parent meetings where the teachers will give you tips on how to calm your child during a meltdown, and you will talk to other parents and see that you're not alone. Some examples of community that I can think of during our time are the parent meetings, potluck events, a camping trip, and events at school where everyone is welcome for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. When we had our second child, and EECP knew we were finally home, we got a few gifts delivered for our new baby, but also a couple of big brother gifts and books from the school. When I'm at work and I get some photos sent to our parent group message board of what the kids are doing that day, it makes you wish you were at school that day instead of sitting behind a desk. Those are the times I know that we got lucky to find the EECP and other involved parents and teachers. One other thing I remembered that I enjoy is the stuff that our kiddo brings home. It is not just paintings that will soon be on your fridge or decorated shoe boxes, but also stories and music. Our 3-year-old would come home from school and teach me about Mardi Gras. He insisted on Mardi Gras songs being played in our home. He enjoyed dancing and marching and was explaining how parades worked, as if I had no idea what one was. It was so much fun to finally go to school and see all the kids parade around in fun costumes and carry around little decorated shoe boxes they made in class. This is just one of the events that we've loved as a family and now as a community.

This small school is a gem. My wife and I toured several Montessori programs in central Phoenix…read morebefore deciding on MCH. We love the staff, the curriculum and the other families that attend. Our son started in the beginner program where we saw him grow leaps and bounds developmentally and socially. He is now in the Primary program, and everyday I'm impressed with the knowledge he brings home and how articulately he is able to express himself to adults and peers alike. All of the lead teachers are Montessori certified, but the primary classroom has 2 leads, both certified and a kitchen assistant who cooks with the children and an outdoor assistant. Compared to the other schools we visited the children have more opportunities because of this arrangement. The school is private, so there is tuition even at the higher grades. However, we noticed that because it stayed private when all the other Montessori schools we toured were charter, it seemed to stick closer to the traditional Montessori curriculum we read about in our research. Children were not tested in any standardized way, and the teachers seem more able to truly follow the child. At one of the Montessori charters we saw 5 year olds doing standardized test practice during our tour. Yikes. Another thing we love about this school is how close knit the community is. When we toured we found out that one of the teachers attended the school and all of her children have been through the program, the director's husband was a student there and all of their children attended the school, etc. There is only one of every classroom so the children all know each other. Our son loves all of his friends and speaks of school excitedly everyday. On the weekends he begs to go to school to play with his friends. We have been so pleased with MCH, and would recommend it to anyone looking for a caring, small and diverse school community.

My kiddos attend this school and it's been a wonderful experience for both of them. The teachers…read moreprovide classic Montessori instruction and work with each kid to know where to push them and where to help them. Very happy with our experience here!

The books are used. They have bookshelves full of them. The difference is not having a set book for…read moreeach subject each year. They learn from multiple modalities- I have seen my son do research projects that last for weeks and require looking up information and learning from multiple books, websites, encyclopedias and so on. I have leaned to appreciate that while the method of learning is different from what I see for other schools, I see my child learning to learn- not memorizing from rote alone. He follows the same curriculum the district requires and is learning how to think for himself and form ideas and thoughts. It's been different but I have learned to really appreciate that this type of education is perfect for my child and has not drummed a love of learning and discovering out of him. He has maintained his joy is learning new information and assimilating it. As for drugs, I have not been offered anything from anyone in the 7 years we have been here. I am not naive enough to think that there are no drugs, but I also know that they are very present everywhere, not just this school. My junior high and high school had drug busts over 30 years ago in a middle class neighborhood. My answer is to teach my child about drugs, resisting drugs and peer pressure and why people use. I have to agree that the vaccination rate is low but my response is to fully vaccinate my child. Until we have a law (like California), people will be able to refuse to vaccinate based on their personal beliefs.

My son has been attending Desert Marigold School for the last 3 years. I cannot be happier. My son…read moreloves going to school each day and being on the gorgeous campus with loving and kind teachers, gardening, campus animals, woodworking, knitting and much more. He has been thriving! The community here is like no where else with community events, festivals, handwork for parents and many areas to volunteer and be part of the school. We love it!

My husband and I are incredibly grateful for CMS, where our daughter has attended for the past…read moreyear. As this was our first time searching for a school, we researched and toured nearly 10 preschools in our area (mainly Montessori, but also some more traditional ones). As a stay-at-home mom, I was also apprehensive about starting our daughter at 2 1/2 years old and even considered waiting longer. If it weren't for CMS, we probably would have waited, because I truly believe no other school offered the environment that was most important to us--especially with her starting so young. The Montessori approach is clearly implemented in every aspect of CMS, both academically and socially. For us--and for our daughter's personality--the nurturing and respectful environment were the most important values in our search. Most of the teachers have been at CMS for over a decade, which was not the case at any of the other schools we toured. I love that our daughter can build a relationship with her teachers over the years, rather than changing to a new teacher every year. I believe this consistency provides a strong foundation for her academic and emotional development. The first thing I always tell people when they ask about CMS is this: At all the other schools, yes, I connected with the director or whoever was giving the tour on some level--but I'd only get maybe five minutes or less of face time with a teacher, and I always left feeling unimpressed with their classroom presence and curriculum. I'm truly impressed with the CMS curriculum and culture. On other school tours, I received more papers and booklets, but honestly, I felt a disconnect between what was written and what I saw. As a family, we follow Montessori values, and I began to research Montessori education on my own. From our first conversations with the Lead Teacher, Miss Jocelyn, I could see those values clearly reflected at CMS. After attending for over a year, I'm even more astounded by the depth and thoughtfulness of the lessons offered for early childhood development. As someone who struggled with math in school, I wish I'd had the opportunity to learn numbers the way CMS teaches them. On your tour, please ask to see the math beads and the related lessons--they are a perfect example of how CMS teaches the concept with real understanding, not rote memorization. The lessons are intentional, and the freedom my daughter has in choosing her work has developed her concentration and self-discipline. I have so much trust in this school--it's not the kind of place where your child comes home with 10+ generic worksheets a day. To get an overview of CMS's culture, I highly recommend reading The Family Virtues Guide: Simple Ways to Bring Out the Best in Our Children and Ourselves. CMS focuses on one virtue per week, based on this humanity program (such as respect, empathy, patience, etc.). To me, this is a clear example of how CMS goes beyond academics and truly teaches life skills and character development. When observing the classroom, you can clearly see how these virtue lessons provide a foundation of calmness that, in turn, allows each child to develop their concentration to achieve their highest potential and practical life skills at an incredible level. We are truly grateful for the foundation CMS is providing for our daughter!

Community Montessori has been a great experience, Zia started there when she was 2, she has grown…read moreso much being in a constant learning environment that consisted of different aged children. The staff at Montessori are invested in and care deeply about the kids and parents. Thank you Montessori!!

My children have been going for 4 1/2 years and love it!!! The whole staff and management are all…read moreamazing!! I literally talk to them every day like they are family to me!!! It literally takes a village to raise our kids and this is my village!!! I get updated pictures everyday of them and the communication is always there!!! Best place ever!!! South phoenix busy bees you rock it!!!!

The staff here know that I absolutely love this location. We have been attending this child care…read morefor 7 years and have ZERO complaints. My oldest started here at 2 and my youngest started as a newborn. The staff here truly are family and treat my children as if they are aunts, moms and grandmas. If I ask my kids if they want to stay home or go to daycare they are always saying go to daycare. The school is very clean and the staff is top notch. They truly care about every child and ensuring that they are learning all the time. My oldest tested into kindergarten early because of the skills and teaching of all the amazing teachers here. Special shout-out to Ms. Felicity, Ms. Sandy, Ms. Lucretia, Ms. Ruby, Ms. Jen and the director is Ms. Lisa who are always having an amazing impact on my daughters. I highly recommend this location for any parent needing a daycare for their children.