Year-round Montessori
inspired, joyful bilingual programs whenever school is not in session

Casa Lala offers Montessori - with touches of Reggio Emilia and Forest Schools- inspired programs, infused with joy, music and curiosity. Our entire team is bilingual (Spanish/English) and encourages a Spanish-speaking environment, emphasizing exposure to Spanish and Latin American cultures; Don't be surprised if your child wakes up one morning requesting arepas or singing canciones de la granja!

Activities are culturally minded and focus on community connection: cooking, dancing, creating, exploring…! We have workshops that range from science experiments to martial arts to pottery.


In our signature program “DC is our Classroom” (which you will find in all our week-long camps, and most One Day Camps) we hop on our Juanchas (our beloved, music-filled Casa Lala vehicles) to explore and learn to love our beautiful city with our amigos: we discover parks, farms, museums, splash pads, pools, monuments…

How it Started

Marcela Tampe, or simply “Lala” as the children call her, opened Casa Lala over 14 years ago in her own home. At the time already an AMI Montessori teacher, Casa Lala was born out of the strong demand by parents to have after-school and holiday programs where children would feel ‘at home’.

Philosophy

Our programs take from the Montessori, Reggio Emilia and Forest school philosophies, mixed with our own Casa Lala curriculum designed by Lala. All programs are culturally minded with a focus on community connection: cooking, dancing, creating, exploring nature… we are outdoors as much as possible, and use nature as well as the city we live in as our wonderful classroom.

“DC IS OUR CLASSROOM” is our signature program of discovering the wonderful city we live in, and learning to love it as well as the people who inhabit it. We hop on our Juanchas (Casa Lala’s music filled, colorful vans) and set to explore with our amigos: farms, museums, parks, splash pads, monuments…

We also incorporate varied workshops, from jiu jitsu to pottery!

Culture

Every Casa Lala team member is fully bilingual (Spanish/English).
We are a joyful, loud, and friendly bunch.

We mix our ‘latin flavor’ with a strong Montessori background. This translates into a deep respect for the child, a team that knows how to observe and follow the child, how to link the right activities and materials for their stages of development, igniting curiosity and learning, and do so using a lot of joy, music, and color.

At Casa Lala we let children be children. We give them space and opportunities to run, jump, climb, get their feet wet and hands dirty.

Casa Lala is a community, and we strive to support our families as much as they support us. We have a unique scholarship program, we like to create community events to bring families together, and we often support local artists and small businesses.

A few words from our Casa Lala families…

  • “There is not enough gratitude in the world that we could give to Lala and her incredible team for the role that they've played in the lives of our family in the past several years. When things were so uncertain and chaotic in the world around us, Casa Lala gave our children a warm, safe, enriching, and consistent environment in which they could just be kids. Everything that the Casa Lala team does, they do with love, care, respect, and joy. We couldn't ask for anything greater for our kids and we feel lucky everyday to have found Casa Lala.”

    Anna Jesseman

  • “My daughter attended spring break camp and summer camp at Casa Lala. Her interest in Spanish grew almost immediately, and she loved each day's adventures playing, exploring nature, and appreciating the wonders of our city. I felt great knowing she was supported by a truly loving staff, who pay attention to each child and use best practices to support young people in being both autonomous and safe. The location has great indoor and outdoor spaces to maximize fun and help students use their physical and creative energy, and I was honestly a bit jealous of all the interesting places they went! Seeing pictures of the kids' adventures was such a parenting delight. We're incredibly grateful for Casa Lala providing such a vibrant and caring environment and really making each day special.”

    Jill Ruchala

  • “Casa Lala is amazing! Lala and her team are really intentional when creating experiences for children and also giving them space and freedom to express themselves. My child had experiences at summer camp that would make a grown up jealous! The experiences that children have there are really unique and gives children exposure to various places and spaces in the city and as a bonus - they are definitely worn out by the end of the day!”

    Reem Labib Tyson