Guidepost
Montessori

at Hampshire
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Tours & Events
Hampshire.
Monday-Friday | 7:00 am – 6:00 pm

Nido (6 weeks to 18 months)
Young Toddler (18 months to 2 years)
Toddler (2 to 3 years)
Children's House (3 to 6 years)

6008 Hampshire Cir, Waldorf, MD 20603 US
Guidepost Montessori in Hampshire is one of the most trusted Montessori schools in Waldorf, Maryland. Indoors, rooms are spacious, bright, and light-filled, creating a warm and calm space for children to work. Our school is conveniently situated off Hampshire Circle and Smallwood Drive.
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Tours & Events

learn more about our programs & approach.

What makes Montessori unique? How will Guidepost support your child at each stage of development? What does a typical day look like? In this info session, we discuss the Montessori curriculum and approach, schedule options and what a typical day looks like, and how we collaborate and communicate with parents.

Making the Most of Childhood

explore our programs.

Our approach is designed to empower each child to achieve independence by combining our hands-on curriculum with personalized learning to create an environment where curiosity flourishes, independence grows, and academic excellence is a natural outcome.

We want your child to see and believe: “I am capable!”

Nido.
A nurturing space for babies to walk, talk, and explore
Toddler.
For children ages 18 months to 3 years old
Children's House.
A preschool for hands-on reading, writing, math and more

montessori for military.

We are committed to bridging financial assistance, community, and continuity of education to our nation’s heroes and their families. When duty calls, we firmly believe that your child’s education should not be a sacrifice.

We can offer a seamless transfer process from one location to another, replacing disruption with stability. To date, more than 30+ of our campuses based in the U.S. are located within 30 miles of military installations and have joined Child Care Aware of America’s fee-assistance program, bridging early childhood tuition assistance to eligible families off-base.

Learn more about Montessori for Military here.

what makes us stand out.

How is the Guidepost Montessori approach different from conventional education?

At Guidepost, we join with parents on their mission to help their child grow and live well. Together, we design an education to empower each child to build the knowledge, skills, and confidence she needs to craft an independent, flourishing life.

Though there are many differences between the conventional approach and Guidepost, here are some of the most important:

Conventional Education vs Guidepost Montessori
What is the Guidepost Mission?

At Guidepost, our mission is to support each child in achieving her own independence. To do this, we help her gain the knowledge, build the skills, and craft the personal character she needs to flourish. Above all, our goal is to cultivate joy—in the pursuit of knowledge, in effort applied to work worth doing, in the achievements of herself and others, and in taking the steps to author her own life.

Read more about the Guidepost Mission.

Learn about the key milestones we support—from infancy through high school.

Read more about why we educate for independence, and how we support independence for infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and elementary-age children.

What are the outcomes of your programs?

Montessori education is known world-wide for having positive impacts on both academics and social and emotional skills.

At Guidepost Montessori, when we design an environment to meet the developmental needs and interests of children alongside personalized care and support, the child can learn advanced skills at an accelerated pace.

Our students, for example, regularly learn to read by the time they’re 4-years-old and can perform all four math operations with 4-digit numbers by the end of their Kindergarten year.

The language and math skills of our kindergartners are on a par with what children in conventional programs learn in 3rd grade or beyond! What’s more, our students learn advanced academics joyfully—while simultaneously developing deep focus, self-discipline, and positive social skills.

Read more about the Guidepost Montessori advanced Language Curriculum in Children’s House.

Read more about the Guidepost Montessori advanced Math Curriculum in Children’s House.


Do your programs include Kindergarten?

Yes! The third year of our Children’s House program, designed for 3- to 6-year-olds, is the capstone kindergarten year. In this year, the child has been well-prepared to experience an explosion of literacy, learn advanced math concepts, and use her hard-won ability to focus, problem-solve, and persist through challenges to then make advanced gains across the curriculum. Children who continue with Guidepost through Kindergarten are often well-ahead of their peers when they enter 1st grade.

Learn more about the capstone Kindergarten year at Guidepost.

Learn more about the next exciting stage: the Guidepost elementary program.

Following elementary, students continue on to our Montessori middle and high school, the Academy of Thought & Industry: a school that combines a classical liberal arts emphasis on history and great books, and a Montessori emphasis on independence and agency.

How does Guidepost partner with parents?

At Guidepost, we want to make the best education the best for children and parents. This is why we provide year-round, extended-day programming at no extra cost, enabling consistent and uninterrupted access to the care and developmental support parents expect. We invite you into your child’s world—with daily photo and video updates, regular milestone meetings, and parent-child events that showcase your child’s progress. We work to understand your unique context and needs, so that we can provide support for milestones at home as well as at school.

In everything we do, we strive to cultivate joy as you watch your child grow!

Read about Transparent Classroom, the app that provides a window into your child’s day.

Read about recent family events such as Grandparent’s Day, a cultural celebration, and a spring celebration.

hear from our head of school, aj jones.

what parents are saying.

Heather B.
Aug 27, 2023 on google
Feels like family. My husband (now three and a half year old), daughter, and I moved to Charles County about two years ago with no family or friends nearby. The Pandemic changed the lives of many parents which made finding support with a little one challenging. We were grateful t...
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Shantell Blagrove
Dec 11, 2022 on google
As a parent who is very particular about her baby, I looked at several schools and didn’t stop until I found a school that I felt safe to leave my child. Guidepost Hampshire is a great school, the guides are so loving and very passionate about teaching. Both head of school and as...
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Jay Morris
Nov 11, 2022 on google
After several failed attempts at finding a learning environment for our child, my wife and I found Montessori at Hampshire to be a perfect home to help cultivate his first years of education. The new director (AJ) and assistant director (Mrs. Tereasa) instill the core Montessori ...
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Joseph Kohan
Nov 6, 2022 on google
We love this school! It is very hard to find quality care for young ones in Waldorf. We had our sons in a different program across the street and hated it. All they did was put them on a screen. The Guidepost could not be any different. They are constantly working on productive l...
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Erika Love
Dec 15, 2022 on google
We love Guidepost Hampshire. The staff is professional, friendly and always so inviting. Communication is superb and it truly feels like a community is helping my little one acclimate to the world. It was important to our family for our children to have a Montessori-based educati...
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Meghan T.
Jun 10, 2021 on yelp
My family LOVES Guidepost Montessori at Hampshire. I knew from the initial tour of the school that I was going to get my children enrolled. Ms. Sarah, the...
Read more

Ideas from the Guidepost Blog

start your journey with us.

Our team of admissions specialists are ready to meet you and get you started on your journey within the Guidepost community. We're here to provide your family with the information and confidence you need to enroll in one of our programs.

Learn more about Montessori.

Read our enrollment guide.

Book a school tour.

Submit your application.

Start your journey with us