Montessori Greenhouse School

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

My girls were SO excited to get back to school. Our experience has been nothing short of amazing. I love being able to have them at the same school through 6th grade. All of the staff members are kind and welcoming. I am kept up to date on my children day as well if there are any incidents. My little one bumped heads with another child and I was called immediately! My oder daughter just completed a week long project building a spaghetti bridge where all the students were able to test the durability of their bridge with weights and rocks. The teachers even made spaghetti for the children to eat after the experiment was completed! We love Montessori Greenhouse! Thank you for providing some sense of normalcy for my children when they needed it the most.
Jun 28th, 2020

PARENTS BEWARE! The school endangered our children and once parents were notified by other parents of what was happening at the school, parents began pulling their child out of the school as they no longer felt their child was safe. Once we took our kids out of the school, they ignored requests to return our money and deposits. In addition, once you enroll they start requesting so many additional fees that were never discussed when you sign up. I started doing more research on the school after all this and saw they have several complaints written about them with CPS and law enforcement.  Needless to say, we are now preparing to go to court with them to get our thousands of dollars back that they are withholding and ignoring communication about.
May 23rd, 2020

This school put my child, and many others in danger resulting in most parents to pull their children from the school. The admin then refused to communicate with parents and refused to return funds they held on account such as lunch money, last month fees, etc. Admin did not acknowledge emails sent by many parents requesting to end enrollment and then stated they will be keeping all funds on account. They also have CPS reports. Please research first.
Mar 31st, 2020

Thanks employee for always parking in front of my house and making me park way down another street. When you have free parking spots of your own in front of your own business! Very professional.
Feb 2nd, 2020