A Montessori preschool in a converted farmhouse
Skein is a small Montessori preschool for ages 2 to 5, begun by parents who wanted a calm room and a long, unhurried morning. Three rooms, six adults, and a garden out back.
The day
A guide meets each child at the porch door. Coats go on low hooks, shoes change, and children say hello to a friend before choosing a first piece of work.
Three quiet hours with no bell. Children choose from the low shelves, work alone or beside a friend, and return the work to its place. Guides give short lessons to one or two children at a time.
Out to the yard and the garden beds, whatever the season asks for. Boots wait by the door, and a guide counts heads every time children go out and come in.
School-day children eat at small tables with their guides, from the lunch they bring from home. Children in the morning program go home after outdoor time.
A quiet hour. Porch room children rest on mats, and older children rest or look at books.
A short second work period, then a story in the room. Pickup is at 3:00 p.m. at the porch door.
What Montessori means here
When we say Montessori, we mean a way of setting up a room and a morning. The shelves are low, the materials are real, and each child chooses a piece of work and stays with it until they are done. A guide watches, gives a short lesson when a child is ready, and steps back. It is easier to see than to describe, so come and see it.
Low shelves and real materials
A long morning with no bell
Guides who watch first and talk second
Adrienne Howland
Director
Programs
Choose mornings, three school days or the full school day. The room depends on your child's age.
2-year-olds
The farmhouse's sunny front porch, with its own guide and assistant
3-year-olds
The first primary year, in the old front parlor
4-year-olds
The oldest children, upstairs under the roof
Each room has two adults, a guide and an assistant.
Sample programs.
Our rooms
Pours water from a small pitcher and wipes the tray afterward
Hangs a coat on a low hook and puts on shoes
Sorts and matches wooden shapes
Listens to a short story in a small circle
When a child is ready for a longer day and a bigger room, the guides and the family talk it over in the spring, and a few short visits to the Parlor come first.
Chooses work from the shelves and carries it to a mat or a table
Prepares snack for friends and washes the dishes
Traces letters in sand and counts with bead chains
Waters the plants and sweeps the floor
Children move up to the Loft in the year they turn four, once they know the work in the Parlor and are asking for more.
Keeps working on one piece of work over several days
Writes names and short words in sand and on paper
Shows a friend how a piece of work goes
Looks closely at a leaf, a shell or a stone
In the spring before kindergarten, the guide talks through the move with each family.
Sample levels.
Photos
Sample photos.
Dates
Open house in the fall, applications in the new year and an answer for every family in March.
Early November
Walk through the farmhouse on a Saturday morning and meet the guides. Children are welcome.
Tuesday and Thursday mornings
A tour takes about an hour while the rooms are working. We hold them all school year.
Book a tourJanuary
The form is on our enrollment page and takes a few minutes.
March
By email and a phone call, with a place or a spot on the waitlist.
Mid-August
New children start with a short visit alongside a parent.
Sample dates.
Safety and license
Licensed by Tennessee DHS
Child care center license · TN License # 000000Verify
1 adult to 7 children
2-year-olds
Group size: 12
1 adult to 9 children
3-year-olds
Group size: 16
1 adult to 13 children
4-year-olds
Group size: 20
Group size
Up to 20 children
with 2 adults
Capacity
48
Ages 2 to 5 years
A guide greets every child at the porch door and signs them in. At pickup a child goes only with the people on your list, and we ask for ID at the door until we know you.
Tell us about allergies at the tour; we ask privately once you enroll. We ask families not to send nuts, and children prepare snack in the room with their guide.
A child with a fever or a contagious illness stays home. If a child becomes ill at school, we call you right away, and a guide stays close until you arrive.
A guide counts heads each time a room goes out and comes in. The yard is fenced, the garden beds are low, and the porch steps have a gate that closes.
We practice fire and severe-weather drills with every room, and the whole farmhouse knows where each room goes.
Children wash their hands at a child-height sink on arrival and before snack, and work materials are wiped down between uses.
Ask us about child care assistance
Sample details.
From families
4.9
38 reviews
“The tour was unhurried. Adrienne let our daughter try a tray while we asked every question on our list.”
“Drop-off at the porch door is calm. A guide meets us each morning and always knows what we are asking.”
“The weekly note tells us what the room worked on, so we can set out something like it at home.”
Sample reviews.
Tours run on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Book one, or call the school and we will find a time that works.