Welcome to Seton Montessori School

Last week, Seton’s Lower Elementary students embarked on an unforgettable weeklong journey to Nature’s Classroom Institute in Wisconsin! They returned with forged friendships, gained knowledge, and a newfound love for the great outdoors.
What an incredible sight! Students today were in awe as they witnessed the mesmerizing solar eclipse phenomenon. Gathering with friends in the yard to safely observe the celestial event, was such a cool experience!
Memories were made in Washington, DC, last week when Seton’s Upper Elementary students visited the capital! From exploring iconic landmarks to delving into history, every moment was unforgettable.
Seton Summer Camp is looking for enthusiastic and responsible camp counselors and lifeguards to join our team and help ensure the safety and fun of our campers! Learn more about this exciting opportunity here: https://www.setonmontessori.org/smi-em
What a fantastic turnout we had at our Bingo Night Fundraiser last week! Thanks to the amazing support from our school community, we’ve met our fundraising goal in support of the upcoming Upper Elementary DC trip!
Montessori classrooms use a multi-sensory approach to language learning, not just showing the letter but also tracing its shape, connecting phonetic sounds with hands-on experiences. This is the beginning of reading!

Seton at a Glance

Seton Montessori School, located in Clarendon Hills, Illinois, is a lab school for Seton Montessori Institute. Our mission is to prepare children and adults to become thoughtful, effective agents for peace and progress in themselves, their communities, and the world.

Founded in 1965, Seton Montessori School serves children from two months through twelve years of age. The Seton campus was designed to provide opportunities for learning in the natural world. Situated on 6.5 acres, our campus includes wooded areas, outdoor playscapes, and a variety of animals.

Seton Montessori School is accredited by American Montessori Society (AMS), has a gold circle of excellence rating with ExceleRate Illinois, is registered with the Illinois State Board of Education, and the American Camp Association accredits our summer camp program.

In our nearly 60 years of operation, Seton has prepared thousands of children for a life of learning, adventure, and discovery!

Our Programs

A teacher explains an art project to a group of 3 students.

The Montessori Approach

Seton’s Montessori classroom environments are based on a dynamic blend of freedom and structure. Children are encouraged to choose their activities from among a wide variety of prepared materials in a carefully planned and structured environment. The emphasis is on cultivating awareness, independence, and responsibility in a multi-age community.

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An older black and white photo of young children in a classroom.

The History of Seton

Founded in 1965 by a group of parents with Celma Pinho Perry, Seton Montessori School was built to Celma’s specifications as a Children’s House. After five exciting and successful years as a one-room schoolhouse, a second environment was added. Another five years of service, and a third room was built. The school grew in size again in 2000, adding two additional classrooms, a multi-purpose room, and office space. The school now offers a parent resource room, state-of-the-art classroom designs, as well as classic and well-maintained Montessori materials.

  • In 1978, a house adjacent to Seton’s campus became available, and it was made into the Montessori Infant & Toddler Community. This building was completely rebuilt in 2008 as a state-of-the-art facility, now welcoming infants as young as two months of age. The programs held at the Community focus on children less than three years old, which forms a perfect complement to Seton’s founding focus on children aged three to six.

    Additionally in 2008, Seton acquired and renovated a property directly behind the Main Building and the Seton Montessori Elementary Community was started. In 2011, an addition was added to the facility, more than doubling the size of the Elementary Building and providing the highest quality learning environments for both our Lower and Upper Elementary students. The building boasts many environmentally conscious features including a “green roof” and “Living Lab” classroom used by the entire Seton Community for biological and zoological studies.

    Seton now offers a programs for children and families from prebirth through their elementary years.