Montessori Infant-Toddler Care Program4513

MIT was the first outside care we'd ever used for our 15 month old son. Initially, what attracted us to Barbara's program, was the fact that she wanted to meet with us outside of student care hours. She wanted to screen us before she let random strangers into home while the children were there. I really appreciated her putting the safety and best interest of her existing students first rather than just gaining a new client. Our experience to follow was even more fulfilling. Barbara is very attentive to every child and their needs, pays attention to detail, is very organized and diligent. Barbara is also very resourceful and helpful if you ask for advice. She provided an intellectually stimulating environment. A few ways she did this is teaching them how to read by introducing phonemic sounds before letter recognition. This did wonders for my son who was able to recognize all of his letter sounds before the age of two! She constantly talks to them and purposefully introduces and exposes the children to a wide range of vocabulary. Most importantly, we trusted Barbara and she was always honest and ethical with us. We are truly grateful for our experience there and finding such a wonderful educator for our child.

My daughter started attending MIT when she was 18 months old, and we are incredibly thankful for Barbara and her program. My daughter has developed in leaps and bounds at MIT, from her language skills to learning how to pick up after herself and be organized and independent. I was hesitant to start her in preschool so young, but with the incredibly wonderful and nurturing program Barbara provides, I'm so glad we didn't wait any longer. Barbara is not only great with the kids, she's a wonderful resource for parents as well, and we always appreciate her support and advice. At 3 and ½ years old, she has now â??graduatedâ?? from MIT, and Iâ??m confident that she will thrive at her new school with the skills that Barbara has taught her. Thankfully, we have a younger son who just started attending MIT at 15 months old, so we will still have Barbara in our lives. The decision to start him there at such a young age was not a difficult one at all. Barbaraâ??s caring, kindness, nurturing, respect, and endless patience (and I do mean endless, our daughter tested it regularly) are reassuring and inspiring. Thank you Barbara!

I have had the honor and privilege of working for Barbara for almost two years. Barbara is a gifted teacher who interacts with each child in a consistently respectful and encouraging way. No matter the number of children in the classroom or the level of activity, she is calm and responsive, respectful and kind. These qualities are in full expression no matter the circumstances. I continue to marvel at her level of energy which is always strong and vibrant. I often think about the trust that parents must place in their childcare providers/educators. No matter the level of research that a parent does there is still not the privileged perspective that I have had. I want to say that every interaction Barbara has with a child is for the child's greatest growth and development. Her deep respect for the value and integrity of each person shines through in each communication with the children in her care. What a contribution she makes to each child, their family and to our world. I have been blessed by this opportunity to work with her and know that each child is offered a truly safe place to grow intellectually, emotionally and spiritually. It is with gratitude that I share these thoughts.

My daughter started at M.I.T when she was 13 mos and was there for 2.5 years. She loves Barbara so much and everyday asked to go to school. Barbara fosters a loving, nurturing and stimulating environment for toddlers to develop basic, social and academic skills. She taught my daughter how to take care of herself independently (brushing her teeth after meals, going to the potty by herself, cleaning up toys/work and her dishes after she eats) that she is able to do these things at home. I love the daily journal that she has each child do. I can really see the intellectual and creative development in my daughter as I review her journals from month to month. Barbara also has many stimulating and challenging things to teach each child as they are ready for them. I also love the strong parent connection from her school because you really get to know the other families as well as alumni during her once a month get-togethers known as TGIF.

Barbara Crawford's school is extremely helpful to both parents and children. She is comitted to giving all children the oppurtunity to learn within a healthy, loving and nurturing environment.

My daughter started M.I.T. when she was a year and half years old. Prior to M.I.T., my husband and I had a difficult time finding a day care with an instructor we can trust. Barbara is amazing! As my daughter spent time with Barbara, she was displaying excellent manners, good personal hygiene habits, and strong language development. I enjoyed discussing about highlights of the day from learning how to use a scissor, making a word using phonics, or creating a dragon out of an abstract art activity. Barbara also initiated a discussion with me as my daughter began to display a learning hurdle. My daughter would stop what she was doing when finding it too difficult to complete. Over time, Barbara was there for many of my daughter milestones such as potty training, temper tantrums, and coping with birth of a new baby. She was there for me as well as I sought her advice on many things. Many things my daughter acquired at M.I.T. are lessons for life. When my daughter found a nickel inside the car, she said, Mommy, we need to save it. I was amazed that her first acknowledgement of money was to save it. This was the result after Barbara instilled a piggy bank area at M.I.T, which she later extended into a take home math lesson. Barbara creates a loving and nurturing environment where children can thrive and learn. My husband and I observed many day care centers and within 10 minutes at M.I.T., I knew I found the right one.

My daughter has attended MIT for the past year, and it has been tremendously beneficial for her. Barbara has taught her so many wonderful things including self sufficiency, good organizational skills, creativity, good manners, problem solving, a love of books and learning, artistic expression, and good social skills. Barbara has also been extremely helpful to me as a parent, and has given many wonderful suggestions to some of my parenting questions. The environment is nurturing with healthy routines, a lovely garden for the children to play in, with a great sense of community with the families involved.

Our twin girls (now 2.5 years) started at Barbara Crawford's school at 21 months. The girls not only adore her but are making enormous strides in language and motor development, social skills, organization (of thought and environment), and discipline. Unlike most two-year-olds, my girls seem to be able to "focus" or "check in with themselves" even if they are already beginning to have some kind of emotional outburst. I attribute this entirely to Barbara (and the guidance she has given me, a new parent of twins). In this day and age when many parents and educators are, in my opinion, over-emphasizing academics, Barbara and her program are firmly committed to whole-person development. She is empowering my girls with love for themselves, others, and the world around them. Naturally, this fosters a love of learning. After reading this, you may be saying to yourself, "She makes it sound like this woman walks on water!" To which I respond: "She just might!" Stop by her program sometime, and you'll understand what I mean!

I was so glad that a great friend recommended Barbara to us. She is the most caring, loving, attentive and firm child care provider I've ever met. My son was only 6 months old when I started him with Barbara. First, he went half day - one day a week. I was so impressed by the way Barbara handled the children that I added more days. My son was very clingy and just wanted Mommy. Barbara would always carry him and really cared for him while he would cry. Montessori Infant-Toddler is not just a child care program - to me it is a school for little kids. Barbara got the children ready for school. They even brushed their teeth after meals and cleaned after themselves. She taught them how to count, read and follow instructions. There was always new things for them to do. The one thing that really impressed me still treasure was that she had every single kid draw a picture and she would ask them what they drew and she would write it down word for word in a journal like folder and it came home every month for the families to read. That to me is very impressive. Barbara also has her monthly alumni gathering at her place. This allows the families to see each other again and to just keep in touch with Barbara and the children she took care of. She really loves the children she cared for. Barbara to me is an Angel. I just wished I knew of her when my first son was born. To this day, my son still talks about Barbara and he remembers the things they do at Montessori Infant-Toddler.

We just can't say enough about Montessori Infant-Toddler (MIT). Our three children have each attended MIT. In fact, by the time I had my third child, I actually waited 9 months to return to work because I couldn't bear to place him anywhere else. Not only does Barbara provide a loving, nurturing, and very safe environment; she also taught our children a love of learning and gave them an academic head start that continues to serve them today (our children are now 6, 8 and 10). From cleaning up after themselves and developing social skills, to creating stories and learning their letter sounds, our children thrived at MIT. Sweet Jennifer remains Barbara's assistant after many years. That and the fact that many "alumni" families continue to return for MIT's monthly parent/child gathering attest to this amazing teacher! In the 7 years that our children attended MIT, I never met a child that Barbara couldn't reach. Barbara is keenly attuned to each child's unique nature and needs, and somehow manages to help each child to achieve his/her fullest potential. Barbara shares a sense of wonder, discovery, and joy with children that is both contagious and refreshing. Whether as full-day child care or morning-only preschool, MIT is #1 in our book!

Barbara teaches even the little ones how to clean up after themselves. They even brush their teeth after meals. I liked having such an intelligent, well educated women spending time with my little one. It is NOT just babysitting.

I am truly blessed that my son is part of this program. His teacher is incredibly positive and encouraging and she has had a strong impact on him in only a 3 month period. He loves going there and is very happy! She knows how to direct his abundant energy in a positive way!

My daughter has been attending this program for 7 months now and I truly feel blessed to have found it. If it wasn't for the founder/teacher of this Montessori program I would seriously consider not working. The individual attention, love, and sense of family at MIT is amazing and I plan on having my daughter there until she has to go to kindergarten.