Welcome to The Happy Children's Montessori
Where Children Develop a Lifelong Love of Learning
Heather Keizur,
Founder / Teacher
Heather Keizur, has devoted her life to working with children in the Montessori classroom.
In 1984, Heather was a teacher’s aide at The Cupertino Montessori School. In 1985, while studying at The Montessori Educational Institute she was hired as an assistant teacher at Santa Cruz Montessori. After graduating with her Montessori Teacher’s Diploma in 1987, Heather spent 7 years teaching at West Hills Montessori in Portland, Oregon. In 1994, she founded The Happy Children’s Montessori in her home. Five years later the school moved to its current location inside the Hillsboro Presbyterian Church.
Heather holds a Bachelor of Arts in French from Portland State University and shares her love of the French language with her students. Heather is also an accomplished jazz vocalist and includes music as an integral part of the children’s lives at HCM.
“I know of no greater satisfaction than helping children become their best selves and develop a confidence in learning that will last a lifetime.” Heather Keizur
From our summer concert 2024
Music is a more potent instrument than any other for education because rhythm and harmony find their way into the inward places of the soul
Plato
Noriko Gaudreault,
Assistant Teacher
Noriko loves working with children and has been a Montessori classroom assistant teacher for over a decade. Noriko has great respect and appreciation for the Montessori method of learning. She especially enjoys sharing her origami skills with the children and working on sewing and art projects with them. Noriko has worked as the classroom assistant at The Happy Children’s Montessori since the fall of 2023. She is beloved by the students and parents alike. Noriko has a degree in pedagogy from Otsuma Women's University in Tokyo
Our Montessori Program
Children at The Happy Children's Montessori learn through hands-on exploration in a carefully prepared environment. Each child progresses at his or her own pace while developing independence, confidence, and a lifelong love of learning.
Why Families Choose The Happy Children's Montessori
◆Children learn at their own pace in a nuturing Montessori environment.
◆We encourage independence, confidence, and respect for others.
◆Christian values are woven naturally into each day.
◆Hands-on learning in practical life, language, math, science, geography, music, French, and more.
◆An experienced Montessori teacher and caring assistant nuture each child's growth.
Our program encourages children to use respectful conflict resolution skills with one another. We use grace and courtesy lessons to teach manners, proper handling of materials, respect of one's classmate's work and workspace and respect of the environment. We always stress the importance of treating each other and the materials in the classroom with respect and kindness.
The Happy Children’s Montessori is a Christian based school in which Christian values are taught. Each child learns that he or she has been beautifully and wonderfully made and is loved deeply by God. Monthly, we explore a new theme, including how to be a good friend, joy, love, giving, honesty, forgiveness and gratitude. The children are presented with Bible verses which correspond with the theme of the month and helped to apply these principles to their daily lives.
After graduating from our three year program, children leave with advanced academic skills, beautiful social graces and a strong sense of self confidence. Further, each child knows the joy of learning and is ready to excel at whatever school he or she attends in the future.
