Community-supported school celebrates 40 years

Many of the little kids in the class photos all over the office at the Children’s House Montessori School (CHMS) are upstanding, adult citizens of Whitefish now, and many of them have sent their own children to the same preschool.

Carrie Lamb was recently hired to serve as executive director of CHMS. Lamb can be seen in the 1990-91 class picture, an adorable four-year-old in a striped shirt. Her older brother also attended the school as did Lamb’s two daughters.

Lamb practiced the Montessori philosophy as an assistant teacher before running the childcare program at The Wave for five years and working in behavior intervention at Muldown last year. In fall of 2022, she secured the executive director position at CHMS.

She said people have let her know they are glad the school is in Lamb’s hands. They appreciate that somebody who attended the school and is still a local is at the helm.

“I feel really blessed to have found something that really speaks to my pride of being born and raised in Whitefish and raising my own family here,” she said. “CHMS is a very community-supported place.”

Whitefish resident Sue Moll brought the school to town in the early 1980s and was its original administrator for years. She worked with a board that included Jerrie Boksich, Liz Nelson and former Glacier Bank President Lin Akey.

The historic class photos also include the young faces of Peter Akey and Garth Boksich.

“A lot of these people are still here,” Lamb said of the people in the photos. “Now their kids have gone through (CHMS) and it’s just been this beautiful, generational school in our town. Montessori is a very community-driven philosophy.”

Kacy Howard, President of the Board of CHMS for the past three years, knows first-hand that the school is an integral part of the community. She was a student at the school and her children went there, too.

“Having now served on the board of directors for the last seven years… and seeing how many impactful and involved community members share a similar story to mine with their time at Montessori, just speaks to how community-orientated of an organization it is,” Howard said. “Community and connection are important to the Montessori philosophy and it's neat to see those tenets play out in the people who live and work and play in Whitefish.”

Fifth-generation Whitefish resident, Eric Schmidt, President of First Interstate Bank, attended CHMS with Lamb and the two grew up together. Both have remained in Whitefish for most of their adult lives.

“It's pretty amazing how many of the kids we went to the school with are still in town, too,” he said. “It's a school that’s tied to a very old-town Whitefish.”

This year, CHMS is celebrating 40 years of serving families in Whitefish and is gearing up for its spring fundraiser on April 22 at the Lodge, where Schmidt will be the emcee.

Unlike a typical auction, the CHMS 40th anniversary fundraiser is inspired by the school’s traditional pumpkin patch festival and will be like an adult carnival. Attendees will buy tokens and enjoy some favorite games including fishing for gift cards, ring toss with bottles of wine and musical chairs.

When the carnival closes, poker night will commence. People can enjoy gambling or playing rousing games of bingo. Some big-ticket items will be auctioned off, as well.

“Every business we have asked in the valley is giving us something,” Lamb said. “It's been really cool to see the community donate and give to this event... because they have a connection to the school and because they have a connection to me or to (Associate Director) Kate Page.”

LAMB EXPLAINS Montessori is a tried and true philosophy that works for early childhood education as well as elementary education.

“The really cool thing about Montessori is that it's all student-led,” she said. “It's a teacher’s job to set the environment up for the students… to make sure they have everything they need to complete their work.”

Lamb said the mixed-age classes allow students to foster and nurture each other’s education process. Also, students are not interrupted while they are working.

“They are given little individualized lessons throughout the day,” Lamb said. “The teacher sits on the floor and works with one student on the work and other students are allowed to sit and observe.”

Lead teachers, Darcie Blanden and Eve Hunter have each been with Montessori for over 10 years.

“Because the philosophy is so old and proven, you’re never reinventing the wheel. The classroom work cycle works the way it does, the materials stay the same,” said Lamb. “They study the five continents as well as the five areas of study so the classrooms cycle through these really meaningful work sessions.”

The five areas of study are math, language, culture, practical life and sensorial. Montessori Academy says sensorial activities teach children to refine their senses and organize their sensory impressions of their understanding of the world. This is where some classic materials involved with Montessori, color box, pink tower and geometric solids come into play.

“The Montessori curriculum really provides a foundation for curiosity, industriousness and a sense of responsibility that truly serves people for a lifetime,” Howard added.

For more information about CHMS’s 40th-year celebration visit https://chmswhitefish.org/