Compass Montessori School

Federal Way's Leading Preschool

Compass Montessori School of Federal Way (CMS) is a progressive Montessori preschool located in Federal Way, Washington.

We are affiliated with the Montessori Institute of America (MIA), which is a founding member of the Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher Education (MACTE).

Hands-On Education

Children, ages 2 1/2 to 6 years old, love to learn by doing, experimenting, touching, and using all of their senses. Our enriching and engaging environment and our love of teaching fosters an excitement for learning in all of our students.

With the advent of the information age, and now the beginning of the communication age, we are finding that traditional methods of learning can no longer prepare our children for the future. Instead, traditional methods can severely limit the ability of teachers and students to adapt to the 21st century.

Learning how to Learn

CMS develops lifelong learners who can think critically, solve problems, and work collaboratively. These are the skills your child needs to succeed in today’s fast-paced, ever-changing environment. Students are given room and opportunities to focus on tasks without distractions; this teaches them to apply abstract rules to solve novel problems. Traditional learning, which relies on rote memory, does not do this.

Classroom Readiness

Our graduating students enter public school “classroom ready.” Their strong foundation in the art of learning helps them grow and thrive both socially and academically.

Love for Compass

Mina Evers

Founder & Instructor

Mina Evers is a Montessori education enthusiast who has been involved in teaching and leading children since her teenage years.

She has been a youth leader, Sunday school teacher, and Sunday school director.

Her passion for children led her to take Montessori education courses 14 years ago. The Montessori method immediately excited her and she has become very passionate about pursuing her goal with Montessori-based teaching.

For Mina, teaching children is not only a passion but a way to give something back to society by guiding young minds to develop the joy of learning and life skills that last their lifetimes. She enjoys every minute of her teaching career and expects to teach for many years to come.

What is Montessori?

Montessori is a method generally known as a self-directed approach of learning using a set of materials that are by nature self-correcting. The teacher observes and then directs or leads the child rather than merely instructing. The child not only learns concepts in reading or math, for instance, but more importantly learns how to learn, thus establishing a foundation that lasts a lifetime.

Because of their self-discipline and independence, children who have been in the Montessori preschool classroom for the full 3-year span adjust readily to traditional elementary classrooms. Since the majority of children have been reading since they were 4-1/2 or 5 years of age, they love to learn wherever they are.

Compass Montessori School’s 2-1/2 to 3 year old students show an enthusiasm for exploration, a love of work, concern for others, concentration, a drive towards excellence, orderliness, and a joy of learning. It is inspiring to see most of our 4 to 5 year old students casually reading to each other, confident in the knowledge that they taught themselves how to read!

CMS’ method is based on each child’s fundamental need for freedom within limits. Children are longing to do… to touch, to smell, to taste, to see, to hear… so that they may learn. They choose their “work” and concentrate for surprisingly long periods of time without interruption.

Socializing as they learn, the children use their newly acquired speech skills to express themselves as individuals and to chat about their life values, interests, and family members.

Children move about freely and choose their “work” with responsibility and freedom. They absorb a broad understanding of the world through hands-on materials. Their independence and self-confidence grow as they learn through projects that allow them to learn as individuals at their own pace and to reach toward their own potential.

Exposing children to an enriched environment at their most sensitive developmental periods can help them develop their abilities to a high level without pressure and through the freedom of choice.

Children, ages 2-1/2 to 6, work and play together as a family in a cooperative and non-competitive daycare and preschool environment. They encourage each other to succeed and learn from their mistakes without feeling inferior or superior. The ideal Montessori learning program for your child is the full 3-years.

Our method surrounds your child with engaging learning materials and supportive teachers as they fulfill their profound need to learn. By encouraging curiosity and wonder, we can help your child reach his/her full potential.

The child has one intuitive aim: his self-development. He desperately wants to develop his inner resources: his abilities to cope with a strange, complex world. He wants to do and learn and see for himself, and not through the eyes of an adult. The child who accomplishes this moves into harmony with the rest of the world. He becomes a full person. — Dr. Maria Montessori

Montessori is a method generally known as a self-directed approach of learning using a set of materials that are by nature self-correcting. The teacher observes and then directs or leads the child rather than merely instructing. The child not only learns concepts in reading or math, for instance, but more importantly learns how to learn, thus establishing a foundation that lasts a lifetime.

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