September is here!

Hello Magnolia Montessori Community!

The first week of September has been a truly inspiring one for our school. Last Monday and Tuesday we hosted open-houses to introduce ourselves and our new space to the families around us. We were thrilled (and a little surprised) to have such a big turn-out! We met families we have been talking to for months, families who live in the neighborhood and just noticed our sign go up, and families who have been following us on social media and wanted to come see what we are all about. Some folks had toddlers, some were expecting, and others are just curious to see what Magnolia is all about and be a part of it. THANK YOU for sharing open house with us if you came. To see our space filled with little ones, with their hands on the materials we've made, initiates our new home with love. 

We talked about the need for community and the principles of Magnolia Montessori. We were pleased to hear that folks expecting children, or with children too young to attend, would still join us for our open, monthly parent education potlucks, and be a part of this growing parent community around us. Don't forget to sign up for our calendar and subscribe to our events on Facebook to get notified about when those happen!

If you attended our open house and have not yet made contact electronically, please send us an email or fill out a contact form on our website. We want to know more about you and your family, and how we can be together in community. 

On Wednesday we collected the last pieces of information for our childcare licensure application and drove to Frankfort to hand it in and shake hands with the person who will read it. On Thursday, we had a mock licensing consultation to make sure our space is ready for the state to approve it for children. Every step of the way we are reminded that we are pioneers. Each person from each agency that approves a childcare center's progress will note to us, "I've never seen anything like this." They have found us difficult to regulate. We are not a school house with many classrooms, a bureaucracy with a chain of command, or a for-profit start-up with aspirations to build an empire. When they look at regulations, they usually read in a way that doesn't include our vision, our actual space, and our qualifications. It is clear that we are pushing the limits for each person that walks in, inviting them to expand how they view business, community, and early education. While this is an opportunity and a charming process, it takes finesse and patience. We are hopeful because from what we are hearing, the license will come through a bit more quickly than we expected. But just to be safe (and realistic according to our experience so far) we are estimating our open date to be 4 weeks from now. (First or second week of October, in other words.)

Until then, we invite all families in our community to continue to drop in at Magnolia and spend time in our space. We want to get to know you and the youngest members in our school, and for you to get to know each other. For those enrolling, it is a good opportunity for your child to get comfortable in the space and with us. We look forward to seeing you in this next part of the process!