BestStart Montessori Bethlehem provides award-winning childcare and early education for children aged from 6 months to 6 years old. We are conveniently located near the Bethlehem Town Shopping Centre and are open between 8:00am - 5:30pm.
Growing independence with love & respect.
At BestStart Montessori Bethlehem, we value treating everyone with respect and kindness and we incorporate this into our teaching practices every day. We believe in intentional teaching of both academic and real-world skills to empower children to become independent, confident learners.
Our gardens provide an opportunity for children to learn about respecting nature and they love to help look after our resident chickens and guinea pigs. They collect eggs, fruit, and vegetables when they are ready and children are encouraged to help prepare snacks to share with their friends at or take home for their family.
By teaching children useful academic skills and the importance of valuing themselves, others and their belongings, we aim to prepare children for the next step in their learning journey for school and in life.
Our Team
Our dedicated team of teachers are passionate about what we do and the values we promote. We treat each child respectfully and weave this value throughout our teaching practices. We regularly update families through open communication and provide support for families where they need it.
Montessori Method
Montessori education comes from observing children during their moments of development. Through observation, we allow children to show us where they need most support, allowing us to support their individual needs and interests. The environment is prepared to give the child autonomy and to help the child discover, concentrate and develop holistically. As part of our philosophy, we create a calm, peaceful environment to foster children's confidence and concentration.
Find out more about Montessori here
What We Offer
- Individualised approach to learning and teaching real-world skills
- A caring support system for families, mothers and children
- Calm, relaxing indoor environments for your child to develop at their own pace
- Spacious outdoor spaces for children to explore and learn through play
- Set for School program to help transition your child to primary school
- 20 hours free for 3-5 year olds and WINZ subsidies available* if required
Our Spaces
Our indoor learning environments are relaxed and calm to allow your child to achieve their potential. We have an extensive range of Montessori resources that are used to teach fundamental learning skills while also teaching children to respect their belongings.
Our outdoor areas are spacious and encourage children to engage their curiosity to explore and be challenged physically. We don't rush children and we wait until each child is ready to transition to the next room based on their stage of learning and development.
Our Infant Room
(From 5 months old)
Starting from as young as five months, our Infant Room provides a nurturing environment where the little ones can feel safe, happy and stimulated.
Each child’s individuality is embraced. After listening to parent tell us
about their baby’s life we gather information so we can try to keep their day
as close as possible to the routine at home. We provide consistency and
continuity of care together. During free settling in visits we chat
about requirements for things like cloth nappies, sleeping, breast
feeding and dietary requirements.
Bambini Room
(From 18 months old)
Our toddlers become more creative through painting, music, and playdough. They are challenged with puzzles and enjoy the home corner complete with baby dolls and pushchairs.
Often toddlers find it difficult to share and this is something we love to
help them with – respecting each other’s space and learning to wait
for a turn is a life skill ideally started at a young age. Our teachers take
the time to help the toddlers understand what they are feeling and support them
with the range of new emotions they feel at this age.
Toddler Room
(3-year-olds)
Moving out of the toddler stage and growing in confidence our nearly three-year-olds love to explore practical life activities, learning to concentrate and developing pouring, spooning, and tweezing skills. This helps them cross their mid-lines, learn about hand-eye coordination, and strengthen their pincer grips which will help when holding a pencil and scissors later on.
By showing respect and kindness for each other strong friendships begin to
develop and with so many choices to make in this classroom the children can
explore and try all sorts of new, challenging, and different activities. With
mat times, singing and story time the children develop a sense of belonging
within the classroom and their self-confidence grows from strength to strength.
Il Sole Classroom
(Preschoolers)
From around the age of 4 years old, children progress to our Il Sole Classroom where a strong focus on becoming ready for school. Self-care around dressing themselves, looking after their belongings and developing pencil and scissor control are just a few of the things they will learn about in this class.
Our Set for School programme and our great relationships with our local school allows
us to support children when
transitioning to the next step in their learning journey.