Children’s Learning Center Montessori (CLC) offers a Montessori T-K program in Thousand Oaks for children who are ready to move beyond preschool and prepare for kindergarten. Our transitional kindergarten classroom combines hands-on Montessori materials with guided lessons in practical life, language, mathematics, and science, so your child builds real skills, real independence, and real confidence before the next step.
CLC is not a babysitting service or a play school where children pass time until kindergarten. Since 1979, our school has focused on using the most productive early years to build lasting learning habits. If you are comparing TK options for your child, we would like you to see the difference in person.
Age | Ages 4–5 (children who turn 4 by September 1) |
Schedule | Monday–Friday, 7:30 AM–6:00 PM |
Program | Montessori Transitional Kindergarten |
Enrollment | Now Enrolling for Fall |
Location | 2993 Crescent Way, Thousand Oaks, CA 91362 |
License | # 566213859 |
Transitional kindergarten is the bridge between preschool and kindergarten. It gives four-year-olds an extra year to grow in confidence, concentration, and early academic skills before they meet the expectations of a full kindergarten classroom.
Our Montessori TK program is designed for children who are curious, ready for more structured work, and eager to do things for themselves. Instead of sitting through identical worksheets, children choose purposeful activities from a carefully prepared classroom, work with Montessori materials they can touch and manipulate, and receive lessons from a trained teacher at the moment they are ready for them.
At CLC, we have seen how much children can accomplish when the classroom is built around their abilities. A child who is proud of pouring water without spilling, tracing sandpaper letters, or counting a golden bead chain is a child who is learning to love learning.
Every child arrives with a different background. Some come from our own toddler and preschool classrooms, and others join us from other programs or from home. If you are not sure whether TK is the right fit, a short visit and conversation with our team is the easiest way to find out.
Our curriculum was designed by our founder, Shirani Dhawan, and is not tied to a franchise or a fixed script. As a privately owned school, CLC is free to shape its program around what children need. TK students work across several areas of the Montessori classroom.
Practical life activities are where many Montessori children begin, and they remain valuable throughout TK. Children pour, polish, wash, serve, and care for their classroom environment. These tasks improve motor control, eye-hand coordination, and concentration, while teaching good work habits.
Children are encouraged to complete the whole task, gather every material they need, and return everything in order, so it is ready for the next child. That routine builds inner discipline and self-direction. It also teaches consideration for others, which matters a great deal in a kindergarten classroom.
Language Arts in our classroom starts with sounds. Children work on phonics, then move toward reading and writing as they are ready. They build vocabulary, practice listening and speaking, and gain confidence expressing their ideas. Because lessons are given individually or in small groups, each child progresses at a pace that is challenging without being overwhelming.
Montessori mathematics begins with concrete materials. Children handle physical quantities, count them, compare them, and connect them to numerals. Working with real objects helps abstract ideas make sense. Your child learns what “ten” actually looks and feels like before being asked to write it.
Sensorial materials help children refine what they see, hear, touch, and feel. They sort, match, compare and grade objects by size, shape, weight, texture and more. This work sharpens observation, builds vocabulary, and prepares the mind for later study in mathematics, language and science.
Children also explore basic science concepts, music and art. These subjects give children more ways to ask questions, express ideas, and connect what they learn across the classroom.
Parents often ask what “kindergarten readiness” really means. In our classroom, it means more than knowing letters and numbers. It means a child who can concentrate, follow a routine, work with others, and finish what they start.
Academic foundations. Children build early phonics, reading, writing, and counting skills through hands-on work. By the end of the year, they have a solid base to carry into kindergarten and beyond.
Independence. Children choose their work, gather materials, complete tasks, and clean up. Teachers do not do for a child what the child can learn to do alone.
Social development. Children learn to wait for a turn, respect another child’s work, ask for help, and offer it. These habits help a child feel at home in a larger group.
Classroom routines. Moving from one activity to another, following directions, and taking responsibility for materials are all part of a typical Montessori morning. Children who practice these skills daily tend to transition smoothly into new settings.
Because CLC also offers kindergarten and first grade, families who want continuity can keep their child in the same Montessori environment.
Montessori is sometimes misunderstood as children doing whatever they like. The truth is more structured. Here is how our TK classroom actually works.
Children work according to their developmental level, not according to a fixed lesson that every child must complete at the same moment. A teacher observes each child, introduces new lessons when the child is ready, and returns to earlier ones when practice is needed.
Children learn by doing. Materials are designed to isolate one idea at a time, allow children to correct their own mistakes, and make abstract concepts concrete.
In a mixed-age Montessori setting, younger children learn by watching older classmates, and older children strengthen their own understanding by helping.
Freedom in a Montessori classroom always operates within limits. Children choose from activities their teacher has introduced, and they are expected to treat classmates and materials respectfully. The teacher’s role is to observe, guide, and present lessons, not to step back entirely.
Parents want to picture their child at school, so here is how a day generally flows.
CLC is open Monday through Friday, 7:30 AM to 6:00 PM. Many families in Thousand Oaks balance demanding work commutes, and our extended hours are designed to make that easier.
We also offer a summer program. Call us to ask about availability and dates.
Families interested in Montessori TK enrollment do not need to guess where to start. Here is the general process.
Our school accepts children as early as 18 months, so families with younger children can also plan ahead for a smooth path from toddler care through first grade.
A tour is the best way to see whether CLC is the right fit. You will see our classrooms, learn how the Montessori materials are used, and have time to talk with our team about your child’s needs.
A school with history. Shirani Dhawan founded CLC in 1979 to promote early childhood education in the Conejo Valley. Mrs. Dhawan was trained in Montessori techniques by Mario Montessori, Dr. Maria Montessori’s son, and graduated from the AMI Centre in London in 1968. She holds a degree in child psychology and has helped start and support Montessori schools across the greater Los Angeles area.
Experienced teachers. Ms. Farida is a Montessori-qualified teacher with more than 20 years of experience, and teaches phonics, reading, counting, and basic science to children ages 4 to 6. Ms. Rashida, who has taught kindergarten in Hong Kong and has three years of Montessori training, works with our 2–4-year-olds.
A complete Montessori curriculum. Practical life, sensorial materials, language arts, mathematics, science, music, and art are all part of the program.
A licensed program. CLC operates under license # 566213859.
Outcomes we can point to. Over the years, many CLC graduates have done well on California standardized tests, and a number have been selected for gifted programs. We share this as our observation, not a promise, because every child grows differently.
Safe and clean. We sanitize surfaces frequently and continue to monitor health and occupancy. Let us know if there is anything we can do to make you more comfortable.
Since 2025–26, California requires public school districts to offer TK to children who turn four by September 1. TK is optional, and it is the first year of a two-year kindergarten experience. Many public TK programs are good. If you are comparing, these are the practical differences to ask about.
Consideration | CLC Montessori TK | Ask any TK program |
|---|---|---|
Learning approach | Montessori: hands-on, individualized | What approach is used? |
Schedule | Mon–Fri, 7:30 AM–6:00 PM | What are the daily hours? |
Curriculum | Practical life, sensorial, language, math, science, music, art | What is taught each day? |
Enrollment | Tour, then application | How and when does it open? |
Continuation | Kindergarten and first grade at CLC | Where does your child go next? |
TK is designed for children in the year before kindergarten. Call us with your child’s birthday, and we can explain where they fit.
Both prepare children for kindergarten. In Montessori, children choose from hands-on activities, work at their own pace,e and receive individual lessons rather than following a single whole-class plan.
Children work on practical life, sensorial exploration, language and phonics, mathematics, and introductory science, music, and art.
It builds academic foundations along with concentration, independence, social skills, and comfort with classroom routines.
Children join CLC from different backgrounds, and our teachers meet each child where they are.
We are open Monday through Friday, 7:30 AM to 6:00 PM.
Start with a tour. After you visit, our team will explain the application steps and answer your questions.
Yes, and we encourage it. Call (805) 250-5835 or email montessoriclc@gmail.com.
Schedule a tour to meet our team, see the classroom, and learn about enrollment.
You already know how Montessori Schools are for children. Make an appointment today to learn how Children’s Learning Center Montessori will be for your child.
License # 566213859
2993 Crescent Way
Thousand Oaks, CA 91362
