PARENTS TESTIMONIALS
A great deal of thought went into our decision to send our child to Marie Pajot’s Montessori school. At the time, our daughter was happy at her pre-school and was not experiencing any difficulties that might have pushed us to look for other options. However, we were won over by the school’s alternative teaching method that is used in many countries around the world. Through the use of educational practices based on self-correction and sensorial development, the Montessori method respects the pace of each child right throughout the educational process. The fact that, in addition, Marie Pajot offers a bilingual English-French learning environment seemed extremely valuable to us as it will allow our daughter to improve her competency in a foreign language from an early age as well as giving her access to other cultures. Over the course of several meetings with Marie Pajot, we were pleased to discover, and were subsequently confident in, her personal qualities. Once she had explained her reasons for opening the school and the Montessori approach, we were convinced, without a shadow of a doubt, that we were making the right choice for our child.
Agnès et Philippe
Gérants de société
Bayonne
"Offering my child a Montessori education has been a dream of mine ever since I had the pleasure of teaching gymnastics to children from Montessori schools in Australia – my home country. I discovered that the thoughtfulness and respect they showed others was largely due to the programme. I found them to be calm and alert, present and involved with a certain sparkle in their eyes. Now, as a professional translator living in France for over 15 years, I can appreciate how enriching being bilingual and bicultural can be. Naturally, this is something l also wanted for my child. My husband, who is American, joins me in this. Thus, when it came time to enrol our child in pre-school, we were thrilled to discover that a truly bilingual Montessori pre-school was opening in Anglet. Les Enfants de la Ruche has everything we could hope for. While other bilingual schools we visited in Paris only offered 30 minutes of class time in English per day, at Les Enfants de la Ruche, children spend 50% of their time totally immersed in each language and culture. This is a rare privilege. Our daughter is now truly bilingual and bicultural, and has become very autonomous, respectful and independently-minded. She is proud to be able to perform quite complex tasks by herself, and this has been an enormous boost to her confidence. From an international perspective, Les Enfants de la Ruche is very accessible. We consider that the school fees which are, incidentally, five to six times lower than Montessori school fees in Australia or the US – are the very best investment we can make. We are investing in our child’s future and well-being at the most important time in her life. Last but certainly not least, Marie Pajot is a wonderful teacher who upholds the highest standards. She is deeply invested in the school and truly cares about each one of her pupils’ well-being and development. My husband and I cannot recommend Les Enfants de la Ruche highly enough."
Kelly and Lance
Translator / Interior Architect
Biarritz
Having put two children through the normal French education system, we were excited to have this opportunity for our son. Simon had already started at our local village school at age two and a half and was quite happy there, but when we heard that a bilingual pre-school was opening, we got in touch with Mrs Pajot to enquire about Les Enfants de la Ruche. We believe learning English is very important, and our two older children took English classes every Wednesday and are now in a European class. So naturally, we were drawn to Enfants de la Ruche for this reason. We had heard of Montessori education but didn’t know much about it so I decided to do some research and find out more. I also talked to friends and family. The more we learned about this alternative approach that focussed on autonomous work, the acquisition of skills at the child’s pace and the freedom for children to develop what sets them apart, the more it appealed to us. My sister is a speech therapist and applies certain Montessori principles with her patients and really supported our decision. Almost a year after sending Simon to Les Enfants de la Ruche, we are very happy with our decision. Simon settled in quickly, his language skills have really developed and he is developing at his own pace. He is more curious about things in general, has a greater grasp of language and tells us more about his day at school than his brothers did at the same age. He understands simple phrases in English, regularly asks us to translate words he doesn’t know and enjoys school days in English as much as those in French; he is equally close to his French and his English-speaking school friends. Simon is making the most of an amazing learning environment and we have been won over by the Montessori method and by Mrs Pajot’s commitment: it is a unique opportunity for our son.
Julie & Sacha
Parents of 3 children (5, 13 & 16 yo)
Guiche
Agnès et Philippe
Gérants de société
Bayonne
"Offering my child a Montessori education has been a dream of mine ever since I had the pleasure of teaching gymnastics to children from Montessori schools in Australia – my home country. I discovered that the thoughtfulness and respect they showed others was largely due to the programme. I found them to be calm and alert, present and involved with a certain sparkle in their eyes. Now, as a professional translator living in France for over 15 years, I can appreciate how enriching being bilingual and bicultural can be. Naturally, this is something l also wanted for my child. My husband, who is American, joins me in this. Thus, when it came time to enrol our child in pre-school, we were thrilled to discover that a truly bilingual Montessori pre-school was opening in Anglet. Les Enfants de la Ruche has everything we could hope for. While other bilingual schools we visited in Paris only offered 30 minutes of class time in English per day, at Les Enfants de la Ruche, children spend 50% of their time totally immersed in each language and culture. This is a rare privilege. Our daughter is now truly bilingual and bicultural, and has become very autonomous, respectful and independently-minded. She is proud to be able to perform quite complex tasks by herself, and this has been an enormous boost to her confidence. From an international perspective, Les Enfants de la Ruche is very accessible. We consider that the school fees which are, incidentally, five to six times lower than Montessori school fees in Australia or the US – are the very best investment we can make. We are investing in our child’s future and well-being at the most important time in her life. Last but certainly not least, Marie Pajot is a wonderful teacher who upholds the highest standards. She is deeply invested in the school and truly cares about each one of her pupils’ well-being and development. My husband and I cannot recommend Les Enfants de la Ruche highly enough."
Kelly and Lance
Translator / Interior Architect
Biarritz
Having put two children through the normal French education system, we were excited to have this opportunity for our son. Simon had already started at our local village school at age two and a half and was quite happy there, but when we heard that a bilingual pre-school was opening, we got in touch with Mrs Pajot to enquire about Les Enfants de la Ruche. We believe learning English is very important, and our two older children took English classes every Wednesday and are now in a European class. So naturally, we were drawn to Enfants de la Ruche for this reason. We had heard of Montessori education but didn’t know much about it so I decided to do some research and find out more. I also talked to friends and family. The more we learned about this alternative approach that focussed on autonomous work, the acquisition of skills at the child’s pace and the freedom for children to develop what sets them apart, the more it appealed to us. My sister is a speech therapist and applies certain Montessori principles with her patients and really supported our decision. Almost a year after sending Simon to Les Enfants de la Ruche, we are very happy with our decision. Simon settled in quickly, his language skills have really developed and he is developing at his own pace. He is more curious about things in general, has a greater grasp of language and tells us more about his day at school than his brothers did at the same age. He understands simple phrases in English, regularly asks us to translate words he doesn’t know and enjoys school days in English as much as those in French; he is equally close to his French and his English-speaking school friends. Simon is making the most of an amazing learning environment and we have been won over by the Montessori method and by Mrs Pajot’s commitment: it is a unique opportunity for our son.
Julie & Sacha
Parents of 3 children (5, 13 & 16 yo)
Guiche