About Us
School Support
Not every classroom is sufficient for every child, and not every child thrives in a classroom setting. What I do is support your child’s learning in whatever ways and areas they need and want it most. If your child is struggling in a particular area such as reading or math, I use Montessori methods and materials to connect those lessons with things they can touch and manipulate, hopefully making it more interesting and easier to learn. If your child is bored in school (or at home), I have materials and projects they can do to take them as far in their learning as they choose to go—without adding to their teacher’s workload or requiring you to understand Common Core math.
Private Montessori Lessons
For children not yet in elementary school the Montessori materials offer lessons that set them up for success in the rest of their school career. By using real materials that they can hold and manipulate, we open up their awareness and lay the foundation for how their brain organizes information. From simple puzzles that create a path to algebra and geometry to fun games that isolate and spotlight the sounds in words, we form what I like to call “deer trails” in their brain that make learning big concepts later easier. Children in elementary school—even private schools—are mostly taught with verbal instruction and worksheets. For kids with Montessori experience (and some other teaching methods, such as Waldorf), the lessons on those worksheets will come easier to them than to those who don’t have the deer trails already laid.
Private lessons are given once a week and focus on whatever skills and lessons are appropriate for the child’s age.
Montessori Home Enrichment
Do you look around your home and feel like your children have taken over? Are you frustrated that your kids do things easily in their classrooms that they absolutely will not do for you? Are you having trouble with things like gentle parenting and holding strong boundaries without yelling at your kids (or just having trouble yelling at your kids)?
You may not need an entire overhaul of your home or your parenting style, but there might be some areas that you feel could be better and don’t know how to improve. I can help. At a Home Consult I’ll talk with you and your family about what’s working, what’s not, and offer suggestions for changes and improvements that can be made. We can meet once or multiple times, it’s up to you.
Let’s give your child that feeling of success and pride in all the cool things they’re capable of!
What’s in it for parents?
I created Moonstone Cottage because while I am a teacher I’m also a mom, and I know that life in the classroom and life at home can be extremely different. I want to offer parents skills and ideas to make life at home a little easier. In a classroom I could control the environment completely, I didn’t have to make the room functional for things like dinner and laundry. I also had the luxury of peer pressure, since having a classroom with kids 3 through 6 years old meant I could lean on the older children to help with the younger children—or sometimes vice-versa. But in learning and figuring out how to help children become independent in my classroom, I also became really good at translating those elements to a home setting. My relationship with my own children drastically improved after I learned the method, and I found myself offering advice to parents and getting feedback that it worked.
Montessori principles changed my life; they changed how I interact with my kids, how I organize my schedule, even how I approach my relationships with other adults. I want you to have an opportunity for that change too.
The Hazelnut Room
I am always happy to come to you for private lessons, but if your home isn’t ideal for focus and concentration—or if the idea of someone coming into your home once a week seems stressful—I’ve created the Hazelnut Room as an alternative. The Hazelnut Room is located in my home and has been set up to resemble a small classroom. The materials on the shelves are tailored to your child and their current needs, and therefore can and will change accordingly. There is room for one adult to sit comfortably and watch the lesson, though if you need to use that time to do quiet work or scroll on your phone you will find no judgement here ;-) There is also the option for you to drop your child off and do an errand or two, however keep in mind my home is not licensed or bonded for childcare, only children who are completely potty trained can be left with me, and it is expected that you will return promptly at the end of the lesson period.
Owner/Founder: Kelly Jones Averett
Ms. Kelly is an AMI certified Montessori teacher with seven years’ experience in the classroom, eighteen years’ experience as a parent, and over ten years’ experience working with children in outdoor residential settings and theatrical productions. She stumbled into the Montessori world later in life but fell in love immediately, and has dedicated her time and her passion to the pursuit of supporting children’s learning ever since. At home Ms. Kelly has two children, two cats, one fish, and roughly one hundred and fifty houseplants. Don’t judge.