Dancing Pines Montessori was previously the Well-Trained Mind Montessori in Renton, WA. It began with our Head of School, Owner, and Lower Elementary Teacher, Kelly Severson Kunz. Kelly holds Bachelor Degrees in Early Childhood Ed and Elementary Education, in addition to a Master’s Degree in Literacy Education. She has worked with children her entire life. From starting with just the primary classroom at the previous location, she then added a lower elementary classroom as her students aged out of primary. As they continued getting older, there was a need to expand to be able to offer upper elementary. Her dream of owning a farm led her and her husband to look for a property that would open up more classroom space for the school, as well as incorporate outdoor and farm school learning into her Montessori curriculum. Dancing Pines has now been at this location since 2018 and offers a full arc of Montessori education from preschool through elementary.

DPM consists of three classrooms. The primary classroom is home to 24 students ages 3-6, and led by teachers Patricia, Gabi and assistant teacher Lori-Lee. The Lower Elementary classroom consists of 30 students ages 6-9, led by teacher Kelly and assistant teachers Melissa and Kaleena. Finally, the Upper Elementary classroom of 12 students ages 9-12 is led by teacher Kris.


Inside the classrooms children develop a love of learning by taking the lead on their educational journey and honing skills related to their interests. Our teachers are their guides inside and out of the classroom.


Outside of the classrooms, children experience the beauty of a 7-acre campus. Playing alongside and helping to care for various animals (barn day), taking walks in nature, participating in outdoor school (afternoon primary students), playing sports, exploring our pond, and utilizing 4 playgrounds for children to: jump, swing, climb, hang, and exercise gross motor skills.


Please take a look at our “Welcome Back” page for more information, and our calendar page to take a look at our typical school year schedule and breaks.