Choosing a Montessori preschool is a different challenge than choosing a nursery
If you have read our guide on choosing a Montessori nursery, some of the points below will sound familiar — staff accreditation, prepared environment, no rewards and punishments. But preschool is a different stage of the child’s life and a different set of questions. A three-, four- or five-year-old not only speaks and goes to the toilet independently — they enter the social age, the peak of language absorption, they start to be drawn to letters, numbers, the map of the world, the life cycle of a plant. Around the age of five, a clear question of school readiness appears that did not exist in the nursery.
In Warsaw, several dozen facilities use the name “Montessori” — and as with nurseries, the name is not legally protected. Some preschools genuinely work in the spirit of the method, others use the label as a marketing tool. Below are thirteen specific points that will help you tell one from the other during the first visit. The questions to ask are concrete; write them down in a note on your phone before you go.
A quick note for international families: the Warsaw preschool landscape
If you are choosing your first preschool in Poland, three categories are worth knowing. Public preschools (przedszkole publiczne) are run by the city. They are very affordable (around 1.30 PLN per hour above the free five hours, plus meals — roughly 350 to 500 PLN per month all in), but admission goes through a city-wide January lottery, the methodology is the Polish state core curriculum, and communication is in Polish only. Private mainstream preschools are commercial, and English is usually limited to one or two short lessons a week. Private Montessori preschools — the subject of this article — sit at a similar level or somewhat above private mainstream ones, and vary a great deal in how strong an English-speaking environment they offer. Rates in both categories differ enough between facilities that a meaningful comparison starts with specific price lists, not with a quoted range.
International preschools in Warsaw (British, French Lycée, American, German) are a separate category — clearly the most expensive of the four, with a defined curriculum (IB Primary, British EYFS, AMI Montessori, Reggio Emilia). If you expect to move on to an international school later, choosing a Montessori preschool that follows the AMI standard makes the transition smoother — AMI is the same standard worldwide and is recognised by most international schools.
You do not need a PESEL number for preschool enrolment (unlike school, which legally requires one), but you do need it for any Polish subsidies. Most preschools, including ours, will help you navigate this during enrolment.
1. Staff accreditation — AMI 3–6, AMS Early Childhood, PIM 3–6 course
The first question to ask the director is the same as for the nursery, but it concerns a different level of training. In Montessori, every age level has a separate course programme: 0–3 (Infant and Toddler), 3–6 (Early Childhood / Primary), 6–12 (Elementary). A course completed at the nursery level does not qualify someone to lead a preschool group — different materials, different methodology, different scope of presentations. Check whether the teacher of your child’s group holds a course specifically for the 3–6 age level, issued by the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI), the American Montessori Society (AMS) or the Polski Instytut Montessori (PIM). A “general Montessori course” does not exist — it is always a specific level.
Questions to ask: which teacher holds the 3–6 certificate and from which institution? In which year? Do you also have an assistant teacher — and what are their qualifications? May I see the diploma or look up the name on the AMI / PIM graduate list?
2. Group size and adult-to-child ratio
This is where the difference from the nursery becomes most visible. In a nursery the groups are small — six, eight, at most twelve children. In an authentic Montessori preschool the standard is a much larger group, most often twenty-five to thirty children, led by two or three adults (one teacher with a 3–6 certificate plus one or two assistants). This is not a mistake. Maria Montessori observed that the social dynamics and the richness of interactions in a large group are themselves a value — provided the group is mixed-age and that at least two adults are present.
Smaller facilities run groups of 15–20 children, which is a compromise between social richness and acoustic comfort in a smaller room. Both sizes can be fully authentic — what is wrong is a group of forty with a single adult, or a room with two adults of whom only one holds the 3–6 certificate.
Questions to ask: how many children are in the group and how many teachers work at the same time? What happens when one teacher is ill — who replaces them? Does the substitute know the method, or are they just there “to supervise”?
3. Mixed-age groups 2.5–6 — the foundation of the method in preschool
This is the point that most often distinguishes an authentic Montessori preschool from “a preschool with Montessori elements”. In a classical 3–6 group, children spanning three years of age share one room. A three-year-old watches a six-year-old laying out the materials for division; a six-year-old helps a three-year-old tie their shoes; each learns at their own pace and from what they see in the older ones. Maria Montessori called this “the social context of learning” — and a century of research in developmental pedagogy confirms that children in mixed-age groups develop better social and language skills than in single-age groups.
Some facilities using the name “Montessori” separate children by year — three-year-olds, four-year-olds, five-year-olds — because “it is easier for parents when there are separate rooms” or “it is better for planning activities”. This is a sign that the method is being applied on the surface only. Mixed ages are not an option; they are a foundation.
Questions to ask: are the groups genuinely mixed-age 2.5–6, or split by year? How are children assigned to groups — for the whole stay, or with rotation? What do you do with a child who joins in February as a full four-year-old — do they go to a five-year-old group or a “starting” group?
4. The three-hour work cycle — uninterrupted
This is the core of the day in a Montessori preschool. Three hours in the morning (most often between 8:30 and 11:30), during which children independently choose materials, work at their own pace, return to the same material as many times as they need. The teacher gives individual presentations, observes, documents. There is no “circle time”, no group activities, no bell every thirty minutes. Maria Montessori observed that a child needs at least 60 to 90 minutes of uninterrupted work to enter a state of deep concentration (what she called “polarisation of attention”), and three hours allow for the full rhythm: warm-up, deep work, a rest phase, return to the next piece of work.
In facilities that “have Montessori elements”, you often see a different pattern: half an hour of work cycle, breakfast break, another half hour of work cycle, music class, second breakfast. That is not a work cycle — it is a classical preschool timetable with a “free play” stage tacked on. The difference matters fundamentally for the development of the child’s concentration.
Questions to ask: how long does the work cycle last without interruption? What happens between 8:30 and 11:30 — are there scheduled music, English or movement classes during that time? Are meals required at specific hours, or can the child eat when they wish?
5. Five areas of materials — completeness, not representation
A 3–6 classroom should contain materials from all five classical Montessori areas: practical life (pouring, polishing, fastening, cutting), sensory (pink tower, brown stairs, colour boxes, rough-smooth boards), language (sandpaper letters, moveable alphabet, picture cards, books), mathematics (sandpaper numbers, spindle boxes, golden beads, the decimal system) and cultural / cosmic education (continent map, model of the solar system, biological classification of animals, plant life cycles). Each area should have its own corner with an open shelf.
Check whether the room has completeness, or only representation. “Representation” means that the maths shelf holds three materials instead of fifteen — the children have “an option of maths”, but no real working set for the year. A full set of 3–6 materials is an investment of 30,000 to 50,000 PLN — some facilities economise and show parents the more visually striking areas (practical life with silver polishing) instead of the more expensive ones (golden beads for the decimal system). Walk into the room and count the materials on the shelves.
Questions to ask: is each of the five areas represented by a complete set? Where do you buy your materials (Nienhuis, Gonzagarredi, Polish producers of the same class)? What do you do when a material breaks — replace, repair?
6. Cosmic education and trips — for the five- and six-year-olds
Maria Montessori called the education of the 6–12 child “Cosmic Education” — and a foundation of this begins already at the end of the preschool years, at age five to six. The child becomes interested in big questions: where did the world come from, why did the dinosaurs disappear, what are continents, where do lions live. The preschool classroom should have materials that answer these questions (a globe, a world map with physical continents to assemble, a timeline from dinosaurs to today, classification of animals), and the facility should take the children out into the world — to the park, to a museum, to the fire station, to a farm.
Check how many trips a month the preschool runs and whether they are thematic (connected to current work in the room) or random. A good Montessori has a calendar of trips that follows the children’s current interests: if the group is working with the map of Poland, they go to a cartography workshop or to an ethnographic museum.
Questions to ask: how many trips do you organise each month and how do you choose them? Are they thematic, linked to work in the classroom? How are the children prepared for the trip — is there an “introductory lesson” and a “summary lesson”?
7. A foreign language — most often English, by immersion
In most Warsaw Montessori preschools the children learn English — some facilities offer French or German. The question is not “do you teach English”, but “how”. The optimal form, from the perspective of research on language acquisition in children up to six (including work by Patricia Kuhl at the University of Washington), is immersion — the daily presence in the room of a native speaker who talks to the children in English during play, meals, work with materials. Not “an English lesson three times a week for thirty minutes”.
Check whether the language teacher is a native speaker (or a C2-level speaker with natural intonation) and whether they actually spend several hours a day with the group, or whether they are a “visiting specialist” present for thirty minutes. Some facilities advertise “bilingualism” while in practice having one Polish teacher and another Polish teacher who speaks English to the children for twenty minutes a day with a Polish accent.
Questions to ask: who leads the English-language work and how many hours a day are they in the room? Where are they from (country, background, experience)? May I hear them speaking with the children?
8. A conscious school-readiness plan for five- and six-year-olds
This is a question that parents of three-year-olds do not yet ask — and a question worth asking now, because two or three years pass quickly. A child finishing Montessori preschool at six or seven should be ready for the first grade of school (public, private or Montessori — different choices). A good facility consciously works on readiness: learning to write through sandpaper letters and the moveable alphabet, mathematics up to a thousand through golden beads, the basics of geometry, cosmic education, but also social-emotional competencies (handling failure, waiting one’s turn, sustained concentration).
Ask how many children from last year went on to school and how that school rates their preparation. Some Montessori facilities have agreements with specific schools or run “from preschool to school” workshops for parents. If the answer is “every child is different so it is hard to say” — that is not enough for a parent signing a three-year contract.
Questions to ask: where do your graduates go to school? Do you stay in contact with the first-grade teachers — do they come back with feedback? What does the last year of preschool with you look like — is there a conscious school-readiness plan?
9. After-school care and extended hours — in Warsaw, a typical need
Parents in Warsaw most often work 8 to 17 or 9 to 18, and nurseries and preschools open standardly 7 to 17 or 7 to 18. Check what hours the specific facility keeps and what happens with the child after 16:00, when the formal group ends. Some Montessori preschools run an “after-school room” — care for children whose parents come later. Ideally, this room keeps the spirit of the method (open shelves with materials, the possibility of independent work for those who want it), but in practice it can be simply a room where children wait for the parent and watch cartoons. Ask directly.
The second question is the flexibility of the day. Does the facility require that “all children be in by 9:00”, or can you drop the child off between 8:00 and 9:30 depending on the day? Is pickup at 15:00 an additional cost, or included in the tuition?
Questions to ask: what are the opening hours? What happens after 16:00 — is there an after-school room and what goes on there? Can the child be dropped off at varying times in the morning?
10. Location — Białołęka and surrounding districts
Białołęka is specific: rapid residential development in recent years (Tarchomin, Nowodwory, Choszczówka, Białołęka Dworska), a large population of young families, but a lower density of educational facilities than central Warsaw. Choosing a Montessori preschool in Białołęka often means choosing between two or three facilities within realistic morning driving distance (up to 15 minutes by car in rush hour), not between twenty options as in Mokotów or Wilanów.
If you live south of the river, check the real commute in rush hour (7:30 to 9:00) — the Maria Skłodowska-Curie Bridge and the Grot-Rowecki Bridge can add 20 minutes. If you are considering a facility on the other side of the Vistula, do the maths on a year’s commute — 30 minutes one way times two times 200 working days equals 200 hours a year. Proximity is a real value.
Questions to ask: how far is the playground or park where the children go every day? Is there parking in the morning at drop-off? How does the facility handle transport — for trips, do you have your own bus, a hired coach, or public transport?
11. Fees, registration deposit, subsidies — what you actually pay each month
Tuition for a Montessori preschool in Warsaw varies enough between facilities that a single figure tells you very little — the spread comes from location, how fully the classroom is equipped, and how many hours the base rate actually covers. On top of tuition there are almost always four more items: a one-off registration fee, a meals fee, fees for additional activities (rhythmics, ceramics, dance), and a fee for the child’s own materials. So compare the annual total of those five items rather than the tuition line alone — otherwise you are comparing different things. Every facility lists its exact fees and payment terms clearly on its own website; it is worth collecting them from two or three places before the visit so there are no surprises.
One important point that many parents confuse: the Aktywny Rodzic programme (800 to 1,500 PLN per month for a child aged 1 to 3) applies only to children attending a nursery, not a preschool. For preschool children (3 to 6) there is currently no equivalent national subsidy. Some districts of Warsaw have their own programmes for three-year-olds (check the Białołęka district office website), but the scale is much smaller than for nursery age.
Questions to ask: what is the total monthly fee including meals and additional charges? What is the registration fee and is it refundable on withdrawal? Are fees increased during the year — in what process and by how much?
12. Possibility of observing the room during the day
A good Montessori preschool lets parents observe the group at work. This is not about “open days” once a year, when the staff are prepared — it is about real observation in the middle of a day, in the middle of a week, two or three times a year. Some facilities organise “observation windows” once a quarter — the parent sits on a chair to the side of the room and watches the group for 30 to 60 minutes. It is an invaluable tool for understanding how the method works in practice.
If a facility refuses observation with the line “it would distract the children”, that is an excuse. Montessori children are used to the presence of observers (it is part of the method — the teacher observes all day). The real concern is elsewhere — the facility is afraid that a parent will see chaos or the absence of real work with the materials.
Questions to ask: may I come to observe during the year, not only before enrolment? How often can parents observe? What are the rules — may I take notes?
13. Registration and legal status
Every private preschool in Warsaw is subject to the registration kept by the Education Bureau of the City of Warsaw. The entry is a statutory requirement and publicly available information. Check whether the facility has a registration number (it should be on the website, in the footer or under “Documents”). In addition, some facilities are entered in the RSPO (Rejestr Szkół i Placówek Oświatowych — National Register of Schools and Educational Institutions), kept by the Ministry of Education — this is required for facilities that want to issue official documents (for example, the school-readiness certificate for six-year-olds before they enter school).
MOC is entered in RSPO under number 478997. You can check it at rspo.gov.pl by entering the name or address of the facility.
Questions to ask: what is your registration number with the City of Warsaw? Are you in RSPO? Do you issue school-readiness certificates for six-year-olds?
Frequently asked questions from parents
Will my child learn to read and write at a Montessori preschool? Yes — at four to five years of age, most Montessori children recognise letters, build simple words with the moveable alphabet and begin reading short sentences. The pace is individual; some children read at four, others at six. The method does not push, but it respects the sensitive period for language.
Does Montessori preschool prepare a child for public school? Yes, if the facility consciously works on school readiness in the final year. Most graduates of good Montessori preschools cope in the first grade of public school without difficulty — they often stand out for independence and concentration, although they may have a slightly longer adaptation to the structure of a school classroom (45-minute lessons, raising a hand to speak).
Is there discipline in Montessori? Yes — but understood as the child’s internal capacity for self-regulation, not as a system of external punishments. Children learn the rules of the room (how to put away a material, how to ask for help, how not to disturb others), and the teacher consistently reminds them of these rules. The absence of stickers or the “naughty chair” does not mean an absence of limits — the limits are clear, only the tools are different.
Will my child learn competition? In Montessori, competition is not used as a teaching tool. Children are not compared (“Adam can already count to ten, can you?”), there are no rankings, no “who finishes first”. After preschool the children enter a world in which competition exists (sport, team games, school), and they handle it — the foundation is not the avoidance of competition, but the fact that self-worth does not depend on being faster than others.
What does a typical day at a Montessori preschool look like? The morning is a long, uninterrupted work cycle with individual presentations and time for a second breakfast when the child is hungry. It is followed by lunch and time outside, rest or quiet work for the older children, and a shorter afternoon work cycle. Exact hours vary between facilities — worth asking for the specific group’s schedule during a visit.
How does preschool adaptation differ from nursery adaptation? Preschool adaptation is usually shorter than nursery adaptation, because a child aged 2.5–6 already has more tools for coping with separation — speech, memory of routine, sometimes prior nursery experience. A good facility still runs it gradually: shorter stays to start, gradually extended, with consistent contact with the same group teacher. For more on the mechanics of adaptation itself (largely shared between the two stages), see our nursery adaptation guide.
Notes for international families specifically
Visas, PESEL, and enrolment. Polish law requires a PESEL number for the child to enrol in school (first grade and above), but not strictly for preschool. In practice, however, you will need a PESEL to claim any subsidy (Aktywny Rodzic, for the nursery sibling) and to register the child in the city system. PESEL is normally issued by the local district office (urząd dzielnicy) within two to four weeks of submitting the application.
Language adaptation. Children between three and six are still in the peak of the sensitive period for language. A child entering a Montessori preschool with no Polish will typically understand the daily routine within four to six weeks and start producing single words within two to three months. By the end of the first year they will be comfortable in conversation. If you keep your home language consistent at home — English, German, Ukrainian, any other — the child will grow up bilingual; the home language is not lost.
If you plan to move on to an international school. Many of the families we work with stay in Warsaw for two, three, five years and then move to a different country. The skills built in a Montessori preschool — independence, concentration, the social grace of working in a mixed group — travel with the child to any school system. We have placed children into Montessori schools in London, Berlin and New York, and into IB Primary, British and American schools in Warsaw, without a gap year.
After the visit — three rules for deciding
After two or three visits you usually have a feeling that one facility “fits” better. Trust that — but check three things before signing the contract. First: did you actually meet the lead teacher of the group your child will be in, not only the director. Second: did you see the room during working hours, with children in it, in the middle of the work cycle — not in the evening after cleaning. Third: does the contract have clear provisions on adaptation, the possibility of withdrawal, fee increases, absence policy (when the child is ill) — not just general formulations.
Preschool is a relationship of three, sometimes four years. Most parents look back and say: “The first two weeks were difficult, but after that I cannot imagine any other decision.” Choose consciously — and give yourself permission to change if after three months you see that it is not working.
An invitation to MOC Montessori in Białołęka
MOC Montessori preschool is entered in the Register of Schools and Educational Institutions (RSPO) under number 478997 as a non-public preschool. At MOC Montessori, the nursery and the preschool operate under one roof — the same Montessori method, the same staff and full educational continuity, with one mixed-age group at the preschool stage. The preschool runs on the five classical areas of materials, staff trained at PIM and AMI, and a daily English-language presence, all described in the points above.
The best way to check whether a given facility fits your family is a visit — book an open day. During the visit you will see the room during working hours, meet the teacher, and be left alone with your child for a moment at their table. That will tell you the most.