Fullerton private school profile-Ivycrest Montessori School

September 10, 4:14 PMFullerton Community ExaminerKimberly Wolfe

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              Ivycrest-a Montessori private school in Fullerton

It's everything you want in a school for your child. It's everything you need in a school for your child.

 Its name? Ivycrest.

 Ivycrest, a private Montessori school located on Chapman Ave. in Fullerton, has a vibrant 40-year history in the city of Fullerton. There are now two campuses of Ivycrest-the Chapman Ave. location and also one in Yorba Linda.

 Ivycrest began 40 years ago on Chapman Ave. by Doris Ivy Smith in a historic home built in 1908. The home, which is still part of the Ivycrest campus, is an architecturally stunning site that was the home of Fullerton's first mayor and has been beautifully maintained. The home is now on the National Register of Historic Buildings and is used as the school's offices and as the school's library.

 The rest of the school is just as impressive, with art sculptures gracing the front of the campus as you drive up to it. Inviting, colorful rooms beckon children to come learn in them. Pretty silk flowers in age-appropriate containers grace the tables in the four-year-olds room. A splash pad is in the center of campus was recently installed which allows children during summer school and other special days to romp through a great water feature at select times. It is used as a play space during the rest of the year. 

 The school has seven classrooms ranging in ages from six weeks old to sixth grade. The school is operated on the child-cetered teachings of Dr. Maria Montessori, where prepared environments welcome children into various classrooms in the school, even at the youngest of ages. Phonics, geography and mathematics are taught to children at the youngest of ages in an inviting manner that gets the children interested in learning. Children learn from the general to the specific, according to Montessori's teachings, so activities in the school are chosen around that concept.  In the younger grades, for example, children learn about the continents with sand paper covering the continents on the globes so that the child can touch and feel them. Biology is taught with activities that teach about trees, then get into the specific parts of the tree. Children want to participate in the activities presented in the classroom because they are enthused about learning, said Aida King, director at the Fullerton location of Ivycrest.

 "They do it because they love doing it," King said.

Security is also paramount at Ivycrest, with parents being required to enter their secret code on the school's touch screen computers in order to check their child in or out of the school. A "double gate" at the entrance to the school also prevents children from leaving the premises without an adult.

Ivycrest also boasts an after school arts program that children from other schools, including public schools, are welcome to attend, according to Claire Takeda, School Administrator. Day care consists of a time to complete homework plus two arts classes. The School of the Arts consists of general arts courses that are an introduction to art, music, dance and theatre. The School of the Arts also offers private and semi-private lessons in a wide variety of subjects such as ballroom dancing, public speaking, golf and martial arts.

 For more information about Ivycrest and their programs, contact the school at (714) 879-6091 or visit the school's Web site.