Toddler Community
18 months – 3 years
A first community outside the home. Practical-life work, language exposure, and gentle independence in a calm, predictable environment.
1:5 educator-to-childFull day, half day options
Learn moreCredentials and licensing
Licensed & inspected
Ministry of Education licensed under the Child Care and Early Years Act. Annual unannounced inspections.
Registered ECEs
Every lead educator is a Registered Early Childhood Educator with the College of ECE Ontario.
Accredited
Member of the Canadian Council of Montessori Administrators and AECEO.
17 years in Oakville
Serving families across Oakville, Burlington, and Mississauga since 2009.
Our philosophy
Children are not small adults. Their learning is not small either.
Our approach is Montessori-aligned with influences from Reggio Emilia. That means our classrooms are prepared environments. Materials are chosen for the developmental work each child is doing right now. Educators observe before they teach. Children move at their own pace through activities that build on what they already understand.
The result is a child who is unhurried, focused, and capable. A child who can pour their own water at two, follow a multi-step routine at three, and read for pleasure at five. Not because we pushed. Because we got out of the way.
Programmes
Four programmes. One philosophy.
Each programme is shaped to the developmental work of its age group. The thread that runs through all of them is consistency: of educators, of environment, of expectation.
Casa Programme
3 – 6 years
The classical Montessori three-year cycle. Self-directed work, mixed-age peer learning, and the deep concentration that comes with both.
1:8 educator-to-childFull day, half day options
Learn moreAfterschool Programme
Junior Kindergarten – Grade 6
An unhurried space for older children. Homework support, project work, outdoor time, and quiet reading. No screens.
1:10 educator-to-childSchool dismissal – 6:00 PM
Learn moreSummer Programme
3 – 9 years
A summer that feels like summer. Garden days, art studios, swimming trips, and the same calm rhythm that defines the school year.
1:8 educator-to-childFull day, weekly enrolment
Learn moreOur educators
The educators are why parents stay.
Every lead educator at Oakbridge is a Registered Early Childhood Educator with formal Montessori or Reggio training. Most have been with us for five years or longer. Children get to know them. Parents get to trust them.
Anna Mercer
Director · Lead Casa Educator
- · RECE
- · AMI Casa Diploma (3–6)
- · B.Ed., University of Toronto
- At Oakbridge since 2009
Priya Iyer
Lead Toddler Educator
- · RECE
- · AMI Assistants to Infancy (0–3) Diploma
- At Oakbridge since 2014
James Okafor
Casa Educator
- · RECE
- · Montessori Training Centre of British Columbia (3–6)
- At Oakbridge since 2018
Elena Rossi
Afterschool & Summer Lead
- · RECE
- · B.A. in Child & Youth Studies, Brock
- At Oakbridge since 2020
A day at Oakbridge
What does my child actually do here?
The honest answer is the most useful one. Here is what an ordinary day looks like, hour by hour.
- 7:00 – 8:30 AM
Welcome and free arrival
Children arrive on their own schedule. Educators greet each child individually. Quiet activities are set out for early arrivers: books, puzzles, a watercolour table.
- 8:30 – 11:30 AM
The work cycle
Three uninterrupted hours of self-directed work in the prepared environment. Children choose their own activities. Educators observe, offer brief lessons, and step back. This is the heart of a Montessori day.
- 11:30 AM – 12:15 PM
Outside
Daily outdoor time, weather permitting. Our garden, the climbing structure, the sandbox, the loose-parts area. Children run, dig, build, and rest.
- 12:15 – 1:00 PM
Family-style lunch
Children set the tables, serve themselves, eat together, and clear their own dishes. Lunch is a community event, not a transaction.
- 1:00 – 3:00 PM
Rest, then afternoon work
Younger children rest. Older children begin a quieter afternoon work cycle: art, music, science extensions, group projects.
- 3:00 – 6:00 PM
Studio time and pickup
Open studio: pottery, painting, woodworking, gardening. Children choose. Pickup runs continuously through the afternoon.
From our families
Parents trust other parents above all marketing.
We do not run paid testimonial campaigns. The words below were given to us, unprompted, by families who chose to share.
We toured five centres before we found Oakbridge. The difference was in the first three minutes. The room was calm. The children were focused on their own work. Nobody had to be managed. We knew before we left that we wanted our daughter here.
Maya & Ravi P.
Parents · Casa programme since 2022
Our son was in a larger daycare for his first two years and we kept hearing he was a difficult child. He moved to Oakbridge at three, and within a few months the whole framing changed. Same child. Different environment.
Jenna K.
Parent · Casa programme since 2023
What I appreciate most is that they tell us the truth. When something is hard, they say so. When our daughter struggled with separation, Priya talked us through it honestly. This is rare and we are grateful for it.
Daniel & Caroline M.
Parents · Toddler programme since 2024
Book a tour
The best way to know if Oakbridge is the right fit is to come and see it.
Tours run weekday mornings at 10:00 AM and afternoons at 2:00 PM, with select Saturdays available by appointment. They take about 45 minutes and include time in each of our classrooms.
Enrolment cycles: September is our primary intake. We hold a smaller January intake when space allows. Waitlist enquiries are welcome at any time.
Fees: Fees are shared during the tour. We participate in the Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) system, which reduces fees for eligible families.