Studio Demo — Montessori Makers School is a fictional school built by Montessori Makers Studio to demonstrate web design capabilities.

Montessori guide working with children on the floor

Lincoln Park — Chicago, Illinois

A placewhere the universeis the first teacher.

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Our Philosophy

Children are not vessels to be filled. They are builders of themselves — and the environment is the most powerful teacher in the room.

Our approach to Montessori →

MMS by the Numbers

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Years in Lincoln Park

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Children enrolled

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Student to guide ratio

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Families who re-enroll

A Day at MMS

The rhythm of the day.

8:15 am — Arrival & greeting

Each child is greeted by name at the door. Coats, lunch boxes, and indoor shoes are the child’s own work, the day begins with independence.

The heart of the day

8:30 am — The work cycle begins

Three uninterrupted hours. No bells, no rotations. Children choose their work, settle into it, and go deep, this is the heart of the Montessori day.

11:45 am — Community lunch

Tables set by the children. Real dishes, real conversation, real responsibility, grace and courtesy practiced daily, not taught from a poster.

12:30 pm — Outdoor time

Garden beds, climbing structures, quiet corners under the oak. Outside is a classroom too, weather is rarely a reason to stay in.

1:00 pm — Rest & afternoon cycle

The youngest children rest. Older children return to work, long projects, small-group lessons, and the quiet hum of concentration.

3:15 pm — Dismissal

The day closes the way it opened: calmly, by name, with a handshake. Children leave with their work, and their composure, intact.

Programs

Three communities.
One continuum.

See all programs →

About MMS

Rooted in Lincoln Park since 2009.

Montessori Makers School opened with twelve children in a converted coach house on Orchard Street. Fifteen years later, we serve 148 students across three classrooms, and the philosophy hasn't changed.

We are accredited by the American Montessori Society and are members of the Illinois Alliance of Montessori Schools. Every lead guide holds AMI or AMS credentials.

Our StoryFaculty & Staff
MMS classroom environment
AMS Accredited
Since 2012

The Prepared Environment

Step inside the classroom.

Nothing in a Montessori room is there by accident. Tap the markers to see what each part of the environment is actually doing.

MMS classroom with hotspot annotations

Mathematics

The bead cabinet

Skip counting, squares, and cubes of numbers, as physical chains a child can hold, fold, and walk along the floor. Abstraction comes later. First, the hand.

The Environment

Child-scaled furniture

Every table, chair, and tray is sized to the child who uses it. Nothing requires an adult’s help to reach or carry, independence is built into the furniture.

Freedom of Choice

The open shelf

Materials sit in sequence, visible, reachable, and complete. The child chooses their work, and choice is the engine of concentration.

Science & Nature

The botany tray

Living plants, leaf cabinets, and nature trays bring the outdoors in. Children learn care by actually caring for something, daily, without being asked.

Practical Life

Real work, real tools

Pouring, polishing, food preparation, art. The tools are real and breakable on purpose, real consequences are how coordination and confidence are built.

School Life

Learning that looks like living.

From morning meeting to afternoon work cycle, every part of the day is part of the education.

Science & wonder

Science & wonder

Collaborative work

Collaborative work

Garden & nature

Garden & nature

Geography & cosmos

Geography & cosmos

Sensorial exploration

Sensorial exploration

From the Classroom

What we’re thinking about this season.

All posts →
Upper ElementaryMarch 2025

What does a three-year cycle actually look like?

In a Montessori classroom, learning isn't measured in semesters. Our Upper Elementary guides reflect on why the three-year cycle produces something that annual grade levels simply can't.

Read more →4 min read
From the Head of SchoolFebruary 2025

Why we don't grade children, and what we do instead.

Grades were designed to sort children, not know them. Dr. Osei-Bonsu writes on the observational record-keeping behind every MMS portfolio and what it makes possible.

Read more →6 min read
PrimaryJanuary 2025

The Great Lesson of the Universe: what happened in classroom three.

Each year the cosmos begins again. This January, our Primary guides share what the children's questions revealed, and why "I don't know" is sometimes the most educational answer.

Read more →3 min read

From Our Families

After two years in a traditional school, we were worried our daughter had lost her love of learning. Within three months at MMS, she was staying after the work cycle to finish a project she started on her own.

The Okafor Family

Primary, since 2021

The guides actually know our son. Not just his name, his learning patterns, what excites him, where he gets stuck. That depth of observation is unlike anything we experienced elsewhere.

The Reinholt Family

Lower Elementary, since 2020

The three-year cycle seemed like a strange choice to us at first. Now we understand. Watching our daughter mentor a younger child using a material she mastered two years ago, that's not just learning. That's formation.

The Vasquez Family

Upper Elementary, since 2018

MMS open house

Upcoming Events

Come see it for yourself.

The best way to understand what we do is to walk through the classroom during a work cycle. Every family who joins MMS started with a visit.

Reserve a Spot

January 18, 2026

Open House, Primary & Elementary

9:00–11:00 am

RSVP →

February 7, 2026

Saturday Campus Tour

10:00–11:30 am

RSVP →

February 22, 2026

Open House, All Programs

9:00–11:00 am

RSVP →

March 8, 2026

Coffee Chat with the Head of School

8:30–9:30 am

RSVP →

Find Us

We’re on Orchard Street
in Lincoln Park.

2615 N Orchard Street

Chicago, IL 60614

(773) 555-0142

hello@montessorimakersschool.org

Begin Enrollment

Lincoln Park

2615 N Orchard St

Chicago, IL 60614

CTA: Red Line, Fullerton