About Us

Winnipeg Montessori School has been serving Winnipeg community since 1967.  We offer two, three, and five day programs that are authentic to the Montessori Method, for children ages 3 (or turning 3 by December 31st) to 6 years .

Our preschool program offers two day, three day, and five day per week for both half day and full day classes. Our two day classes are offered on Mondays and Tuesdays, three day classes are offered Wednesday to Friday, and five day classes offered Monday to Friday. Half day morning classes are 8:30-12, half day afternoon classes are 1-4:30, and full day classes have extended hours of 8-5:30.

Our Kindergarten program is 5 day only Monday to Friday, and offers morning classes, afternoon classes, and full day classes.

Our school opens from September to June each year, with the option for current students to enroll in summer camps, provided enough interest is expressed from year to year.

Montessori Philosophy

Montessori is an educational philosophy developed by Dr. Maria Montessori. It was her belief that all children have a natural desire to learn. Their abilities to absorb information at certain sensitive periods of learning are enhanced when a child is exposed to a variety of Montessori learning materials. The opportunity for each child to grow and develop as individuals is the main focus of a Montessori program.

Who’s Montessori?
Dr. Maria Montessori, the creator of what is called "The Montessori Method of education", based this new education on her scientific observations of young children's behaviour. As the first woman physician to graduate from the University of Rome, Maria Montessori became involved with education as a doctor treating children labelled as mentally challenged. Then in 1907 she was invited to open a care centre for the children of desperately poor families in the San Lorenzo slums of Rome.

She called it a "Children's House" and based the program on her observations that young children learn best in a nurturing environment, filled with developmentally appropriate materials that provide experiences contributing to the growth of self-motivated, independent learners.

Montessori's dynamic theories included such revolutionary premises as:

Children are to be respected as different from adults and as individuals who are different from one another.
Children create themselves through purposeful activity.
The most important years for learning are from birth to age six.
Children possess unusual sensitivity and mental powers for absorbing and learning from their environment, which includes people as well as materials.

Why Montessori?

The primary goal of a Montessori program is to help each child reach full potential in all areas of life. Activities promote the development of social skills, emotional growth, and physical coordination as well as cognitive preparation. The holistic curriculum, under the direction of a specially prepared teacher, allows the child to experience the joy of learning, time to enjoy the process and ensure the development of self-esteem, and provide the experiences from which children create their knowledge.

In order for self-directed learning to take place, the whole learning environment - room, materials, and social climate - must be supportive of the learner. The teacher provides necessary resources, including opportunities for children to function in a safe and positive climate. The teacher thus gains the children's trust, which enables them to try new things and build self-confidence.

Dr. Montessori's observations of the kinds of things which children enjoy and go back to repeatedly led her to design a number of multisensory, sequential, and self-correcting materials which facilitate the learning skills and lead to learning of abstract ideas by the construction of knowledge.

Originally called a "Directress", the Montessori teacher functions as designer of the environment, resource person, role model, demonstrator, record keeper, and meticulous observer of each child's behaviour and growth. The teacher acts as a facilitator of learning.

How is learning stimulated?

Creativity flourishes in an atmosphere of acceptance and trust. Montessorians recognize that children, from toddlers to teenagers, learn and express themselves in a very individual way.

Music, art, storytelling, movement, and drama are part of every Montessori program. The Montessori environment encourages creative development.  An emphasis on the sensory aspect of experience, the opportunity for both verbal and nonverbal modes of learning and many beautiful materials which stimulate interest and involvement are displayed in the classroom to invite exploration from the child.

What Make Us Unique

Our Montessori program provides an ideal environment to enhance a child’s natural social, emotional, intellectual and physical development. Our trained Montessori Teachers provide a warm and loving atmosphere which allows the children to progress at their own level emphasizing self motivated learning, choice making, and respect for self and others. Our primary goal is to provide an opportunity for children to gain independence and self-confidence. 

Our school was established in 1967 and is one of Winnipeg’s oldest and most respected Montessori schools. We are a not-for-profit Montessori program, which means that all tuition goes directly into providing a high quality program for our students.

We purchased our facility in 1989 where we enjoy a large open floor plan with over 4800 square feet of learning area. Our space includes large windows with lots of natural light, an art room, 2 large classrooms and an indoor gym for gross motor play. We also have a lovely fenced playground and private parking lot making drop off and pick up safe and convenient.

We have several options for families to choose from. We offer the flexibility of choosing preschool 2, 3 or 5 half days or full days. 

We also have a small sized (9 students total) Kindergarten class and offer half days or full days, five days per week.