About Our School
“Our care of the children should be governed not by the desire to ‘make them learn things’, but by the endeavor to keep burning within them the light which is called intelligence.”
–Maria Montessori
In 1972, Tuckahoe Montessori School welcomed twenty eager children into a carefully prepared one-room schoolhouse. Over the past fifty years, many classrooms have been added but our thoughtfully designed program, filled with kindness and kinship, remains the same. Today, 118 students fill our campus with joy, laughter, and curiosity.
The Montessori Method
Backed by research, the Montessori method has been proven to have significant social and cognitive benefits, including higher self-esteem, stronger social skills, greater independence, and a deeper sense of community.
The Montessori methodology is based on the belief that children learn best through movement and work with their hands. All Montessori classrooms are carefully-prepared and designed to promote meaningful repetition. Children are given access to all classroom materials and have the right to work with those materials until they have completed their own cycle of activity. With repetition and routine, Montessori students master new skills at their own pace.
Montessori at TMS
The Tuckahoe Montessori School (TMS) curriculum is designed to challenge each student to consider, explore, and think deeply about themselves and the world around them. TMS students are free to move about the classroom and choose from curated hands-on materials. Teachers introduce works sequentially according to the students’ developmental needs. Guided by our expert faculty, TMS students forge a personal learning path that is well-rounded, rigorous, and self-driven.
TMS helps students form positive lifelong connections to learning, so they can flourish as confident, independent, socially responsible adults.
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The TMS Community
Known for our vibrant and spirited community, TMS parents report feeling like TMS is “a beacon of light, with endless support.”
Whether it be during school hours — taking a nature walk or an outing to the James River for a field study — or after school, with Lego leagues, service projects, soccer, basketball, gymnastics, music, and more — TMS families receive warm welcomes into our heartfelt community. These activities rest on the philosophical underpinnings of our mission; that curiosity, kindness, and a deeper understanding of the world bring harmony and joy to our children.
