Frequently Asked Questions

Please fill out our interest form, and we will be in touch! 

We accept children aged 2.5 to 6 years old.

Our school is open Monday through Friday from 8:00am to 3:00pm, with before school care beginning at 7:00am and after school care extending until 5:30pm.

We follow the Hamilton County Schools calendar for holidays and breaks during the school year. In the summer, we close for Memorial Day, Juneteenth, and 1 summer vacation week that includes July 4. 

For all ages of preschoolers at The Apple Seed, tuition is $250/week or $920/month for the school day, 8:00am to 3:00pm. Before and after school care (as early as 7:00am and as late as 5:30pm) fees are $30/week or $100/month. 

We accept childcare certificates from the Department of Human Services. 

We  know that all children have unique experiences and develop at their own  rates. No matter what skills your child has mastered, we will identify  the next steps in their learning. Children do not have to be toilet  trained to enroll. Friends with special needs are a welcome part of our  community. 

We welcome students with differing abilities into our classrooms. We  believe in the benefits of inclusion for all students! We have staff  members who are willing to learn about your child's individual needs  (and be trained if necessary) and staff members who already have  experience working with children with developmental delay, speech and  language delays, autism, hypotonia, type 1 diabetes, orthotic devices,  trachs, and feeding tubes. We do not have therapists or nurses on staff at The Apple Seed but welcome any such professionals who are  working with your child to do so in our facility. 

The Montessori approach to education is child-centered. We often  describe Montessori philosophy as "freedom within limits." Children are  free to choose materials that appeal to them, and it is the  responsibility of teachers to provide materials that will encourage the  next steps in students' learning and to give students opportunities to  interact with those materials. Our classrooms are filled with materials  designed to be touched, moved, and fully experienced by  preschoolers--nothing within their reach is inappropriate for them to  use! A day at The Apple Seeds includes, in addition to plenty of  time for these experiences, teacher guided lessons in large groups and  small groups. Teachers read aloud multiple times per day, teach songs  and finger plays to reinforce concepts, plan projects and activities for  individual students and small groups, and facilitate different types of  work with the materials offered in the classrooms. We believe that  children shouldn't have to be forced to learn or to work. A child's play  is their work, and it is a teacher's job to provide learning  experiences that make this work enjoyable and enticing. 

Absolutely! The best thing about the Montessori philosophy is that it is tailored to each child's unique needs and personality, giving each child time and  space to develop at their own pace and in their own style, with the guiding hand of an experienced teacher. Instead of only developing skills that we think of as "academic" (writing and  recognizing letters and numbers, counting, sounding out words, etc.,) a Montessori program develops the whole child. In addition to early math and language skills that meet and exceed  standards for pre-k, the skills developed after 1-3 years in our program  include an increased attention span, problem solving, cooperation in a group of peers, appropriately expressing strong emotions, motor skills, and independence--all skills essential for kindergarten success. 

Everyone  is enrolled full time, but how often your child attends is up to you.  We encourage attending all 5 days, but if you prefer to keep your child  at home a few days per week or to have them attend for half days  (leaving at noon,) that's ok!
 

The rationale: Children, even more  than adults, need routine in their lives. Becoming accustomed to a  routine calms children, especially those who may tend to experience  anxiety (including separation anxiety.) Attending preschool 2 or 3 days  per week can be more​  stressful than attending 5 days per week. We have seen this lack of a  predictable routine actually create anxiety in children who were not  previously displaying signs of feeling anxious. As adults, we know how  hard it is to come back to work on a Monday after being off on Sunday.  It is equally difficult for children to come to school every other day.  Attending every weekday means that children make friends more quickly,  learn the classroom routine more quickly, form stronger bonds with  teachers, and generally feel more at ease in school. Attending daily is  an important component in adjusting to school life and readiness for  kindergarten. 

Complete our interest form, and we will be in touch as soon as possible!