MCC Website

Education for life.

Association Montessori Internationale (AMI)

Recognized School (CASA Level)

We are grateful to learn and play on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Coast Salish Peoples, including the territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil- Waututh Nations.

Montessori Children’s Community

-proudly operated by the Montessori Training Centre of B.C.

The Montessori Children’s Community (MCC) opened September 5, 2006 in the heart of the Cambie/Oakridge area in Vancouver. The MCC is owned and operated by the Montessori Training Centre of British Columbia (MTCBC), one of only two AMI Montessori teacher training centres in Canada affiliated with the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI). The AMI is the organization set up by Dr. Maria Montessori to uphold, propagate and further the pedagogical principles and practices she formulated for the full development of the human being. The AMI is internationally recognized for excellence in Montessori training.

The MCC was established to meet the needs of the community for a high quality early childhood learning environment, and to create a lab class demonstrating the excellent standards that the A.M.I. promotes.

to visit the MTCBC website

Our Team

Heena Darediya

CASA Guide

Anastasiia Denysova

CASA Assistant

Roberta Curtis

CASA Assistant

Adrienne Klassen

Facility Manager

Cristina Abasolo

MTCBC

Operations Director

Elena Hammel

CASA Guide

The Montessori Children’s Community staff are compassionate, dedicated and knowledgeable. Our staff are committed to delivering an authentic Montessori education as outlined by the principles and standards of Association Montessori Internationale in an exquisite learning environment. Each staff member holds A.M.I. certification in their respective roles. Starting September 2024, the MCC is pleased to welcome Elena Hammel. Elena brings with her an extensive AMI teaching background, as well as a rich collection of talents including being an established concert pianist, a Yoga instructor and a Flamenco dancer, among others. We are excited to welcome her to the MCC!

Our Program

The Montessori Children’s Community is committed to supporting the wholesome growth and development of the human personality during the formative early childhood years by implementing the teachings of Dr. Maria Montessori. In this way, we can assist the child, not only in their natural quest for knowledge and independence, but also in their task of creating themselves and in striving to realize their potential. This embodies Dr. Montessori’s principle of education as an Aid to Life.

“The hands are the instruments of man’s intelligence”, wrote Dr. Montessori. At the MCC we encourage hands-on learning, independence and self-reliance. Dr. Montessori also wrote, “The child has a different relation to his environment from ours... the child absorbs it. The things he sees are not just remembered; they form part of his soul”.

The Prepared Environment

Our Montessori Classroom is a ‘prepared environment’ which embodies the educational principles established by Dr. Montessori as she consistently and scientifically observed how children develop and learn.

In a Montessori class, there is a three hour work cycle when interactive learning occurs in a carefully prepared environment carefully designed to meet the needs of the children in this mixed age group. In a non-graded class of mixed ages, the children spontaneously and independently use materials designed by Dr. Montessori.

The children choose their own activities and develop practical and intellectual abilities through individual discovery and exploration. It is a peaceful environment rich with learning opportunities in the practical life and sensorial activities as well as with other areas such as language, mathematics, geography, art, music and the natural sciences.

The Montessori Philosophy

“Learning is a dynamic process in which the whole personality of the child must be

actively engaged.” ~ Dr. Maria Montessori

Dr. Maria Montessori (1870-1952) was an Italian physician whose career was dedicated to the study of children. She discovered that the characteristics at each stage of human development are unique, and that the foundation of the whole personality is laid during the early years of life. This discovery is now universally accepted in scientific circles. The mind of the child, which in the first six years of life is different from that at any later stage of development, was called the Absorbent Mind by Dr. Montessori.

THE EDEN PHILOSOPHY. We are very fortunate to be housed at, and warmly welcomed by, the Youville Residence – a Seniors’ Home operated by Providence Health Care. Youville embraces the Eden Philosophy, of which one of the guiding principles is:

“An elder-centered community commits to creating a human habitat where life revolves around close and continuing contact with plants, animals and children. It is these relationships that provide the young and old alike with a pathway to a life worth living.”

We regularly engage in shared activities with the Youville seniors, which adds a unique and wonderful dimension to our program as well as to the lives of the senior residents at Youville.