Elsternwick Montessori Academy

My Son has attended Elsternwick Montessori for the last 2 years (2023 & 2024). Based on our positive experience we have enrolled our... My Son has attended Elsternwick Montessori for the last 2 years (2023 & 2024). Based on our positive experience we have enrolled our 5 month old daughter to start in 2025. The staff are lovely to our son and he is always keen in the morning to go to school. He greats the teachers with a hug in the mornings which to me is an important indicator he is happy. From an educational and child development perspective I have been impressed with Montessori training model. Whilst I had heard the name Montessori I was not really aware of what Montessori was until we started down the path of childcare and infant development. Now having been with Montessori academy I cannot speak highly enough of what it does based on my experience to date. Our son has thrived and I am regularly surprised with how quick he is picking things up. His inquisitive nature and motivation to solve puzzles and life challenges are complemented by the Montessori training methodology. It is different from the teaching method I grew up with and I cannot explain the nuances easily. I would recommend going to Montessori Academy and ask for a tour to discuss with the staff what it is to get the correct understanding. From an educational perspective it has really worked well for my sons confidence and ability to learn. He picks up words and numbers very quickly and actively seeks out things to learn. If he does not understand something he will ask for assistance. (note he is only 2.5 years old!! ) I have family friends that are school teachers and they are surprised at our sons vocabulary and ability to sound out new words for his age. Learning development: When undertaking a 'task' there is a training reason behind it. My son will see it though from finding a learning activity, exploring the activity and finally putting the activity away. The staff/instructors have a process for teaching this and it is impressive to watch. This has translated through to how our son plays at home and approaches things if we ask hime to do something. Social development: - Whilst I see it as a parents responsibility to teach 'manners' and not necessarily a daycare task, the staff also support this life skills being part of their daily routine and interaction. My sons social interaction and ability to politely respond to adults is already developing. Whilst I have only seen the Elsternwick Montessori facility, it is amazingly clean! Im told the others are the same. When we started 2 years ago it was brand new, however it is still immaculate 2 years later. The rooms are light and spacious and the number of pupils in the class are small. We looked at a few daycares before deciding and they were converted houses and a little depressing. The learning material is organised and structured and easy for our son to engage with. The training equipment is clean and organised. Even the child changing areas and toilets are very clean. This may be a small thing but the underground parking set up they have is fantastic. The design of the building has been well thought out. With the purpose build large unground car park that is off-street there is always space for drop off and it makes for easy access up a lift to the classrooms. In the wet months this makes the drop off very easy. Reporting: I found this to be great. I do not have a reference for what other daycares report, however the Montessori daily reports are detailed and really useful. They are complemented with daily photos so it is great to see what he has actually been doing with the teachers. We have used the report based on teacher recommendations to discuss any issues raised by the teacher. As for the boring stuff... administration, this has been seamless in the background to complement our overall experience. The interaction with the government CCS system all just happened in the background! In the early stage fore our first child there was the support we needed to get the paperwork done! IN SHORT - Our experience to date with Montessori Elsternwick has been brilliant. The education, the social development and positive experience with staff and the care for our child has been wonderful. Read more