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August 2023 by Mary Sobrero
Just transitioned my daughter to kindergarten after two years of CMA - she was is well prepared! Ms. Lorena runs a tight ship - and maintains a loving but firm relationship with the kiddos. Big emphasis on doing things themselves and independent, self-directed learning. We were very happy with our experience there!
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August 2023 by Mary S.
Just transitioned my daughter to kindergarten after two years of CMA - she is well prepared! Ms. Lorena runs a tight ship - and maintains a loving but firm relationship with the kiddos. Big emphasis on doing things themselves and independent, self-directed learning. We were very happy with our experience there!
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December 2022 by David Jackson
CMA is not for every kid. In our son's few months of attendance, multiple families (including ours) were asked or encouraged to leave. Our son internalized being a "bad kid" in his time at CMA and ultimately we feel that the staff are ill-equipped to handle children who don't fit into their specific, and strict archetype of the "perfect" toddler.For kids who are able to follow the specific rules and procedures, there's no doubt that they are able thrive at CMA, the activities they do and crafts they make are amazing and really encourage fine motor skills and cognitive development, but it seemed that our kid was far too often prohibited from just playing and being a kid and had to follow very strict guidelines and rules which made him frustrated.When he didn't follow the rules he was separated from his friends further which caused even more anxiety for him, leading to him to act out more, which staff at CMA didn't know how to address; possibly due to staff/student ratio.Communications with us was rare, and often only when something was "wrong"; we received very rare positive feedback. Even during our parent/teacher discussion near the end my wife had to request for Ms. Lorena to say a single positive thing about our child.Our son has since been at another preschool. He comes home every day enthusiastic and happy. He gets to play with friends all day, he is learning, growing and enjoying life. Staff at this new school have only positive feedback for him, they communicate very often, post pictures of him having fun with friends, etc. He went from feeling excessive anxiety at CMA to loving school.Our son learned a lot in his time CMA, but he was unhappy, and they made it very clear they did not want him there which is a shame. He internalized being a "bad kid" during his time there, and if I could go back in time I would have avoided CMA altogether.
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June 2022 by Esther P.
Ms. Lorena and her team provide a well structured enriching and nurturing environment. Our daughter has grown socially, emotionally, and academically in the 14 months she's been at the school. Every day she's happy to go to school and happy when she comes home. There's no stage of development that CMA can't handle, and through the challenging ones they are always appreciative of each child's unique character and strengths. The Montessori methodology is faithfully applied, facilities are always clean and tidy, and the children are taught to independently perform important personal hygiene tasks as developmentally appropriate. We are happily choosing CMA over an early start to kindergarten and enthusiastically recommend the school to others!
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May 2022 by Judith C.
This review is solely based on my interaction with Ms. Lorena. I really wanted my son to attend this school, especially with how close we live. I got very discouraged after trying so many times to reach Ms. Lorena. It took a few emails and phone calls each time I needed to ask a question. We toured the school and asked Ms. Lorena to contact us as soon as she knew if my son would have a spot for Fall 2022. Each of the three times I asked this same question, she didn't have a concrete answer. Her response was that she was waiting to hear from parents that already had their kids enrolled to make sure they were not going to re-enroll. I get that part, the part I don't get is why I was the one who basically had to hunt her down the many times I called or emailed to get a yes or no concrete answer about my son being able to attend. I finally got very discouraged, toured another school, and I was able to enroll my son, all within less 1 week of contacting the new school. I started contacting Children's Montessori on 11/29/21, my patience finally came to an end on 2/28/22, 3 months later!
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April 2022 by Dave J.
CMA is not for every kid. In our son's few months of attendance, multiple families (including ours) were asked or encouraged to leave. Our son internalized being a "bad kid" in his time at CMA and ultimately we feel that the staff are ill-equipped to handle children who don't fit into their specific, and strict archetype of the "perfect" toddler. For kids who are able to follow the specific rules and procedures, there's no doubt that they are able thrive at CMA, the activities they do and crafts they make are amazing and really encourage fine motor skills and cognitive development, but it seemed that our kid was far too often prohibited from just playing and being a kid and had to follow very strict guidelines and rules which made him frustrated. When he didn't follow the rules he was separated from his friends further which caused even more anxiety for him, leading to him to act out more, which staff at CMA didn't know how to address; possibly due to staff/student ratio.Communications with us was rare, and often only when something was "wrong"; we received very rare positive feedback. Even during our parent/teacher discussion near the end my wife had to request for Ms. Lorena to say a single positive thing about our child. Our son has since been at another preschool. He comes home every day enthusiastic and happy. He gets to play with friends all day, he is learning, growing and enjoying life. Staff at this new school have only positive feedback for him, they communicate very often, post pictures of him having fun with friends, etc. He went from feeling excessive anxiety at CMA to loving school. Our son learned a lot in his time CMA, but he was unhappy, and they made it very clear they did not want him there which is a shame. He internalized being a "bad kid" during his time there, and if I could go back in time I would have avoided CMA altogether.
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March 2021 by Laura K.
My child has been a student here for three years, including during the last year during the pandemic. Ms. Lorena's school is always clean and organized, with lots of thought given to keeping the space safe, friendly, and conducive to learning. The teachers we have worked with have been kind and effective without exception. I have been particularly impressed by the school's ability to meet the children where they are and helping them grow. They definitely are treating as individuals with their own needs and talents. During the last year, Ms. Lorena has successfully kept the doors of her school open and the children safe during challenging times. We are sad to be moving on, and would highly recommend this school.
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December 2020 by Melissa M
We are nearing the end of our daughter's time at Children's Montessori Adventure and while I'm excited for her to enter Kindergarten, I'm extremely sad to say goodbye to CMA. We moved to San Leandro in 2017 and were new to the area. We checked out a few places and ended up at Lil Angels off of Lewelling. While the staff was solid there, we were yearning for a bit more in terms of structure, learning and development as she was approaching the age of 2--that's when we found CMA.During our first visit with the Director, Ms. Lorena, at the end of summer/ early fall of 2017 we were immediately sold. Not only was she so easy to communicate with, she was also so great with the kids (kind, patient, yet firm) and her staff. This is a woman who truly cares about her school and the people in it. At that initial visit, we immediately knew that it had (and still has) everything we were looking for--structure with room for creativity, learning at the pace and interest of the child and on top of that, they learn practical life skills too.Our daughter has come to love this place and til this day, even when we pick her up she still loves to linger in the classroom and its a challenge to get her out the door (good problem to have). I love when she comes home singing new songs or even saying phrases in spanish (she can event count to 20 in spanish because of this school)! In addition to this, there are so many other wonderful benefits to having your child at this school:-- the teachers and assistants (while there has been some turnover in the past, but all of the teachers we've encountered since we've been there have been amazing, caring and nurturing-- there are often events for major holidays and special days for grandparents and parents to enjoy, it allows you to come in and see what the children have been working on. always a great time!-- they consistently change out the activities so that the children are always learning, challenging and ultimately enjoying themselves. our daughter is always excited to tell us about the latest and greatest activities-- they keep you up to date on your child's overall development with semi-annual parent/teacher conferences.Overall, I highly recommend this place--definitely one of the best schools in the area for ages 2-6. I'd be happy to share my experience so please feel free to reach out if you have any questions. I know how stressful finding the right school for your little one can be!Thank you, CMA! You will be missed come the end of the school year!
