Our Story

Our House Montessori was born in 2010 out of a vision of what a toddler Montessori program could be and a desire to provide the opportunity of a top-notch pre-school program to more Philadelphia families.  Our founders, Paige Gottesman and Christina Laramee Siegle saw firsthand that there was a serious lack of viable options for Philadelphia families with toddler aged children.  After spending nearly a decade starting and expanding the toddler program at Green Towne Montessori School in center city Philadelphia, they decided to strike out and start OHM in a little corner space in the Bella Vista neighborhood, just north of the historic Italian Market.  The space at 701 S. 9th St. fit the vision that we had of a small school built in the mold of Maria Montessori’s Casa Dei Bambini as an environment that not only nurtured the children in their care, but also allowed them to have a closer relationship with their families.  With this vision in mind, we have created a community of children and families that have forged lasting bonds.

Over the seven school years in that location, we met so many outstanding families and had such memorable times in both our own community as well as part of the larger Bella Vista neighborhood.   For our eighth year, we decided to expand the program and make it possible for even more families to become a part of the OHM community.   As part of this expansion, the school is relocating to a beautiful, historic location in the Spring Garden neighborhood of Philadelphia at 1733 Spring Garden St.   Located in the beautifully preserved and restored mansion built by nuts and bolts magnate Barton Hoopes in 1878, the school will be embarking on a new chapter, in a new place, creating a larger community and new friends.  As we undertake this endeavor one thing is for sure, we will not lose sight of the guiding ideals and philosophies that have made OHM what it is:  creating a unique, tight-knit Montessori community and environment that allows the children we are fortunate enough to have in our care to flourish and grow to the best of their potential.