Montessori Pathways School

Montessori Pathways School Providing High-Quality Montessori Education and Daily Care in Crystal Lake since 1993. They display prolonged concentration, orderliness, and self-discipline.

We offer Preschool, Kindergarten, and Elementary programs for children aged 3 to 12. Morning, School/Extended Day and All Day Schedule
www.montessoripathways.com We are eager to help our students develop the intellectual traits that will sustain them for a lifetime of learning. Our kids are self-directed learners, independent thinkers, and socially adept young people, who are confident, resourceful, and flexible in manner. They love to learn and know how to do it independently.

Today, we had some furry and feathered friends from “Zoo to You!” visit our school! Our little visitors included a cow, ...
08/21/2026

Today, we had some furry and feathered friends from “Zoo to You!” visit our school! Our little visitors included a cow, a bunny, a chicken named Lucy, a few sheep, and some very playful goats.

For some children, it took a little time to realize just how friendly these animals were. Soon, even our more hesitant friends bravely began feeding them! The children were fascinated by the animals’ soft tongues—except for the cow’s tongue, which reminded many of them of sandpaper!

After feeding animals, the children entered the fenced area to pet and interact with them. Many children felt sorry for the sheep, wondering how they could stay comfortable in their thick, fluffy wool on such a hot day. The bunny, chicken, and cow were especially popular, while the playful goats kept everyone laughing with their silly antics.

It was such a pleasant and memorable morning filled with smiles, laughter, and wonderful hands-on learning. A big thank-you to Zoos Are Us, Inc dba A Zoo To You for bringing so much joy to our children and for making special visits to our school year after year. We are already looking forward to seeing our furry friends again!

This week, some of our elementary friends had the chance to experience being architects! We took on the challenge of cre...
08/15/2026

This week, some of our elementary friends had the chance to experience being architects! We took on the challenge of creating a one point perspective city drawing. First we simply practiced making a drawing of a cube, talking about sources of light and shading. Then we headed outside to look at how things look visually different further away versus nearby - the road gets narrower, people and trees seem smaller, etc. Then, we settled into a guided drawing of our city, followed by a few ideas of techniques for coloring that would make their city look even more realistic. Some children were very excited to add even more details to their drawings, so they will be wrapping these up over the last couple of days of summer camp.

What a special morning we had at school yesterday! 🐍🐢🐸We were delighted to welcome Ms. Kaitlynn from Cold Blooded Partie...
08/14/2026

What a special morning we had at school yesterday! 🐍🐢🐸

We were delighted to welcome Ms. Kaitlynn from Cold Blooded Parties, who brought along some very special cold-blooded friends for us to meet.

We met Bob, the Australian tree frog; an African millipede; a red tegu; a ball python; a tortoise; and Abby, an albino Burmese python from Southeast Asia.

Each animal was so unique, and the children were absolutely fascinated by learning about them!
Some volunteers were lucky enough to pat a few of the animals, but every child had a chance to meet and gently pat Abby. She was described by our little friends as “cute, sweet, soft, lovely… and looking like a lemon!” 🍋🐍

It was wonderful to see the children so engaged, curious, and eager to learn. Experiences like this inspire so many questions and create memories that will stay with our little learners for a long time.

A huge thank you to Ms. Kaitlynn and Cold Blooded Parties for visiting our school, introducing us to such amazing animals, and sharing so many fascinating facts with us. We had such a memorable morning! 🐸🐢🦎🐍✨

Our students finalized their community helper research. As older kids wrapped up their reading and writing, they helped ...
08/12/2026

Our students finalized their community helper research. As older kids wrapped up their reading and writing, they helped the younger kids with word building and recording. Everyone made a picture with context clues to show who their community helper is, where they work, and what they use. And while the research and creative process was full of support and encouragement from the group, they really shined during presentation day. For our Elementary students, this is a skill they worked on during the year. For many of our younger friends, this was their first public speaking experience! And our Elementary students helped guide them through it, offering help with reading, asking leading questions, and simply being an active and supportive audience. It was a phenomenal experience for all.

This week has brought a beautiful combination of academics and creativity to light! During the morning hours, many of th...
08/07/2026

This week has brought a beautiful combination of academics and creativity to light! During the morning hours, many of the children are continuing longer projects such as map making or story writing. Others are combining the skills used over this summer to create sculptures and dioramas. And we all enjoy outdoor activities every day.

We take learning outside whenever the weather permits, transforming our outdoor spaces into an extention of our Montess...
08/06/2026

We take learning outside whenever the weather permits, transforming our outdoor spaces into an extention of our Montessori classrooms. Learning outdside boosts mental focus, lowers stress, and improves school performances. Nature settings help the brain rest and recharge, which leads to better attention, physical health, and teamwork skills.

Our children had an amazing opportunity to visit the Crystal Lake Police and Fire Departments this week. They were thril...
08/06/2026

Our children had an amazing opportunity to visit the Crystal Lake Police and Fire Departments this week. They were thrilled to meet a fully equipped police officer and see the walls displaying photos of all the police officers and firefighters. They were especially excited to discover that two wonderful dogs are recognized as valued members of the team, with their own photos proudly displayed alongside everyone else.

The children had the chance to see a real jail cell and an interview room—just like in detective movies! 🙂
They also toured the fire department garage, learned the difference between a fire truck and a fire engine, visited the firefighters' kitchen and living quarters, and even witnessed a real emergency call and the team's immediate response.

The visit was filled with exploration, discovery, and unforgettable learning experiences. We really appreciate Crystal Lake Fire Rescue Department and Crystal Lake Police Department for providing our children with such an incredible opportunity. The staff from both departments were welcoming, enthusiastic, and generous with their time. We truly appreciate everything they did to make this visit so special.


Our children had a lovely opportunity for a relay race one afternoon during the rainy day last week. Despite this being ...
08/04/2026

Our children had a lovely opportunity for a relay race one afternoon during the rainy day last week. Despite this being a traditionally more "competitive" experience, our campers' main focus was ensuring that their youngest friends had a chance to go and feel encouraged! So rather than "hurry up, go faster" we heard "it's ok, you're doing great, you can do it!" And that beautifully sums up our lovely Montessori community!

Welcome to the wonderful world of community helpers! We have kicked off our exploration with a look at firefighters, nur...
08/01/2026

Welcome to the wonderful world of community helpers! We have kicked off our exploration with a look at firefighters, nurses, and other rescue groups with our younger friends. We played a reading and matching game to get us a bit more familiar with some community helpers. Each child had a slip of paper with a community helpers written on it (farmer, cashier, police officer), and another paper with a different place of work on it (library, school, dentist office). The goal was to exchange papers one at a time until each child had a matching job and place of work (i.e. teacher-school, farmer-farm). After a few rounds (time attack and silent round), we added a third paper-tools! Now the kids were trying to read and find three related words: dentist, mouth mirror, and dental office, for example. This proved more challenging when the kids asked to keep the time pressure!

Our children visited Georgio's Chicago Pizzeria and Pub in Crystal Lake today and learned how pizza is made. Then childr...
07/30/2026

Our children visited Georgio's Chicago Pizzeria and Pub in Crystal Lake today and learned how pizza is made. Then children created their own cheese pizza and noticed that the handmade pizza is "the best pizza they ever had". We all had a very amazing experience and enjoyed very delicious pizza. The chef and supporting staff were very welcoming and helpful. We really appreciate the opportunity that our children had today.

Address

133 Illinois Street
Crystal Lake, IL
60014

Opening Hours

Monday 6:45am - 6pm
Tuesday 6:45am - 6pm
Wednesday 6:45am - 6pm
Thursday 6:45am - 6pm
Friday 6:45am - 6pm

Telephone

+18154596727

Website

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