Welcome to

Dancing Pines Montessori!

What is Montessori Education?

Montessori is a brain-based developmental education method that allows children to make creative choices in how they discover the people, places and knowledge of the world. It emphasizes hands-on learning, self-expression and collaborative work in a beautifully crafted environment of respect, peace and joy.
Dr. Steven J. Hughes, Professor of Pediatrics and Neurology at the University of Minnesota Medical School, and Chair of AMI’s Global Research Committee

Children are human beings to whom respect is due, superior to us by reason of their innocence and of the greater possibilities of their future.
Dr. Maria Montessori

a MESSAGE FROM our head of school

Kelly Severson-Kunz

Montessori education is such a wonderful way to teach small human beings who grow at their own pace; fulfilling their social, emotional, and spiritual needs while gently introducing and practicing academics.

Children cannot learn if their affective filter is high, so we need to nurture relationships to gain that trust and lower the filter to allow true learning to happen.

Our teachers know that children must learn at their own pace otherwise we will see emotional anxiety present itself. We teach the whole child. Kindness, perseverance, resilience, grit, self-regulation, discipline, social awareness, honesty, and love. Skills such as cooking, planting, sewing, art, music, animal care, care of the environment are taught in addition to learning math, science, and language.

Some children pick things up faster than others and that is how they are made. We do not blow on the butterfly wings to hurry up the process.

We trust in the child to show us when they are ready for more.

Apply Today

Testimonials

My daughter attended the pre-K program here for 1.5 years (started mid-year) and also did 2 summers at the camps. She entered as a shy 3-year-old and really blossomed, leaving at just shy of 6 with a strong personality, good friends, and great academic skills. She has always picked up reading and math easily, and here she was allowed to move beyond the basic counting and letter sounds she had mastered at 3 and entered kindergarten reading at a 1st grade level (based on kindergarten teacher’s ass…

Primary classroom parent

For 2024-2025 school year:
WE ARE ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS for FULL DAY students who are ready to enroll in Primary (ages 4.5-6) as well as Lower Elementary (ages 6-9). Apply today!

For 2025-2026:
We currently have students in the waiting pool to schedule observations and tours (ages 3-6). We are still accepting applications for all classrooms.

Waiting pool: there are a few factors contributing to enrollment, aside from date of application. We try to give priority to families with siblings already currently enrolled, families who intend to do Montessori through the elementary years here at DPM, the child’s age to ensure a balanced classroom, the commitment to Montessori practices at home, and there is an observation of the prospective student in the classroom with the teacher that takes place prior to enrollment.

For that reason, it is impossible to say for sure whether there’s space available until admissions decisions have been made in January. That’s when the enrollment invitation goes out to families who have completed the process and who’s kiddos are eligible to start in the following school year. If you have any questions, please feel free to email Alex, [email protected].