Montessori Greenhouse, Los Alamitos

My two children attended Montessori Greenhouse in Los Alamitos for about three years and I can't rave enough about the teachers here and the overall school in general. I was very happy with my experience here and my children loved attending.
May 28th, 2022

Mar 30th, 2021

Love this school
Feb 10th, 2021

We moved to Rossmoor and needed to find a preschool for my 3 year old son. I posted online and this school was highly recommended to me, in various moms groups and community groups on Facebook. Even another mom I didn't even know (who has now become a friend!) messaged me about the school because she has sent all 3 of her kids (aged 3-14) to MGH, and she had such wonderful things to say about it. Our new pediatrician (Dr. Kaplan at Los Alamitos Pediatrics) also sent his kids there many many years ago. I was a little concerned upon reading those 2 yelp reviews below, but I contacted the director Heather and she told me the circumstances surrounding the reviews, and it assuaged my concerns. Honestly, after hearing the full story, I do not feel that the school acted in a way to put the children in danger. We toured 5 schools, and MGH was honestly the most safe as it relates to their COVID precautions. My son started here in August and has advanced so much in just 2 short months. This is not your normal preschool! When we went to back to school night, I saw the photos of Duke Ellington (with a listening station) and Georgia O'Keeffe (along with her artwork) on the walls. We asked my son later than night if he knew who Duke Ellington was and he said, "he makes music". Our family is big into mindfulness and my son mentioned they start each day with a short meditation. The classroom is clean, organized and beautiful. The toys are all thoughtfully selected and are unlike your typical "preschool toys" we saw while touring the other schools. They all are selected to foster learning, life skills, and independence. Some are not even toys at all! Miniature dishware where the children practice pouring grains of rice from a pitcher to a tiny cup. Buttons and zippers on a board where they learn to practice fastening buttons, and zipping on their own. I was not familiar with Montessori style classrooms, but the difference was night and day between the other schools we toured, and honestly not THAT much more expensive monthly than some of the surrounding non-Montessori schools. His teacher Miss Sarah is amazing and so sweet, she has been with the school for 8 years. The directors have been with the school for over 40 years!! There is not high turn over here at all, the teachers really seem to be passionate and love what they do. My son loves going to school and has made so many friends already. I'm so thankful to have found such a nurturing an amazing environment for our boy! Its so hard to put your trust into a place for childcare, but MGH has been such a blessing to our family. We are expecting our second child and will definitely be sending them to MGH when the time comes.
Sep 27th, 2020

When we did the initial walk through at MGH, we informed Michelle of my son's frustration and behavior issues and asked her how they would address this at school, she confidently told me she would take him outside to diffuse him. We also had numerous formal and informal meetings with Christine and Karinna, who always said they wanted to work with us. We were told we had to get outside help from a doctor, and when we told them it would take a while to see results (per the psychologist), they reiterated they were willing to help.After being called to be picked up after an hour of class on his 4th full day of school, I spoke with Christine and she told me what happened. I also called the director, Heather, to discuss our options. Christine didn't mention anything about Simon not being allowed to attend school anymore without extra help provided by his family, nor did Heather.On Tuesday morning, I sent Heather an email with tips of how to diffuse my son, thinking the teachers could use it as a guideline in helping to steer him in the right direction. Twenty minutes prior to school starting, she called to tell me that it wasn't possible for my son to get any more one on one from the teachers and since our nanny couldn't be at the school until 10am, the staff felt they weren't safe with my son in class without the help.Why Heather didn't call me Monday or even earlier Tuesday morning to let me know he was not able to attend that day still baffles me. Heather said she was waiting to talk to me at the site, but that would have only resulted in her turning us away as I had my daughter with me that morning and wouldn't have been able to stay to help. I got my so  ready that morning, we packed his lunch together, and I gave him the pep talk about Karinna not being in class, but got him excited for music class that day. If I wouldn't have sent that email, Heather wouldn't have called at all and we would have arrived at the school only for her to have told us the news in front of my son. How do you think he would have felt about that?I'm surprised that the director of a place that regards itself as fostering confidence in young children would reject a child to their face. The website states, "studies prove that the relationship between a caretaker and a child is more secure when it's longer. It supports the social and emotional development of a child. Whereas, frequent change in approach or caretakers can cause suffering and early depression in children." Heather and her staff gave my son one full day the first week and three full days the second week, calling us to pick him up on what would have been his fifth day at MGH. If the email I had sent Tuesday morning were suggestions from an actual psychologist, would they have called to tell me you couldn't give him one on one attention to implement the strategies from a doctor? The meeting on Friday with the teachers suggested otherwise, as we were told they were ready to work with whatever care we found once an assessment was made. Christine informed me that she would have to call to have my son picked up from school if the kids felt unsafe. According to her, this happened for the first time on Monday even though he was called to be picked up three prior days of school. No one informed me he wouldn't be able to return without my nanny or a parent in the classroom after this one incident of him kicking in the direction of a child. I was under the impression that we would have to come get him if it happened again, but not that he couldn't return.The first I heard of this was twenty minutes before the start of class on Tuesday. I was caught of guard and it was very unprofessional. I am so glad this did not end up happening in front of my four year old son, as the director originally intended.I understand my so  was not easy and required a lot of one on one. He has never been in anything full time all day. He has never been in a Montessori setting. I believe he was not given a fair chance to succeed. He was not even given an entire week. The MHG program is more geared toward families with Montessori backgrounds, with kids that are ready to do their work without much assistance. This should have been conveyed to us before we signed on, as we were open about his past behavior and experience.I hope in the future you are up front with parents regarding any children that may have special needs or behavioral problems.
Oct 31st, 2022