Welcome to Champions Montessori!

Discover Montessori...Your child deserves it!

We are a local, family-owned business that has over 30 years experience in early childhood education. Our goal is to provide quality, consistent care at an affordable price. We only hire Montessori degreed, tenured teachers who are passionate about educating children.

Stop by for a tour today!

About Us

Learn about our team

JANA JORDY
Director

Jana Jordy has over 13 years experience in the classroom as a certified Montessori Teacher. She is a 1997 graduate from the Houston Montessori Center and is accredited by the American Montessori Society. Jana is a firm believer of Positive Child Guidance. She has lead and conducted many workshops and seminars helping teachers and parents learn simple behavior modification tools. She is has also written a book on teaching young children Fine Arts. Jana first fell in love with Dr Maria Montessori’s curriculum and philosophy at age 19, while working as a Montessori Assistant. She decided at that time to focus her own college studies on Early Childhood Development. Jana has worked for Champions Montessori’s sister school for 8 years. She is thrilled to call Champions Montessori home. She is also excited about sharing what incredible gifts a Montessori education can bring to a young child. Jana has been married for 14 years and has 2 young boys who attend Champions Montessori.

Teachers

JOSSIE CLENDENING
Primary
Ages 3 - 6

Hello and welcome to Champions Montessori. My name is Jossie Clendening and I recently relocated to the Champions area from Austin, TX. I have over 8 years of experience in Early Childhood Education. I discovered my passion for Montessori during my internship with a child psychologist while earning my BA in Psychology at HBU. It was in that environment that I determined, if you encourage a child’s self-motivation, independence, and self-discipline, it will lead that child to attain a positive self- image and a lifelong pursuit of knowledge and creativity. That experience helped me to determine my career path as a Montessori Teacher. I then attained my Kindergarten and Pre-K Montessori Teaching Certification from the North American Montessori Council at Portland State University. I have been married for 5 years and have a beautiful son, who is just under a year old. I can’t wait for him to be a student here at Champions Montessori!

KIM REED
Primary
Ages 3 - 6

Kim Reed has been working in the Education field for 13 yrs, 5 of those years have been in a Montessori School. We love her positive energy and smile she brings to our program. Ms. Kim is studying Early Childhood Development and Elementary Education at Sam Houston State University. She received her Montessori credential through The North American Montessori Center. Ms. Kim is loved by her students, past and present. During her Montessori studies Ms. Kim used Champions Montessori for her practicum and student teaching site. We are thrilled she chose to be part of our teaching team!

KIMBERLY STEPHENS
Primary
Ages 3 ½ - 5

Kimberly Stephens holds an Associates Degree in Early Childhood Development Montessori Infant/Toddler from Lone Star College as well as a CDA (Child Development Associates). Ms. Kimberly has an AMS (American Montessori Society) Montessori Certification and over 16 years experience in Early Childhood Education. Ms. Kimberly is a mother of 1 and has been married for 13 years. Ms. Kimberly loves putting the Montessori Philosophy into practice because she knows they work!

ROBIN LEWIS YOUNG
Primary
Ages 3 ½ - 5

Robin Lewis Young holds Texas teaching certificates for Elementary Grades Pre-Kindergarten through Sixth and English as a Second Language Supplemental. Ms. Robin’s teaching career began in 2000, where she taught in a public school until May of 2008 when her son was born. She received her Montessori Certification from the American Montessori Society in 2004. Her last five years were spent teaching in a Montessori three to six year old class for Aldine ISD. There Ms. Robin taught children of all backgrounds and ability levels. Ms. Robin has a love for teaching young children academics, as well as to help them develop the skills of independence and responsibility. Ms. Robin is a mother one boy and has been married for 9 years.

ALISON EKSTROM
Primary
Ages 3 ½ - 5

Alison Eckstrom Alison Ekstrom grew up in England and holds a Montessori Certification from the London Montessori Centre which she received in 1993 as well as a Degree from Basford Hall- North England. Ms. Alison has worked with pre-school and kindergarten age children for 12 years. Ms. Alison is the mother of two children and has been married for 22 years. Ms. Alison enjoys nurturing, educating and helping children grow.

JENNIFER VILLAFRANCO
Toddler Montessori
18 months - 2 1/2 years

Ms. Jennifer has worked for Champions Montessori for 2 years and is a “Montessori Child” herself. Jennifer’s parents enrolled her into a Private French Montessori school as a kindergartener where she attended until her graduation of high school. Jennifer fell in love with the Toddler Montessori method and decided to go through the Infant / Toddler Montessori Accreditation herself.

She is receiving her post graduate Montessori accreditation through the North American Montessori Center. Ms. Jennifer has a Bachelor Degree from The University Centroamericana Jose Simeon Canas, where she studied education. She worked in El Salvador for 5 years as a second grade teacher and also worked with special needs children during her year of student teaching.

Jennifer loves working with the toddlers. She likes to see how quickly they learn new concepts and their pure joy in expressing themselves through their new found independence. Her love for the Montessori Method continues to grow and believes it is the best approach, allowing the child to discover the world through their own experiences.

Jennifer enjoys playing Soccer, basketball and watching movies with her family here in Houston. She is also fluent in Spanish and implements it into her daily curriculum with songs and vocabulary expansion. We are thrilled she is part of the CMS faculty.

Our Approach

Montessori Learning Environment

“The Montessori Method is a way of thinking about who children are. It is a philosophy that respects the unique individuality of each child.” Simply stated, we follow the child as they pave their own educational map.

Champions Montessori combines Dr. Maria Montessori’s philosophy and traditional teaching methods to better prepare our students for the next step on their educational journey. By doing so, the child is initially exposed to new concepts using concrete (hands-on) materials while gradually moving to more abstract materials such as worksheets. Once the child is comfortable with a concept concretely, then; and only then, can abstract materials be introduced.

The Montessori method allows children to learn at their own pace. In a Montessori environment, one child may spend a longer period of time mastering a work than another. However, both children will experience the same end result. Allowing a child to discover new concepts at their own pace minimizes the stress of learning.

An Example of a Montessori Lesson using Concrete (Montessori) & Abstract (Traditional) Teaching

Letter Recognition & Sound

When giving a lesson on letter sound recognition, we begin with the sandpaper letters. A single letter is formed on a tablet using sandpaper. The child is shown the proper way to form the letter (using their first two fingers to trace) and then introduced to its sound. The child then models the form and sound back to the teacher. (concrete)

Once the child masters a series of letter sounds, they are then introduced to the object box. This combines the child’s knowledge of letter sounds with beginning sound discrimination in language. The child is again shown the sandpaper letters, but now must match an object to the letter sound it begins with. For instance, bat begins with “b,” cat begins with “c”, and so on. (concrete)

Next, picture cards are utilized in place of objects for a more abstract concept.
Lastly, the child practices writing the letters on paper using the proper form learned from the initial lesson with the sandpaper letters. (abstract)

The Montessori curriculum supports…
Order
Concentration
Coordination
Independence
Respect and Care of the Child
Respect and Care of the Environment
Respect and Care for Others
Positive Guidance
Positive Discipline

Montessori children are…
Independent
Respectful
Creative
Nurturing
Self-Motivated
Problem Solvers
Life Long Learners