TCI Montessori School

"We couldn't love this school any more!!! From the moment we met Lishi, the founder, we knew this was the right school for our kids. She has such a lovely presence and you can tell that she really cares about her students. ALL of the teachers are so wonderful at this school. We enrolled both of our children there (daughter 3.5 years old & son is 21 months). Our children started at this school with no previous Chinese language experience. After only 6 weeks, our daughter came home singing full songs in Chinese. We have seen a HUGE shift in our son's attitude after only the first month. He is a child that needs a lot of order, and this school gave him the order that he needed (plus lots of love)! We are so incredibly grateful to have found this school. Every teacher at TCI has our children's best interests at heart. They have mastered the art of loving our children while still preparing them for their best future. "

"My son has been going to TCI since January and we all love it so much. He gets so much out of this school. Lishi and the other guides are very easy to communicate with, respectful of special dietary needs, and really understand children and clearly care about each individual one. We definitely plan to continue here until he "graduates"."

"My 20 month old daughter started there when the TC first opened and she was around 17 months. Since then she has done wonderfully well and I can’t say enough good things about this school. I have toured multiple places prior to having her go attend Tci, which includes not only the regular primrose, etc to another accredited AMI Montessori school. I chose tci because of the uniqueness of the program: offering bilingual teaching in a true Montessori environment, both of which I feel are important for brain and physical development. I can tell you that in 3 months my daughter is now almost completely potty trained during the day, she eats mostly by herself, she helps me put away dishes at home, tries to clean up when there’s a mess, does well with dressing and undressing herself with minimal help. Those are just a few things worth mentioning. However, it goes further beyond that as she’s developed so much with her fine and gross motor skills as well. We are fortunate enough that we could afford any type of school/daycare for her but we chose tci as a leap of faith since it was a new school and we didn’t know what to expect, but we are very happy with our choice. The head of the school is very understanding and truly has a passion for teaching. Overall, I hope the school continues its great progress and for my daughter to thrive in their community for the coming years."

"We put our twins into the Twin Cities International Bilingual Montessori School this summer and they absolutely love it...and we also absolutely love it!! We are new to the Montessori method of learning but for our twins its a perfect match...a great combination of learning thru activity. The staff is very kind, professional and very committed to finding the most optimum ways for our children to learn. I just a month, we have already seen significant results. Very very impressed and strongly recommend to other parents."

"I did a lot of research on local Montessori preschools before I chose TCI for our 4 year-old boy. I discovered that very few adhere to the highest standards set forth by the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) established by Dr. Maria Montessori. So the first thing that stood out to me was that TCI offers an authentic Montessori education in combination with Chinese-English immersion. The owner, Lishi, and the certified Montessori guides are wonderful to work with and take excellent care of our little boy. He used to attend a play-based traditional preschool. At TCI Montessori he has become much more independent. For example in just the first week there, he started dressing himself completely in the mornings, picking out his own clothes with no help. He's very calm now when I pick him up from preschool, and when we get home he's more interested in creative play with his toys than watching T.V. (he can go a whole week without asking for any screen time now). It's like they have accessed a part of his brain that thrives on learning rather than being entertained. Regarding the Chinese immersion, he seems to enjoy learning it with no complaints and he sings Chinese songs at home for us, so we know he's learning. There is a big focus on using manners, which I love. At lunch time the children set the table with a real table cloth, napkins, china, mugs, silverware and fresh flowers! At home he now kindly asks "Mommy are you available to play with me?". Overall, I would highly recommend TCI Montessori if you are looking for a high quality, authentic Montessori education and a second language. There's nothing else like it in the Twin Cities!"