Montessori Children's House is an authentic Montessori preschool and childcare centre in Miramar, Wellington, for children aged 2.5 to 6 years. We have been part of the eastern suburbs community for over 20 years, with our core programme running 8:30am to 3:00pm and care available from 8:00am to 5:00pm.
Families come to us from Miramar, Seatoun, Strathmore and Karaka Bays because they want more than a safe place to leave their child for the day — they want a start that lasts.
Montessori is not a brand name you can buy. It is a method, and it depends entirely on how faithfully a centre applies it. Three things distinguish our practice:
Weaving — a practical life activity that builds fine motor control, pattern and sustained concentration.
Before-school care opens at 8:00am. The core programme starts at 8:30am, when children arrive, settle and choose work. The morning is the longest uninterrupted work cycle and it is where the deepest concentration happens — practical life, sensorial materials, language, mathematics and cultural studies.
Children aged under 3 finish at 1:00pm. Older children continue to 3:00pm, picking up afternoons gradually as they get used to the longer day. From age 3, a child can attend every afternoon if that suits your family.
Morning tea and lunch are part of the curriculum rather than a break from it. Children serve themselves, set the table, pour water and clear away. These are the practical life activities that build coordination and a genuine sense of capability.
A long afternoon programme runs from 3:00pm to 5:00pm for families who need it, at additional cost. Outside that, the core day ends at 3:00pm.
Learning stories record what your child is working on and how they are progressing. You will see the record, not just a verbal summary at pickup.
Outdoor play is part of every day, not a reward for finishing work.
Most Wellington parents are choosing between three options, and the differences matter more than the labels. Here is an honest comparison:
| Montessori Children's House | Mainstream preschool | Daycare / childcare centre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ages | 2.5 – 6 years, mixed age | Usually 3 – 5, grouped by age | Often 0 – 5, grouped by age |
| Who chooses the activity | The child, from work the teacher has prepared and presented | The teacher plans the day; children move between set activities | Routines are set by the centre; care and play lead the day |
| Day structure | Long uninterrupted work cycles | Short activity blocks, often 20–30 minutes | Routine-led: meals, naps, play |
| Mixed age | Yes — central to the method | Usually not | Usually not |
| The teacher's role | Observe, prepare the environment, present work individually | Lead group activities | Care for and supervise |
None of these is wrong. They answer different questions. A daycare answers "who will look after my child while I work". A Montessori preschool answers "what is my child becoming capable of". Many families need both, which is why we offer care from 8:00am to 5:00pm around an 8:30–3:00 core day.
The opposite is closer to the truth. The classroom has more structure than most, it is just structure the child internalises rather than one an adult enforces. Work has a defined sequence, materials have one correct use, and everything is returned to its place before the next thing is chosen. Freedom in Montessori means freedom within limits, and the limits are firm.
Children in a Montessori room are taught constantly — individually, in short presentations, at the moment the child is ready. What you will not see is a teacher addressing the whole group from the front. By the end of the 2.5–6 cycle, most children are reading, writing and working confidently with number.
Montessori was developed with children living in poverty in San Lorenzo, Rome, not with a selected group. The method assumes a wide range of temperaments and starting points. What it asks of a child is not stillness — it is engagement. Very active children often settle fastest, because the environment gives them something real to do with their hands.
Many centres use the word Montessori without following the method. If you are comparing options, these are the questions that separate them:
Yes, and the mechanism is worth understanding. The transition to primary school is less about knowing letters and more about being able to:
Those are exactly the capacities a Montessori classroom is built to develop. Most of our children move on to local primary schools with the confidence to walk into a new room and get started.
Fees depend on the sessions your child attends. Our published rates:
| Session | Hours | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Mornings | 8:30am – 1:00pm | from $81 per week |
| Full day | 8:30am – 3:00pm | up to $164 per week |
| Before-school care | 8:00am – 8:30am | ask us |
| Extended care | 3:00pm – 5:00pm | additional cost |
Fees start from $81 per week. That is the minimum — 20 Hours ECE reduces the cost for eligible children aged 3 and over, but it does not remove the minimum.
We are registered to offer 20 Hours ECE. How much it reduces your fee depends on the sessions your child attends and how the 20 hours are used across the week, so the number that matters is the one for your family rather than a general figure on a website.
We would rather work it out with you than publish a number that does not fit your situation. Call 04 388 3529 or email office@montessorichildrenshouse.co.nz and we will go through it properly — including whether FamilyBoost applies, which is a separate rebate claimed through Inland Revenue rather than through us.
Children under 3 attend mornings only. Afternoons are added gradually as your child gets older, and from age 3 a child can attend every afternoon if you need it.
We follow the New Zealand primary school terms, each around ten weeks. A holiday programme runs between terms 1, 2 and 3, from 8:30am to 3:30pm, and everyone is welcome to attend. Before-school care is available on holiday programme days.
We close for the Christmas holidays and reopen in the last week of January.
The best next step is a phone call: 04 388 3529, or email office@montessorichildrenshouse.co.nz.
Whether you choose us or not, these are the questions that actually tell you what a centre is like. Ask them in person, not by email — the answers matter less than how easily they are given.
The Education Review Office reviewed the service in February 2025 and published its report in May 2025. The evaluation rates the service across four domains. The one covering children's learning — He Whāriki Motuhake — was rated Embedded, the only domain placed above the quality threshold.
The report records that all qualified teachers and leaders are Montessori trained, and that children's learning and wellbeing are supported by teacher-to-child ratios higher than the required minimum. It also notes good progress against the next steps set in the 2022 review.
It identifies next steps for the service as well, including documentation of hazard checks and a stronger bicultural curriculum. Those are fair questions to ask us directly. Read the full ERO report.
Montessori Children's House is at 121 Darlington Road, Miramar, Wellington — a few minutes from Miramar town centre and an easy drop-off from Seatoun, Strathmore and Karaka Bays. We are open Monday to Friday, 8:00am to 5:00pm, and take children from 2.5 to 6 years.
Both, in practice. We provide care from 8:00am to 5:00pm, but the programme is a Montessori preschool programme for children aged 2.5 to 6, not a nursery for infants. If you are choosing between a daycare and a preschool, the question worth asking is what you want your child to be doing with their day.
Children from 2.5 to 6 years. The upper end includes the transition-to-school year.
Yes. Te Whāriki sits alongside the Montessori curriculum; the two are complementary rather than in conflict.
Gradual visits, a consistent key teacher, and a settling plan agreed with you before the first full day. Separation is hardest in the first fortnight, and it is normal for it to look worse before it looks better.
Our latest Education Review Office report is available on the ERO website. We have summarised what it says above, including the areas it asks us to improve.
The quickest way to decide is to see it. Call 04 388 3529 or use our contact form to arrange a time. Visits run during session hours, so you see the room as it actually is.
More on the thinking behind our programme: the role of the prepared environment, and why mixed-age classrooms work.
