FAQs

1. At Mastro Montessori, we understand that the period of development from birth to age 12 is when most of your child’s intelligence and social characteristics are formed.
2. We recognize that this period is also when your child is most receptive, curious, and excited about exploring the world around him or her.
3. Mastro Montessori classrooms nurture excitement and curiosity by offering varied, age-appropriate materials to stimulate and engage your child.
4. Mastro Montessori teachers are trained to recognize when a child is ready to learn a new skill, and to foster his or her natural instincts and abilities.
5. Your child is valued as an independent thinker and encouraged to make his or her own appropriate choices.
6. A Mastro Montessori education provides students of all ages with information in a way they can understand and enjoy.
7. Learning is at Mastro is fun, empowering, and custom-fit to suit your child’s individual learning style.

The Montessori approach to education is unique. The materials used to teach reading, writing, mathematics, geography, science, music and history are all unique to Montessori classrooms. 

Dr. Maria Montessori, a physician who developed the materials and educational philosophy upon which our school is built, recognized the important impact that physiological and neurological development has on a child’s learning. The classroom materials she developed for our youngest students take abstract ideas and put them in a concrete form that makes sense to these developing minds.  Learning is hands-on in our classrooms versus traditional settings that are focused on workbooks and technology.

Unlike other schools, your child will share his or her Montessori classroom with older and/or younger students. Our Primary classrooms have children aged 2 1/2 to 6 learning alongside each other; our Lower Elementary classrooms have students 6 to 9, and our Upper Elementary class is comprised of students ages 9 to 12. This mixed-age grouping allows students to learn from their peers, showcasing the child’s ability to be both student and teacher.  These mixed groupings foster group dynamics and leadership skills for our young learners. We believe that often the best teacher for a four-year-old child is an older child. In a Montessori classroom, the teacher is not the primary focus; the larger group size encourages the children to learn from each other.

At Mastro Montessori, we are committed to helping your child learn the skills they need in order to grow, develop and thrive in today’s world.  We strive to nurture your child’s love of learning and make attending school fun and relevant for your child. Because we believe that education is more than strong academics, our school is a place to learn not only facts but also to learn respect for the rights of others and to learn to make choices that reflect a healthy self-confidence as well as a social conscience.  We believe that grace and courtesy are important components of the Mastro Montessori experience and it is something that is often missing in other local programs.

Montessori guides typically give direct instruction to individual children or small groups rather than to the entire class. Our guides are trained to observe students; stepping in when they see a child is “stuck” or ready to learn a new skill. This allows the children to learn independently rather than waiting for classmates that might require more support in a typical classroom.  The primary focus of our guides is to observe how your child learns and tap into the styles and approaches that work best for your child.

Our guides truly enjoy working at Mastro, and many stay with us for significant portions of their careers. Currently, our teaching staff has a combined 80 years of experience teaching at Mastro Montessori and has guided hundreds of students in our over 50-year history.

Mastro Montessori is conveniently located off Route 35 in Shrewsbury, making us geographically convenient for families throughout Monmouth County. Families in our community live in Atlantic Highlands, Eatontown, Fair Haven, Holmdel, Red Bank, Rumson, Sea Bright, and other towns in Monmouth County.

We are a culturally diverse community, with an international population, as the Montessori approach is recognized worldwide. Our families share a common commitment to quality education that fosters a love of learning, a deep sense of self-esteem, and respect for others.

Our families are also strongly committed to understanding the Montessori approach and supporting the development of their children into independent, creative thinkers.

Absolutely!  Every year we have students transition from Mastro Montessori to local public and private schools.  Our guides are accustomed to preparing children for non-Montessori classrooms and many Mastro families cite that their children are well-prepared, if not ahead of traditional classrooms.  Generally speaking, most children adapt to their new school setting quickly, make new friends, and continue to build upon the work they started at Montessori.  Mastro Montessori provides a strong foundation for students in math and language skills and because children can work at their own pace while at Mastro Montessori, they may find that they have mastered some skills before their peers have even learned them in traditional classrooms.  Our students are well-prepared for public speaking through frequent school performances and conflict resolution because of our multi-aged approach.  Parents often comment that our students are better able to engage with teachers and other adults because of their experiences in our classroom.  In addition, our teachers love to hear from alumni students and families and will continue to offer guidance after a child’s initial transitioning, if necessary.

Montessori schools are all independent from one another. The difference is in the teacher training and certification of the school. At Mastro Montessori, our teachers are all trained by the Association Montessori International (AMI). AMI was founded by Dr. Maria Montessori to protect the integrity of her work. Mastro Montessori is the only Montessori school in Monmouth County to receive the highest recognition status granted by AMI.

Children need consistency, order, and empowerment. A five-day-a-week program creates the consistency that is so important to young children and is essential in developing a strong sense of security.

Learning that takes place during the early childhood years comes spontaneously without effort. The Montessori experience tends to work best when children enter a Montessori program at age two or younger and stay through the kindergarten year.

Children entering at age four or five do not consistently come to the end of the three-year cycle having developed the same skills, work habits, or values. At Mastro Montessori, we strongly encourage families to enroll in our Toddler Community with the intention of staying to complete the Primary program to capture all of your child’s sensitive periods of development and blossom.