Montessori Toddler Program near Excelsior
A small, deliberately calm room for two- and three-year-olds — and potty training is not required to start, which rules a lot of families out elsewhere. Mills is about 4 miles from Excelsior, at 1400 Hillside Blvd. in South San Francisco.
Why families here choose it
Nobody drives from Excelsior for the convenience. They drive because the alternative they found closer to home stops at five, and they would rather do the mileage than do this twice.
The Excelsior is a short run north of us and one of the most family-dense neighborhoods in San Francisco — a lot of children, not many private early-years places. Parents here are often coming out of the SFUSD assignment process wanting a place they can simply accept, on a timetable they choose, without another round of it in two years.
What Montessori toddler program at Mills actually is
Preschool I is most families' first experience of leaving a child anywhere, and the room is built for that rather than for academics. The work looks like pouring, scooping, carrying, buttoning and tidying. To an adult eye it looks like housework; what it is actually building is the ability to sequence a task, concentrate on it and finish it — the foundation everything later rests on. Separation is planned rather than endured: a predictable arrival routine, the same adults, the same shelf in the same place.
- Potty training is not a condition of entryPlenty of schools gate admission on toilet independence. We do not — at two, that mostly measures the parents.
- Practical life comes firstCarrying a tray without spilling demands the same control that reading and mathematics will later require, and transfers directly.
- Movement and language all morningNothing in the room asks a two-year-old to sit still for a lesson they did not choose.
The details that decide it
| Our campus | 1400 Hillside Blvd., South San Francisco, CA 94080 |
| Distance from Excelsior | About 4 miles |
| Getting here | South on Mission Street or San Jose Avenue to Hillside Boulevard. |
| Area | San Francisco |
| Local public district | San Francisco Unified School District |
| Ages served | Two through fifth grade |
| Hours | Monday to Friday, 7:30 am – 6:00 pm |
| Enrollment | Open year-round, subject to availability |
Distance is approximate and measured in a straight line. The honest test is to drive it once at drop-off time — book a tour and you will.
What Montessori toddler program costs
From Excelsior the drive is short enough that a morning-only place is genuinely practical — plenty of families this close start there and lengthen the day once their child has settled.
- AgesAges 2–3
- Rates$1,100–$1,750 a month depending on days per week and length of day. Every fee is on the tuition page.
- SchedulesMorning, full day, or extended full day 7:30 am to 6:00 pm — three, four or five days a week.
- EnrollmentOpen year-round, subject to availability, with a one-time $200 new-student fee.
What Excelsior families ask about Montessori toddler program
- My child has never been away from me. Is two too young?Only you can answer that. What we can say is that the room is designed for this exact transition, with a settling-in period rather than a first full day thrown in at the deep end. Come and watch a drop-off before you decide.
- Can we start with mornings only?Yes, and many toddler families do, lengthening the day later. Morning is 9:00 to 12:00 and covers the full work cycle, which is where the learning is.
- Is the Montessori toddler program different for families traveling from Excelsior?No — there is one program and one campus. What changes with distance is the schedule that suits you: families driving further usually choose the extended full day so they are not fighting the peak twice a day.
- Is there before and after care for a longer commute?The extended full day runs 7:30 am to 6:00 pm, which is the whole point for families driving any distance. It is a schedule, not an add-on billed by the hour.
- What does it cost?Between $1,100 and $1,750 a month depending on the program, days per week and length of day, plus a one-time $200 enrollment fee. Every figure is on the tuition page — we do not make you ask.
- Can we start mid-year?Yes. Enrollment is open all year, subject to availability, so families move to us when a childcare arrangement changes rather than waiting for September.
- What happens after kindergarten if we come from Excelsior?The same school. Mills runs through fifth grade, so the kindergarten year is not the exit — which is the main reason families take on a drive at all rather than enrolling somewhere closer that finishes at five.
Montessori Toddler Program in other areas
Come and watch a morning
Tours run mid-morning during the work cycle, year-round, by appointment.