A calm, Montessori-inspired home for children from infancy to five.
The Brilliant Stars Academy is a small, private Montessori-inspired academy in a home setting in Sterling. Every day includes outdoor play in our own garden, yoga, a short meditation, painting and music. Everything we do comes back to one idea: mindfulness and learning to live well together.
How our approach fits together
Read from the top down: each layer exists to serve the one above itTap any item to jump to its explanation below.
Mindfulness and coexistence
Everything at the Brilliant Stars Academy serves one purpose: to raise children who are aware of themselves and at ease with others. Mindfulness is the inside half. A child notices how their body feels, what they are thinking, and what they need. Coexistence is the outside half. A child learns that other people, animals and plants have needs too, and that a group works best when everyone is cared for.
We don't teach these as subjects. They are built into the way the day runs: how children greet each other at the door, how they wait for a turn with a material, how they breathe before lunch, and how they look after the garden.
What this looks like in a child
- Can name a feeling ("I'm frustrated") instead of acting it out
- Calms down with breathing or a quiet corner
- Waits, shares and takes turns without an adult stepping in
- Helps a younger child, and accepts help from an older one
- Treats materials, plants and animals gently
- Finishes what they start and puts it back for the next child
Four principles behind every decision
We are Montessori-inspired rather than a certified Montessori school. We take these four ideas from Dr. Maria Montessori's method and blend them with daily yoga, meditation, painting and music. They guide how we set up the home, how teachers speak to children, and what we leave children to do on their own.
Body, mind, creativity and community
The principles work through four areas of a child's development. Each pillar has daily practices that build it, and each one looks different at each age.
What children actually do each day
Seven practices happen every day, in every age group, adapted to the child's stage. Each one feeds a pillar above it.
How a full day is divided, by age group
Minutes per activity in a full day. Younger children spend more time on care and rest, older children more on Montessori work.
Three groups, one approach
Children are grouped by stage of development, not by birthday cut-offs. Each group has its own space in the home, its own rhythm and its own teacher-to-child ratio.
Visit
Sterling, Virginia
Visits are by appointment.
School hours
Contact
A day at the Brilliant Stars Academy
Each practice, why we do it, and how it changes with ageThe daily rhythm
Questions parents ask
1. Age group
Each group has its own space and ratio2. Days per week
One weekly price. Everything after this is optional.3. Add a meal package
Homemade snacks and fresh meals, priced by the week4. Add extended care
For mornings before 7:30, evenings after 5:00 and weekends5. Extras
Enrichment on top of the daily rhythmYour day, with add-ons
The base week covers 7:30 to 5:00. Early Bird and Night Owl extend it at either end. The morning work cycle is shaded.
What your monthly total is made of
Weekly tuition by schedule
Infants under 16 months cost more on every schedule because each caregiver looks after fewer children.
What happens on a tour
- Meet the director
Your questions, your child's routine, and which program fits.
- Watch a work cycle
See the classroom in action from the observation spot, without interrupting.
- Tuition and start dates
Walk out with your exact monthly cost and a seat on hold for 48 hours.
Tour spots left
Next two weeks. Each tour takes up to 3 families.