Tuesday - Thursday between Labor Day and Memorial Day annually (September 3, 2024 - May 22, 2025)

• Morning session: 8:30 am - 11:30 am

• Optional lunch bunch: 11:30 am - 12:00 pm

• Afternoon session: 12:00 pm - 3:00 pm

• Full days include all of the above!

Did you know that the majority of time in a traditional classroom is spent on managing behavior of children? This leaves on average TWO hours of actual instructional time each day. The style of teaching and the curriculum used at Forest Montessori results in much greater instruction time and an overall better education. Additionally, our students take initiative in their own learning which will further enhance their education as they begin the process of wonder and discovery in the ownership of their education. As a parent-formed school, we love the idea of a 3-day school week. This method will leave our children with a complete education (that they love) while still allowing space for the beautiful activities that complete a childhood. 

Ages 3-6, which can be considered Preschool and Young-5's. We hope to add 1st - 6th grades in the upcoming years.

You can send donations to our Venmo handle @ForestMontessoriGR, visit our school Amazon wishlist, or connect with us here to discover how you might participate in our latest and greatest projects to further enhance our learning spaces!

Forest Montessori is designed to encourage children to wonder, learn, grow, work, and explore. A normal day is full of hands-on discovery, outside movement, indoor and outdoor learning periods, and individual and cooperative project-based work.

Through our unique approach to learning, Forest students are taught both individually and in small groups, then they are given space to practice and master these skills in their individual work. Each student has their own individualized learning plan. At the same time, they will collaborate with the teacher to ensure that their work is challenging and purposeful, and that educational standards are met.

We organize classes into Montessori 3-year groupings! Currently offering enrollment for ages 3-6.

How amazing is it that your child gets to have the same teacher for 3 years? They'll be able to come into the classroom and already have mastered the environment, will be known by their teacher and able to dive so deeply and comfortably into learning. Feeling comfortable and safe helps them become leaders and problem solvers, do big things, and learn organically because they are connected. 

Yes! Our lead teacher, Miss Luck, is a certified teacher by the State of Michigan. We are so lucky to have found her. We know you will adore her too! 

Our lead-teacher-to-student ratio is 1:12. There is also a teacher’s assistant present for each session!

Forest Montessori does not require a take-home curriculum. We do ask that you read every day with your child. You, the parent, are your child’s most influential educator! They are always learning from you. We hope you will go exploring, have adventures, model a growth mindset, talk to and show up every day for your child. Invite them to join you in household chores or tasks. If you need to run to the bank - bring them! Talk with them about deposits, savings, and spending. Encourage them to help make a grocery list and meal prep dinner with you. There are so many opportunities to naturally engage in learning, right in our very own environments!

Forest Montessori integrates movement into our normal everyday! Our students spend a lot of time outside. We incorporate classic childhood gym games like capture the flag, castle ball, and basic sports into our outdoor movement.

We integrate music into our school days in many different ways as well (e.g. singing, chanting, finding noise-makers in nature...)

Speaking multiple languages is such a gift. It is something that we would love for our students to be surrounded by and supported in learning. Right now we have partnered with Talkbox Mom who sent us some posters to display commonly used words, phrases and sentences in Spanish so students can incorporate these into their day if they choose.

As Forest Montessori continues to grow, we hope to add more concrete ways for our students and their families to engage in learning opportunities! Please let us know if there's an opportunity you can offer our students!

Family participation is necessary in the co-op model and we hope you want to be involved! We value you as your child's most important teacher and we want you to be a part of their education.

Each student is occasionally responsible for providing a shared snack (read: you don't have to send your child to school with a snack every single day, because we share this workload cooperatively!). Each student will also occasionally be responsible for the school laundry load. We see these as special opportunities to practice classroom responsibility and to engage in real-world learning!

There are many other ways to contribute to our school community. That might look like volunteering to be an extra aid in the classroom, cleaning, staff care, sourcing needs, fundraising, coming in to help with a baking activity or special event, helping to create a material, or going to the local library and checking out books for the classroom.

The ways you can be involved are endless and we look forward to working with you!

Tuition is $3,000 per child for half days and $6,000 for full days. We do offer scholarships - please reach out to us to find out more!

We envision a beautiful library with cozy reading nooks for reading and listening, filled with plants and warm sunlight! Would you like to help us stock our school library, currently focused on ages 3-6? Let us know!