It's 3:15. What happens now?

One of the things that makes Wilmington Montessori School special is our promise to have high-quality programming available for your child from 7 a.m. until 6 p.m. for 50 weeks each year.

For toddler and preschool children, in after-school care and on child-care days, we re-create the familiar spaces and rhythm of the school day: circle time, art and cooking projects, outdoor play, and time to choose work from the shelves. Our late-day staff also work for part of the school day, ensuring more seamless transitions for the children and better communication between school-day rooms and extended care.  Many of our early childhood staff members work full-time, year-round, which allows them to guide and delight in the growth of each child over time.

From kindergarten up, the children move to our dedicated extended care classrooms. These are maintained by year-round staff leaders to be ideal environments for relaxation, creation, exploration and building strong relationships with a wider peer group. The needs of elementary-age children after school can be quite varied; on any given day a child may want to play active games, build a birdhouse, cook pumpkin bread, get his or her homework done, laugh with friends, or curl up with a book. Our spacious extended care rooms and generous staffing - always two teachers with each group, so that they can split into interest groups and get one-on-one time when they need it - allow for all of these things.

On days on which school is closed, we have more time to concentrate on creative projects: writing and illustrating books, building and running obstacle courses, creating and performing skits, working in our garden, STEAM design challenges, cooking together, and completing service projects to help people in the community outside our doors. We also run this program on days on which Brandywine School District schools are closed, allowing us to serve families and children who might not otherwise be aware of us and make maximum use of our wonderful campus. Days when both WMS and Brandywine are closed allow our students the opportunity to model grace, courtesy and positive leadership in the mixed group. They delight in showing new friends the wonders of WMS, and of course their social and collaborative skills shine in any team challenge!

For children ages 3 and up, we also offer weekly After-School Special Programs, which are open to all families. Children can try their hand at new activities like drama, dance, soccer, tennis, tee ball or yoga, or dive more deeply into subjects like science, art and music. These are offered in a semester format, so keep your eye out for the slate of new courses in the new year!

Every program that we offer - whether it is open just to WMS students or open to all - is designed to nurture, challenge and encourage children in a peaceful, positive Montessori environment.