A Warm Aloha!

            Welcome to Growing Minds Montessori Academy!  We are excited to offer a quality educational experience to you and your child. It has been such a blessing to have the opportunity to create a beautiful indoor and outdoor environment which encourages learning and creativity. Your child will have a wonderful opportunity for exploration, discovery, and growth as an individual, all of which will serve in the development of his or her academic skills and abilities. This learning will be engaged with a wide range of educational activities as prescribed by Dr. Maria Montessori and outlined in the curriculum developed by the North American Montessori Center (NAMC).

I would like to share a bit about my own personal and professional background. My name is Lyudmila (Mila) Dahlman, and I am a credentialed classroom teacher, with five years of experience teaching primarily at the elementary level. Additionally, I am a certified Reading Specialist and certified in the Montessori teaching methodology at the 0 to 3 years and 3 to 6 years levels. I am a mother of three young children, Leilani, Josiah, and Wyatt, all of whom are enrolled in the program.

An important aspect of the program we offer is that both my husband James and I are committed to the Christian faith, and we strive to raise our family to follow this commitment. As such, the education we will be providing will reflect these values. While our school is not a formally Christian institution and does not use a Christian curriculum or follow any specific denomination, as a family we embrace Christian values that naturally shape our daily rhythm. These values are shared with the children in simple and age-appropriate ways. Each morning, we read a story from the The Beginner’s Bible: Timeless Children’s Stories, and we pray together at the beginning of the day, before meals, and at the close of the day. Christianity may also be discussed informally during class time and conversation. Topics such as Jesus as Savior, sin, salvation, and the origin of good and evil may arise naturally as we guide children to think about life, choices, and character. Children may come home wanting to continue discussing and asking questions about these or similar topics. We want to be transparent with families about this aspect of our program. Please be sure that you are comfortable with this before enrolling your child, as it is an important part of the atmosphere we cultivate.

Finally, we believe that parents are truly their children’s first and most important teachers. I am honored to be your teaching partner as we provide meaningful and stimulating learning experiences together on behalf of your child. Please keep in mind that the first six years of your child’s life are the most formative physically, socially, emotionally, and cognitively, so let’s make the best of them!