Celebrating its 13th anniversary this school year, the Montessori Island School at mile marker 92.3 oceanside has openings available for "older twos" to third grade.

We are a private school and are now accepting children that are "older twos" to five years old (VPK). The VPK program, (Voluntary PreKindergarten), a state-subsidized program offering a free three hours a day, five days a week education for four-year-olds, is also available at Montessori Island School as part of our existing pre-school.

We provide K-3 education on our campus through our new free public charter school, Ocean Studies Charter School. Call (305) 852-7700 for elementary enrollment information.

Our teacher to student ratio is one-to-12 in the preschool/VPK and kindergarten/elementary, compared with one-to-18 or higher elsewhere.

The toddler program, with children 2+ years, carries a one-to-six ratio. Singing, dancing, listening to stories and hugging are all parts of a toddler’s day, which also includes independent exploration, active play, quiet time and small group lessons.

MIS follows the "best practices" of Montessori education, which includes multi-age classrooms and a lengthy, two-and-a-half hours of uninterrupted morning work time, with an additional afternoon work time for the kindergarten/elementary students as well. These work times emphasize the skills that children most need for success in elementary school and beyond.

The Montessori philosophy is based on a profound respect for the child. All learning experiences and practices are designed to foster the student's natural curiosity, self-esteem, individuality and independence.

The classrooms are furnished with learning materials designed by Maria Montessori, which emphasize learning by doing. Children develop a love of learning from these interesting and exciting materials.

The Montessori Island School building was custom-designed to be a model Montessori School, with generous classroom space and large windows set low for natural light and observation of the outdoors. An outdoor environment with several "playscapes" for children to explore completes the facility. The building has been featured in conferences on Montessori architecture as well as in architectural digests.

For a tour of the Montessori Island School, to enroll a child from 2+ years to third grade, or for more information, please call 852-3438.