Toronto, ON | Grades NS - 6 | Shortlist
Since it was founded in 1995, CMS has grown to include five locations in the GTA. The program is founded on the core ideals that Maria Montessori promoted in her work, those of respect, community, purposeful engagement, and self-directed learning. That said, Montessori didn't create her program as a museum piece, but rather as a starting point, and that's a spirit that CMS upholds as well. Dr. Montessori, as has been said, "adjusted and adapted her educational system to better serve children's needs, and well-functioning Montessori classrooms typically share many features reflecting those adjustments." One of which was, of course, a willingness to adjust and adapt. As such, the CMS program includes, as at the Maplehurst location, a computer lab, a library, and a music room. In all, the focus is very clearly on the child, and supporting child development, which is just as it should be.
Central Montessori Schools
My kid started in this school (different campuses) when she was two. Now she is in grade 6. When she was little (casa, JK, SK), I could tell she had a lot of fun there. When I got to school to pick her up, sometimes she asked to stay a bit longer to play longer. She enjoyed singing, dancing and story time etc. Now she likes the small class and mixed Grade environment (Grade 1-3 in one class and grade 4-6 in another class). She had plenty of time with teachers thanks to the small class size. ... View full review
My daughter has been going to CMS since she was four years old. She is 10 now and in grade 5 at CMS. What she likes most about the school is the fact that her teachers are always available to help the students. The one-on-one interactions between herself and her teachers have encouraged her greatly to do better in her studies. CMS has provided her the foundation to build a disciplined, focused and organized life. She also likes the personal space that is given to her to finish her studies. The ... View full review
My daughter loves CMS and her teachers. It is a second home for our child and everyone in the school is like a family to us. They provided a very caring and nurturing environment to my child, and when she first took me to her classroom, she was so proud to say "Mom!! See, this is my world" as a preschooler. Every teacher knows every child in the school. As a Montessori school, they instilled independence and discipline at the perfect proportion. CMS has set the scale so high for us in standards ... View full review
We've been with CMS since 2015, and we can tell that our kids enjoy going to school as they come back at the end of the day with such joy telling about the the experiments that they did or the projects they worked on that they are so proud of. There are a breadth of extracurricular activities offered at the school, could be learning a language, piano, Taekwando, dance, and Robotics are a few examples. The school is for children from infant to Gr 6 and there's usually more than 1 class for each ... View full review
When enrolling our kids to a private school, we chose the Montessori method of teaching because it recognize that all children learn in different ways, and at different speeds. We appreciated that Central Montessori Schools takes a collaborative approach to learning where students learn to work with, and learn from each other. This much more closely resembles the real world, where work is done in teams as opposed to individually. Our children appreciate the smaller class sizes and the attention... View full review