Elderberry Montessori is a community-focused Montessori preschool dedicated to empowering all children to develop their innate gifts of curiosity and autonomy. Through a mix of independent exploration and guided engagement children develop the foundation of a life-long love of learning.
Please contact us to receive more information about our school.
San Francisco, CA
New Location coming Autumn 2021!
Monday – Friday
8:00am – 1:00pm :: $2,150
8:00am – 3:00pm :: $2,500
(Elderberry offers a tuition assistance program. If interested, please click the box for tuition assistance on your application.)
Monday – Friday
3:00pm – 5:30pm :: $400/month
Elderberry is closed due to COVID-19. Normally Elderberry’s school year runs September to June with summer school options available.
MaryAlice is a dedicated, life-long educator who hails from South Portland, Maine. She is passionate about the Montessori method being especially designed to focus on the whole child and bring out the most in children, emotionally and academically. MaryAlice has 12 years teaching experience in Montessori, Public and Special Education fields and is well crafted as a Teacher Collaborator, Parent Educator and Curriculum Designer.
She has a dual-BA in Elementary Education and Special Education from Salve Regina University. MaryAlice received her Montessori Early Childhood Certification from the North American Montessori Center and has spent 7 years teaching in a Montessori Primary classroom here in San Francisco.
Q: What do you love most about the Montessori Method?
Maria Montessori had a deep and resounding respect for children, and this is reflected in the Montessori Method and pedagogy. I love this idea of celebrating children’s innate curiosity and drive to learn and engage in the world around them. Montessori classroom materials have so much intentionality. There is little redundancy across the materials and if there is, it’s on purpose. It’s inspiring to see how these interwoven classroom experiences help children make connections.
Q: What’s your favorite Montessori work?
As a whole, Math. If I had had Montessori math as a child I know I would be more keen on it. The bead bar system is both simple and powerful. The materials are concrete and sequential, building on past lessons. The children can visualize and physically explore numbers. There is also a control of error which makes the works self-correcting to help children stay engaged. This concrete process of learning numbers and of being introduced to the decimal system makes math not only fun and educational but also more retainable.
Q: What’s your favorite children’s book?
My favorite book to read to children is Amos and Boris by William Steig. It tells the tale of an unlikely friendship between a mouse and a whale. The language is vividly rich as the book weaves an incredible journey of how two strangers help each other through kindness and compassion.
Q: What do you enjoy most about working with preschool age children?
Young children have minds like sponges. Their synapses are firing all the time, and you can see it in their expressions. It’s incredible to see that power of discovery. I especially love guiding them through their processing. When you can give them that tender moment and guiding hand, it feels like a huge honor.
There’s a harmony and beauty that’s created for a child when they come to school and spend their days with a classroom full of their peers. Those peer interactions are energizing, as children marvel at their discoveries and go through the spontaneity of their day. Maria Montessori said it well when she said, “The child is endowed with unknown powers, which can guide us to a radiant future. If what we really want is a new world, then education must take as its aim the development of these hidden possibilities.” (The Absorbent Mind)
Elderberry Montessori School is a nonprofit organization and does not discriminate by race, color, national or ethnic origin, creed, religion, sex, disability, age, marital status, sexual orientation, or status with regard to public assistance. Furthermore, Elderberry Montessori School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.
San Francisco Preschool Preview Night
Information Sessions @ Noe Valley Public Library
Noe Valley Farmers Market: 8am-Noon
“MaryAlice is not only an extraordinary Montessori educator, she’s also a natural-born leader. In her tenure with us, MaryAlice transformed her classroom’s experience to be highly engaging, launched a successful series of community enrichment activities, and was dearly beloved by the diverse community of children in her classroom. I’m excited for Elderberry Montessori families who will receive the benefit of her passion for the Montessori Method, her vision for how to run a world-class preschool and her joy of helping children develop their innate drive to explore, learn and engage in the world around them.” – Maria Hassel, Former Head of School of Montessori House of Children
“We offer our highest recommendation for MaryAlice as an exceptional Montessori educator and as the architect for our son’s Pre-K program. Truly the highlight of this journey has been MaryAlice’s class. She brought a level of passion, dedication and creativity that was unique in our experience. MaryAlice set up and lead a truly authentic Montessori classroom. We’ve been constantly amazed by the breadth of curriculum, our son’s excitement toward his class, and his accelerated development.” – Former Parent
“Above all, we have been impressed with the personalized attention MaryAlice gives to our son. She recognizes the unique challenges our son faces, in terms of physical, academic and social development perspectives. And when he has shown particular passion or interest in a subject or area, she enables him to explore that activity or even design new activities. For our naturally hyper-curious son, this freedom and support has been priceless.” – Former Parent
“We are huge fans of MaryAlice and feel blessed that our child had MaryAlice as a Montessori teacher throughout their preschool years. MaryAlice is not only deeply kind, gracious and perceptive, she also seems to have a magic touch when it comes to engaging children in a way that brings forth their inner drive to explore and learn with focus and thoughtfulness. We didn’t know much about the Montessori Method heading into preschool, and we could not be happier that we chose Montessori for our child. They truly gained a love of learning and ability to focus and engage at school thanks to their Montessori experience.” – Former Parent
“An education capable of saving humanity is no small undertaking: it involves the spiritual development of man, the enhancement of his value as an individual, and the preparation of young people to times in which they live.”
Dr. Maria Montessori, Education and Peace
“Love and trust, in the space between what’s said and what’s heard in our life, can make all the difference in the world.”
Mr. Fred Rogers
Learn more about the Wildflower network from its founder, Sep Kamvar.
What is Montessori education and what are the benefits?
Dr. Maria Montessori made education her life’s work and passion. Over the course of her lifetime she keenly observed children paying close attention to their social emotional needs and their capacity for academic growth. Montessori pedagogy is tried and true. It fosters independence, a child’s natural inclination to learn while empowering children to be stewards of the earth and mindful citizens of their community and the world.
How does Elderberry Montessori differ from other early childhood programs?
Montessori education values self-directed learning and hands-on activity “work”. We believe children can be empowered to follow their interests and curiosities if given the independence and tools to do so. Montessori values self-expression, building a sense of community, and raising kind, thoughtful, caring humans.
What are my options for enrollment?
Our program is five days a week. We offer various pick up times during the day to meet your family needs: 1:30pm, 3pm and rolling pick up between 3pm and 5:30pm.
What are Elderberry’s typical classroom size and ratios?
Elderberry is proud to offer quality education for a maximum of 24 children. Our teacher to student ratio is 1:8 which is well below the state requirement of 1:12. We pride ourselves in giving your child individualized attention and care.
What does a typical school day look like?
| 8-8:30 am | Morning Drop Off |
| 8:30-11:30 am | Morning Work Period |
| 11:30a-12:15p | Lunch |
| 12:15-1:30 pm | Outside time/ Visit to the Local Park |
| 1:30pm | Mid-day Pick up |
| 1:30-3 pm | Naptime for ages 3-4 |
| 1:30-2 pm | Rest for ages 4+ |
| 2-3 pm | Afternoon work period for children ages 4+ |
| 3 pm | Afternoon Pick up / End of School Day |
| 3-5:30 pm | Aftercare / Enrichment Classes – Open ended pick up time |
| 5:30 pm | School Closes |
What are the expectations surrounding toilet training?
We ask that children have a steady routine in place at home. We require children wear regular underwear during the school day and bring a change of clothing to be stored at school in case of accidents. We’ll help the children adjust to their new toileting patterns at school and will provide regular reminders of bathroom breaks for the first few months of school for younger children.
What food does Elderberry provide?
We provide snack in the morning and afternoon for children in the aftercare program. Nutrition and healthy eating habits are part of our educational program. We talk to children about foods that give energy and nutrients for growing and fighting off illness. Daily snacks served in the classroom include vegetables, fruits, whole grain crackers, and cheese. We provide filtered water because it is best for dental health.
How does Elderberry Montessori manage allergies?
Parents are asked to directly communicate any and all food allergies with teachers and staff. We are a tree nut and peanut free school community.
Wildflower is an ecosystem of decentralized Montessori micro-schools that support children, teachers, and parents. Our schools aspire to give all children and families the opportunity to choose high quality, beautiful learning environments as they follow life’s unfolding journey.
Wildflower is an ecosystem of decentralized Montessori micro-schools that support children, teachers, and parents. Our schools aspire to give all children and families the opportunity to choose high quality, beautiful learning environments as they follow life’s unfolding journey.
Our aim is to be an experiment in a new learning environment, blurring the boundaries between home and school, between scientists and teachers, between schools and the neighborhoods around them.Our schools are small and teacher-led, with deep parent engagement. At the core of Wildflower are 9 principles that define the approach.
Our network is supported by a foundation that works to build capacity, systems, tools and research to grow and strengthen the network.
Learn more about our story.
Blurring the boundaries between home-schooling and institutional schooling, between scientists and teachers, between schools and the neighborhoods around them. At the core of Wildflower are 9 principles that define the approach.
After the first Wildflower school was created in January of 2014, there was intense interest in the school and the approach. This interest led us to open-source the model and help other family groups and teacher-leaders to create new Wildflower schools. Each teacher-leader at each Wildflower school serves on the board of at least one other Wildflower school, creating a community of schools that are linked by both a shared philosophy and a network of shared relationships.