Water Lily Montessori

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Welcome to Water Lily Montessori, a Wildflower School in St. Paul, MN.

We collaborate with families to nurture the minds and spirits of infants and toddlers in an authentic Montessori environment. We strive for equity, community, and connections with nature.

We are a member of the Wildflower Network of schools. Wildflower is an ecosystem of decentralized Montessori micro-schools that support children, teachers, and parents. Wildflower aspires to give all children and families the opportunity to choose high quality, beautiful learning environments as they follow life’s unfolding journey.

Please contact us to receive more information about our school.

Location & Hours

Location

Water Lily Montessori
244 10th St E.
Saint Paul MN 55101

Contact Us

info@waterlilymontessori.org

(651) 227-7483

Hours

Monday – Friday, 8:30am – 3:30pm

Before & After Care

Monday – Friday, 7:30am – 8:30am
Monday – Friday, 3:30pm – 5:30pm

Due to COVID-19, before and after care is not available at this time. Please inquire if you have specific needs. Thank you.

Transportation

Please contact us for transportation needs.

Lunch & Snacks

Healthy snacks are provided for all children. We can accommodate most dietary needs. Lunch can be purchased or brought from home. Students that qualify for free and reduced lunch have the fee waived.

Daily Routine

The goal of the time in the Montessori environment for children ages 3-6 years old is for the children to learn how to adapt to their surroundings as future members and change agents of our society. The entire classroom environment is constructed just for the children’s use and maximizes independence, community, and exploration.

During the day, children at Water Lily Montessori will have uninterrupted work time in the classroom where they are free to choose work they have already had presentations on and repeat that work for as long as they desire during the work period. There are five areas of work in the environment – practical life, sensorial work, language work, math work and cultural. Children will be offered presentations individually or in small groups by the teacher leader. The children prepare their individual work spaces, garden, eat lunch communally, care for their environment, and explore the outdoors together.

There is nothing more beautiful and hope instilling than seeing children developing the confidence, self-esteem and agency as they engage in the meaningful and self selected work in the Montessori environment.

Our Calendar

Our school year runs from September 8th, 2020 to June 11th, 2021.

Distance Learning September 8-25, 2020

Hybrid Learning Model begins September 28, 2020

Our Hybrid Learning Model is a 4-day/week design with in-person instruction on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Wednesdays will be self-guided from home with scheduled all-school Zoom calls from 11:00am-12:00pm

Winter Break is December 21st , 2020 – January 1st, 2021.

Additional holidays observed are Thanksgiving, Martin Luther King Day, Presidents Day and Memorial Day.

During the fall of 2020, parent teacher conferences will be held virtual during the month of November. A staff member will reach out to individuals for scheduling. In March, we hope to accommodate in-person parent teacher conferences during our scheduled days listed on our calendar.

Water Lily Montessori school calendar aligns with Saint Paul Public Schools calendar.

Water Lily 2020-2021 Full Calendar -Subject to change due to Covid

Water Lily Assessment Calendar 2020-2021

October 19-23rd

May 17-21

Water Lily Assessment Calendar 2020-2021

Our Teacher Leaders

Amanda Jakowich
Director / Founding Teacher Leader

Amanda is an educational leader committed to collaborative learning that engages students, staff, families and the community.   Amanda began her journey by receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in Music, from the University of Wisconsin – River Falls, where she studied vocal-choral music education.  Upon completion of her undergraduate degree, she immediately dove into family life and utilized her experience as she developed a new identity of being a Mom. After many other adventures, Amanda set off down the path of self-exploration which offered grace, refinement, and growth, in the interest of child development; observing the unique gifted qualities each child possesses.  In the spring of 2019, Amanda completed her Montessori Primary Training at the Montessori Training Center of Minnesota.  Thus, earning the highest, internationally recognized Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) credential.  Currently Amanda is pursuing her Master of Arts in Education at Saint Catherine University in Saint Paul, Minnesota.  In her free time Amanda enjoys time with family and friends, baking, yoga, almond flavored lattes, adventures in nature and being at home in Minneapolis.

Richard Escandon
Emerging Teacher Leader

Richard began his career at the University of California Santa Cruz where he received his Bachelors of Arts in Anthropology and Minor in Child Development— there he learned non-bias practices and principles he applies in the classroom to better understand the child. Richard found Montessori in 2013 in Oakland Ca, and has been working in the field of Montessori education ever since. Originally from New Mexico, Richard grew up on a chili farm, at 16 he headed off traveling all around the United States, often touring with musical acts, theater troops, or spending summers working for Organic Certified Farms. Richard enjoys playing the guitar, banjo, reading South American poetry, and creating collaged works of art. Richard is new to Minnesota, having just moved here from New Orleans, La. He hopes to attend Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) credential program in 2021 to continue his journey as a Montessori educator.

Enroll Now

Meet our Teacher Leaders

The application process begins with contacting the school and arranging to meet with our Teacher Leaders and touring our school to learn more about us.

ENROLLING NOW FOR 2020-2021 SCHOOL YEAR

For all new applications for 2020-2021 school year, please email info@waterlilymontessori.org for information.

We are currently enrolling for our Pre-k program, if your child is 33 months-4 years old, please fill out our online application.

We are now enrolling for kindergarten for the 2020-2021 school year. If your child is 5 years old by September 1st 2020, please fill out our online Kindergarten application. If enrollment becomes full, a waitlist will be available.

Guidance on our Enrollment and Admissions Policy

Click here to learn more about our enrollment and admissions policy.

Tuition

Preschool tuition is $1100 per month for full day 8:30am – 3:30pm​.

We are dedicated to making preschool affordable for every family who applies and have scholarship opportunities. Water Lily Montessori school is a Four Star Parent Aware program.  Please reach out ​to us for more information.

Kindergarten tuition is free. ​We are a public charter school authorized by Osprey Wilds to provide tuition-free kindergarten.

Non-discrimination Policy

Water Lily 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, Water Lily 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.

News & Events

Hiring Children’s House Assistant

Minnesota Wildflower Montessori Schools (MWMS) seeks a part-time or full-time Children’s House Assistant Teacher. The assistant will provide classroom support in preparing and maintaining an environment in which the Montessori approach to education is put to practice. Click here to learn more and apply.

Parent Workshops

November 3rd, 2020, 6:00pm – 7:30pm via Zoom online portal
February 2021 – To be announced

Resources

Why Montessori?

Why Wildflower?

Consider a charitable gift to Water Lily Montessori. We believe educational opportunities should be available to families in our community regardless of financial means. We appreciate any support you might offer our community as we strive for social justice through quality, authentic Montessori education.

Donate

Water Lily Montessori is part of the Minnesota Wildflower Montessori School public charter, a 501(c)3 nonprofit. All donations are tax deductible.

Wildflower Schools

Water Lily Montessori is a member of the Wildflower Schools Network

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.

About Wildflower Schools

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.

Our Principles

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.

Read about them here.

Our Network

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.

View our network.