As of Friday, they are back to arbitrary unposted rules about food, but it seems to be by class.

Things that my child reported seeing other kids have in class that were always on the "no list"

Pretzels (our kid names the kids who bring them often)
Go-gurt (our kid names the kid who brings them daily)
Raisins (our kid names the kids who bring them often)
Applesauce pouches (our kid showed us when he finished one at the park how "so and so" from school blows his up afterwards like a balloon)

Things that are suddenly not allowed

Yogurt (in a thermos)
Dried fruit (freeze dried, no sugar added)
Prepackaged fruit cups (in pear juice, not syrup)

Fruit is treated as DESSERT and is put on a shelf when the kids finish everything else. My kid does not eat veggies. Fruit is my best shot at him getting food from a farm, his lunch is loaded with it, and now it's DESSERT.

1) it's a food group, not a dessert

2) I don't want you telling my kid dessert is part of every meal, because at our house, fruit is part of every meal.

I must say that my experience of food policy at Fiore is not the same as the many fears that some others seem to have. We send food from home, we occasionally send mac and cheese, ... sometimes we send raisins or apple sauce and at no time have I heard that it is not ok to do so. The school says that they will not provide processed foods at school but they do not ask that parents do not do so, and they say that they will restrict sugar & sugary foods /deserts after meals as that interferes in nap-which again seems smart to me.

I do find that my child is exposed to many different foods that other children bring from home, which I consider as a healthy environment.
Fiore is the only school in the four we toured, which teaches children how to have food properly. They do not eat from lunchbox, nor paper plates. Children learn to serve themselves from their lunchbox, eat individually or with friends and then clean up their plates and place after they have finished. So not much to dislike about that. Most Montessori schools have children eat from the lunch box to reduce the work involved in using plates & cutlery.

I guess everyone is entitled to their opinion, but we do not find this food policy extreme. There is some good in the choices that the school makes for the children.

My child attends Fiore and we are really happy that we get to send our own food and that there is a focus on healthy eating. I love that my child sees others eating healthy balanced meals each day and is encouraged to try new vegetables and fruits. I also love the outdoor environment and the peaceful classroom setting. The teachers have been caring and helpful.

I agree that carline is awful though. Not sure what they can do to improve it, but it's awful.

That's great, but many parents want their children to have a nutritious diet while allowing for some moderation and want to get through the day without being harassed by their child's preschool teacher. This school in particular from what I remember supplies little food and no lunch. Contrast that with Eastern Ridge School up the road which provides all organic breakfast, lunch, and snacks in their price so there's no back and forth on what is suitable to eat. There's a difference between a school that will take away dried organic apricots as a snack and a school that only serves hot dogs and mac and cheese every day with cupcakes for dessert. If a school is going to be that picky, they should supply their own food. This school and apparently the parents who send their children there live in extremes.

14:49 - Well several folks complain about the food rules for this school and I think the school does an excellent job in encouraging kids to learn about a balanced diet. As a parent, I would perhaps encourage the school in banning any processed food.

So as a Fiore parent you now think anyone who doesn't pick this school thinks eating mac and cheese every day is fine? Uggh!

When I first toured Fiore, I was not very happy with the Owner's talk. Lot of corporate jargon. However, considering the work environments and outdoor environment and a lot of positives for this school, we enrolled our child anyway. Our child is now in this school for about a year and we are very happy with the results. They encourage bilingual children, outdoor environment, healthy eating habits and much more. True this school is not for everyone - If you want your child to eat crackers and mac and cheese everyday, sure this is perhaps not the best place for you.

I agree with the carline - It is not very efficient and picking up children after school is not done very efficiently, But all in all with the available materials and the lead teachers they have, we have been very happy with the school.

Good to know. I had fears about all you mentioned after the tour. It was obvious they didn't take pictures very regularly, had no activities other than Montessori, had a poor car line, and had a lot of teacher turnover. I'm glad we chose somewhere else.

I am a parent at Fiore and would not choose Fiore again. We have had experiences with other Montessori schools in the area and chose the school due to its proximity to our house for our youngest child. Very poor communication, very little flexibility, very much of a focus on making things easier for the staff versus parents/students. We were supposed to have daily pictures and updates - nope...more like once every quarter if that. There is no parent community or involvement - they actually shun it. The yoga and spanish immersion are there in name only as far as we know. This year, they didn't even bother teaching the kids songs for the winter celebration - instead we got to listen to the owner talk. One of the lead teachers took vacation in the winter and missed 3 weeks of class - she was the lead teacher in one of the primary classroom! Very rigid when it comes to rules (forget fruit yogurts or dried appricots - they will be taken away). There has been a lot of staff turnover and from one day to the next, there are new faces without any introductions (there were 2 or 3 departures announced but the rest just come and go). They have a $300 material fee on top of the high tuition which is super annoying when they talk about their investment in the school - yea it comes out of my pocket on top of the tuition! The owners are very dedicated to the path they are on but they are like many of the newly converted. AND they probably have the least efficient car line I have every experienced. I do think that the owners are dedicated and trying to balance running a business and a life. I don't begrudge them that but they need time to mature into what their vision is and the reality of life. Parents work and no, they can not take half a day one Friday a month (decided for this year) and they can't join you on Friday at 4-6 and then all day Saturday for a very important discussion...I could go on and on.

I would say that trust your own judgement. I toured Fiore and have friends at the school, who are very happy. I did not enroll, due to the distance, and am happy where I am but no better substitute to trusting your own instinct about a school for me.

I disagree with the person who said that this site has a lot of mis-information. This school is run like a business with extremely over the top restrictions. And I would hardly call it efficient. I don't know what you mean when you say things that are a waste of time, but this school really lacks in communication. Parents are not involved in any of the decisions, there is no room for any compromise. The worst restriction is their rule of not letting parents observe their kids whenever they want. Up until last year, they didn't let parents in at all, period. They finally put a one way window in one of the toddler rooms but even that was restricted to sign up times that were limited to early mornings at 30 minute intervals. Journals for each child were promised that never came home. Pictures were sent maybe once a month and pretty much all from the same day. They started out with weekly pictures which turned into month long waits. The school tends to make grand promises of things without follhowing through.

This is not the best school in the area. Do not be fooled by how it looks. There are plenty of other montessori schools that are not so overpriced and still offer a great montessori environment (without all the crazy restrictions).

I don't know what you're talking about. I love our school's PTO and the fact that the parents actually get a say in something. Fiore's parent seminars are in the middle of the day which is not at all convenient to half of the families that send their kids there. They don't seem to value the kids as much in their at home program providing nothing beyond the typical Montessori materials all day.

I am a parent at Fiore Montessori and I must say there is a lot of mis-information about the school on this site. Our experience has been positive.
Fiore Montessori tends to not sell to prospects, they communicate the worst things in their policy such as healthy food information but they are very reasonable in working with our family for taking care of our child. The school is efficient, which is important to me as they do not waste our time with a lot of things schools do in the name of parent engagement and PTO etc..

review the school calendar carefully!!!!! all students will be sent home early the first friday of every month for a staff meeting. so part of your tuition is going towards the teachers meeting once a month.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This school is extremely strict with the food guidelines. Children bring their own lunches, but with heavy restrictions. You can't send anything that resembles a cracker of any kind. They ban anything like goldfish. You can't even send in pretzels. If you do, the teachers will take them away so your child can't eat it.

They also serve only raw fruits and vegetables for their morning snacks. More vegetables than fruits, I'm talking about things even I won't eat. Raw parsnips, mushrooms, squash...While I understand the importance of healthy eating habits, I'm not going to feed my child something I wouldn't even enjoy eating. Also, the purpose of a morning snack is to make sure that the kids don't go hungry for too long, so it should be geared more towards providing food that they will enjoy and is still healthy.

Ugh. I want to find a school that allows ALL food - including NUTS! No crackers? smh

Parkwood is not a Montessori, but it does allow all food! And it's the happiest little preschool I've ever seen.