We at Stepping Stones have for 22 years welcomed children into a nurturing, natural, and child-centered environment. We encourage children to develop a love of learning by providing meaningful work options, either traditional Montessori or other hands-on, meaningful, self-correcting, and compelling activities. Many of our children are here full days, and we also provide developmentally appropriate creative and dramatic play areas. A good portion of every day is spent outside in nature as well. Teachers at SSMS are kind, calm, intuitive, and engaged with the children. By Kindergarten, many children have developed pre-reading and writing skills from being immersed in a language-rich classroom, and many learn to read and write. They also work with sensorial and Montessori math materials to develop number sense and quantitative skills. Grace and courtesy are stressed in our classrooms as children develop their social connections.