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Teton Montessori in the Rexburg area allows kids to learn the way they were meant to learn—through multisensory and hands-on learning.

As a parent I feel like this school embodies the philosophy of tell them and they will forget, teach them and they might remember--involve them and they will never forget. The teachers and interactive learning materials provide scaffolding and individualization necessary for concepts to truly be understood in group based learning and individual work plans.

The school is light and decorated in a cottage-like feel, and the grounds feel like a park—creating an inviting safe and loving environment so kids can learn. They never ignore a child’s needs and will work to discover learning styles that are effective in teaching each child and will keep trying if one does not work at first. The school does not compromise educational standards for each grade level and will work to help a child reach those standards at a child’s own pace.

My son (age 5) has speech and language disorder and some early learning difficulties. The multisensory approach including kinesthetic/movement and tactile learning is the ONLY way he could have learned preschool and early Kindergarten concepts as well as science, history, life skills, and world concepts. When he came to the school, he could not hold a pencil and his vocabulary was very low. After one year in preschool, his vocabulary increased significantly from group lessons, field trips, and object-based learning. He was able to communicate his ideas, became interested in reading books, and began to draw. In Kindergarten, my son is tracing letters and numbers and is writing some independently. He can recognize numbers and count and is beginning early phonological reading skills.

Other kids in his class are supported in fluent reading, number sense, along with other goals as early as age 4 if they are ready. He has grown in independence, responsibility, and social skills. Teton Montessori educates the whole child not just teaching math and reading. In the public school system— he would have been pressured and felt like he was behind or pushed into a separate classroom. I am positive he would not have learned like he does in Montessori.

He has a classroom family and an education designed to meet him where he is and grow his skills from there. I am so grateful as a parent to have found this school. Mrs. Bethany is one of the most skilled educators on this side of the United States. You just need to step in her classroom for a few minutes to see that—if all else fails to engage my son she will find a way to make it happen even if she must fill a bucket of water and put rocks and golf balls in it to provide heavy input and tactile learning. Her loving instruction and patience are unmatched. We love her.

If you are looking for a school that will give you peace of mind that EVERYTHING possible is being done and more to help your child learn—this is the school.

Having taught school in the public-school setting and then providing specialized learning within language and cognition for several years, making the switch from public school to Montessori was not even a consideration. However, after experiencing years of a mismatch between what our son could do at home as compared to how he performed at school, along with the gap of several years behind his peers, we became increasingly stressed and overwhelmed in our determination to help our son. It was necessary for our son to have a one-on-one paraprofessional to navigate the educational environment.

Our independent son at home was now bringing home the high anxiety, dependence, and selfhelplessness he developed and experienced while in public school. As parents, we knew he was capable of so much more as we worked with him all year long and saw what he could do. We didn’t understand why his skills were not transferring to the school environment, and even worse, becoming increasingly unstable as his anxiety paralyzed his ability to perform previously mastered skills. Our son became a passive observer with alarming detachment from learning and engaging with his peers. We started to doubt what we believed he could do and accept the lower leveled goals he was given in his program.

Yet, and thankfully, we wouldn’t let go of the hope that our son would learn to read so that his world would expand and afford him the endless possibilities gained through reading. Miraculously, we heard about Teton View Montessori from our daughter who began working there and who also knew what her brother could do. She was relentless in her insistence that we come and see for ourselves how learning could be different and enjoyable. Being an educator, I was thrilled with the hands on learning I saw happening as I walked around and explored the rich variety of resources a child could choose to engage with as they worked through their individualized learning plans. We observed children happily engaged while enthusiastically sharing with their peers what they were learning.

We worried our son would not know how to navigate this type of learning and was too dependent and far behind to even be considered and taken into the program. We are so thankful Mrs. Fuhriman did not believe this, even after we divulged just how far behind he was when compared to same-aged peers. Her years of watching children evolve from learning to perform to now exploring to learn enabled her to confidently assure us that our son would not only learn, but it would be a pivotal change that would break down the barriers our son had faced.

Oh, how I wish we would have started this very program, Teton View Montessori, from the beginning of our son’s education. We no longer have to pry out of our him what he is doing and learning because from the moment he gets in the car, we hear stories about what he did, made, or discovered. We are hearing stories that now include science, social studies, music, and art concepts. We even know the names of his “friends” as he now shares experiences he has with them. Our son is actively volunteering to participate in discussions and group projects. He wanted us to come in and see how he completed his math assignment using different manipulatives to problem solve “all by myself.” His anxiety level has been reduced to a miraculously low level as he now enjoys learning. He is so excited to not have someone follow him around and show him how he is supposed to complete his assignments.

Help is now given with supportive encouragement to explore different avenues rather than memorize a certain way or set of steps. Each child is at the level they need to be while being naturally supported to higher levels using materials and manipulatives that encourage exploration and curiosity. Although our son is behind his typical peers, it isn’t as apparent in a Montessori setting where his peers are more motivated by their own curiosity to learn rather than comparing themselves to their peers. Each child has an individualized experience.

If we could go back and advise ourselves when first enrolling our son in school, we would be just as relentless as our daughter when insisting we visit Teton View Montessori and to see for ourselves how learning can be motivated by a child’s natural curiosity and surpass expectations. If comparing our son today using the same mentality used to judge a child’s progress in the public school system, our son would have easily progressed at least two grades in several areas within a few months. Yet most important, our son is having fun while learning, which has extinguished the paralyzing terror he once experienced daily when expected to perform in a manner that did not make sense to him.

My two kiddos have grown leaps and bounds at Teton View Montessori.

Iris (4) can now write the alphabet and counts (mostly) up to 100. She can phonetically sound out her letters and is proficient in addition! Liam (6) reads at a 2nd-grade level, can skip count, and excels in both addition and subtraction without manipulatives.

Bethany is superb; she's always patient and seems to know exactly what they need to be challenged academically, socially, and emotionally.

If you're in the Rexburg (or St. Anthony or Rigby area) and looking for a school that is hands-on, with passionate teachers dedicated to each individual child, Teton View Montessori is a must!!

I have a soon to be 5 year old and this is our second year at the school. When starting in the mixed age preschool class it meant so much to me that “Teacher Bethany” helped guide my kiddo and myself from half to full day taking into account her readiness and comfort as this was her first real daycare or school experience.

I value the focus on life skills and the trust each child is given to carry out tasks that build confidence. Mine loved the “water works”, learning about all the holidays, doing all the big projects like baking food and field trips and learned more songs than I can remember.

One of the many unique aspects I have enjoyed is the work between classrooms and ages. The social emotional support is also really important to me. I see compassion and empathy modeled in all aspects of the daily routine and have seen my kiddo learn to work within the classroom setting, learn to make mistakes, make friends and form a strong bond with her teacher.

Some of these things may seem normal in a school, but to me it’s the intentional respect and autonomy (with appropriate boundaries) given to students, that make this type of education different.

In the world we live in, the gifts we have to share with each other are important. I could think of no better advantage to give the world than sending my kids to a school where the environment fosters independence, imagination, and critical thinking and are given with smiles and compassion far and above what you receive in a public school.

We have taken an unschooling approach in teaching our 6.5 year old daughter from day one. We moved to Idaho when she was 5 and since we were new to the area we decided to put her in a nature school to make some friends. She loved it so much we thought of having her go to a Montessori the following year. (since the philosophy of Montessori fits our view of unschooling) That is how we found Teton View Montessori and Lexi Fuhriman.

I was a little leery about the amount of hours of school at first but it’s turned out to be great! We love that our daughter is with children of mixed ages (it has been so helpful in her learning how to interact with others), that she can learn at her own pace because of the focus on child led learning, that she is learning concepts and not just memorizing, that she does not take tests, and that she is learning to respect and appreciate our country and those who fight to keep it free.

We love all of her teachers — Miss Lexi, Miss Emily, Miss Lannah and Miss Diana! They are kind and compassionate women who really care about all the kids they teach. I really appreciate Lexi keeping us updated on what our daughter is learning and how she is doing at school. Not just academically, but psychologically as well.

Our daughter has grown leaps and bounds since attending Teton View! Her vocabulary has grown, she is able to express herself better. She has grown more confidence in herself. She has experienced compassion and kindness from older classmates (and teachers) that has helped her feel included and apart. Her concepts and desires of being responsible for self have grown.

We are glad she was able to go to this school and highly recommend it! Montessori philosophy is a great option for teaching children, but it’s the teachers and the way they teach at this Montessori school that make it special!

This is my daughter’s first year at Teton Montessori. She’s in the secondary program and absolutely loves it. She was previously in the a public school and really struggled academically and socially. I was a little worried how starting a different kind of school would work out for her because she had always struggled so much but it has been an amazing experience.

Since starting Teton Montessori she has really opened up, and started understand curriculum that she had struggled with in the past. She has learned that there’s not just one way to learn, there are several ways to get the right answers which has been so helpful for her. She not only understands the curriculum, but she remembers it when she finds her way of learning.

Her teacher is so patient with her and works really hard in trying to figure out what works best for her style of learning. She loves that it’s not a sit at your desk all day kind of school. She has learned so many hands on things from cooking different treats to going outside and exploring nature. Her teacher plans awesome lessons to get the kids engaged and excited to learn.

I have been amazed at how fast she has changed from being a discouraged struggling student to a student with so much confidence in herself in the little amount of time she has attended this school. I love that she carries over what she learns into the home and is eager to share with her family all that she did that day.

We are so blessed that Ella is thriving so well there and so happy that she has finally found a school that she’s excited to go to everyday.

My son loves school at Teton Montessori!

Nathan (the Jr. High guide) is very good at explaining concepts! You can tell he himself has a passion for learning!

We love that our son is learning how to think for himself, not just being told what to think! To us this is one of the most valuable skills one can learn!

We also love that our son is learning how to teach himself and is being guided on how to ask questions and think critically.

The environment is peaceful and loving! Respect for self and others is a priority. The children learn how to take care of their surroundings and help the group through personal responsibilities.

Nathan is amazing at finding the good in the children and also seeing their needs and helping them help themselves! It is definitely an irreplaceable experience!

Thanks Teton View Montessori!!!

Teton View Montessori has been life changing for our family!

When it came time to make the decision on where our oldest child would go to school we were really struggling finding a program we agreed with anywhere in the Rexburg area.

When Teton View Montessori was introduced to us we instantly knew it was a perfect fit. Now 4 of our 5 children are enrolled and we will be enrolling our youngest next year. We have seen our children thrive in very individual ways. All of our children are extremely different and have very different learning styles.

Even with these differences Teton View Montessori and their amazing staff has managed to captivate and inspire each of them in an individual way so that they have continued to love learning.

You know you have found the perfect fit when your kids complain about breaks and want to be in school learning, discovering and gaining skills that will truly serve them throughout their whole lives!

Thank you Teton View Montessori!