The Sammamish Montessori School (SMS), a longstanding Montessori school in Redmond, Washington, has been serving families since 1977. As we have grown alongside the students we serve, so has our campus, including the exciting expansion of our Montessori school library in Redmond, WA, a space designed to support literacy, independence, and exploration.
A New Chapter: Inside Sammamish Montessori School’s Library Expansion
Originally a small 150-square-foot space shared with our music room, the SMS library provided reading and classroom materials for teachers for many decades. From phonics readers to chapter books, social-emotional stories to fantastical adventures, the library served our classrooms well.
As the school expanded to 15 classrooms—including an expanded Toddler program with five classrooms, our core Montessori Primary program with eight classrooms, our signature Montessori+ hybrid program, and our Lower Elementary program, serving over 250 children from 18 months to 9 years old — the need for a social, explorative third-space for teachers and students alike became increasingly clear.
The foundation for our new library — a bright, open 500 sq.ft space — had originally been used as a training room for teachers and a partial storage space, though the space was large, full of light, and held a mountain of potential. Once the bookshelves were installed, it quickly became clear that the space was perfectly suited to become our school library.
Today, featuring flexible seating, open shelving, and a new digital catalog of the library’s books, the “new” SMS library has become more than just an archive of books, but an accessible learning environment for teachers and students alike to discover new material, hold classroom activities, and to use as a quiet, calming space separate from the classroom.
Now, the smaller room that once housed our books has found a new purpose as the home for curriculum materials and unit boxes that support classroom learning.
From Small Space to Learning Hub
Literacy, independence, and exploration are at the heart of our school’s Montessori philosophy.
Along with our wide selection of fiction books, the SMS library holds an ever-growing collection of specialized children’s books, from animals to art history, engineering to social-emotional learning, world culture to horticulture, and well beyond. For those sticking around in the library, our collection of board games, puzzles, movies, and children’s audiobooks makes the space feel like home. Further still, our selection of Montessori and Early Education resources are available for teachers and families alike to borrow and explore.
Our biannual Family Night & Book Fair, partnered with PaperPie (formerly Usborne) Books, allows us to update our selection with relevant material, with 50% of book fair proceeds going to purchasing new materials for our school library.
At this month’s Family Night & Book Fair, SMS is proud to feature the debut picture book by our Montessori+ Program Director, Ms. Virginia Ward, titled There Once Was a Sasquatch Who Swallowed a Nut.
Why Space Matters
Many of our Montessori Primary and Toddler classrooms have already embraced the new library by holding weekly story time circles in the space. Children practice taking books from the shelves and returning them, then choose books to read together in a calm, shared environment. These routines reinforce independence and responsibility while nurturing a love for reading.
As digital literacy has become increasingly important in our modern technological age, our Lower Elementary classroom’s weekly Technology class has taken the reins to teach students the ins and outs of a library system. Our older students now have a real library experience through checking out books with their own library accounts.
Using the library’s computer, students begin by creating a secure password, then using the digital catalog’s search system to find and check out books to take home—improving typing skills, as well as taking accountability for properly borrowing and returning books from home back to the library.
By choosing their own books, caring for them, and returning them to the shelves, students practice independence and accountability—two key pillars of Montessori philosophy.
What’s Ahead for our SMS Library
The expansion of our SMS library marks an exciting new chapter in our journey of growth and innovation. As a Montessori school library in Redmond, WA, this space is more than just a place for books—it is a thoughtfully prepared environment that nurtures independence, curiosity, and a lifelong love for learning. What was once a functional space has transformed into a hub for exploration, learning, and connection. As children engage with books, interact with technology, and each other, the library continues to bring our Montessori values to life in meaningful ways.
This is just the beginning of what our new and improved Montessori school library in Redmond, WA, will bring to SMS as our community settles into the new space. Our SMS families have even found the library to be a decompression space after evening pick-up, spending quiet time with their children and even borrowing books to read together at home.
We look forward to seeing this space evolve alongside our learners for years to come, and we invite our families and community to explore and enjoy the library with us.
The Heart Behind the SMS Library
Danny Dudarov
Behind every thoughtfully prepared Montessori environment is someone who brings it to life through care, patience, and attention to detail.
For SMS, that heart has been Danny Dudarov.
A recent graduate of Washington State University, with a degree in English and Secondary Education, Danny has long been drawn to language, literature, and learning environments. Those interests naturally carried into the creation of the library, where careful attention was given to making the space functional, welcoming, and easy for students to navigate.
From carefully organizing shelves and cataloging books to helping design the layout of the new space, Danny has played a central role in transforming the library from an idea into a welcoming environment for students and teachers alike.
What began as a vision for a larger library quickly became a labor of love, with countless hours spent sorting, labeling, arranging, and preparing materials so that children could easily explore and access them.
Thanks to Danny’s dedication, the SMS library has become a space where children can discover new worlds through books, teachers can find meaningful resources for their classrooms, and families can enjoy quiet moments together.
