United States, San Francisco
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Food preparation is part of Infant Community. Two children have the opportunity to prepare the vegetables that will be served for lunch, and they push the food cart to the kitchen where our chefs cook lunch. The lunch ritual then starts with pre-lunch words or a short song in both Japanese and Chinese.
American International Montessori School (AIM) is a bilingual Montessori day school serving toddlers to elementary students on two Berkeley/Oakland–area campuses. Founded in 2009 by Ernest Mahr, AIM offers three Montessori programs: Infant Community (18–36 months), Children's House (3–6 years), and Elementary (1st–6th). Language immersion is embedded across all divisions, with toddler tracks in Japanese and Mandarin, and elementary bilingual options in English/Chinese or English/Japanese. Immersion is 100% in the target language for younger children, with English introduced in the afternoon for older students; elementary classrooms maintain all-day language immersion. Classrooms emphasize authentic Montessori materials and native-speaking teachers. Two campus sites host distinct language tracks, with Montessori-trained staff across every classroom. The campus features bright, natural-light rooms, child-sized furnishings, two large play yards, and abundant outdoor and garden activities. After-school enrichment includes sports, art, and dance—most notably Yosakoi Japanese dance—and annual cultural events like Setsubun, broadening students' world awareness and curiosity.