Ao Nang, Krabi · since 2013
A Montessori childhood in paradise
A small, happy, English-speaking Montessori school for children from 1½ to 6 — with a big walled garden, meals cooked on site, and the Andaman Sea five minutes down the road.
We reply personally, usually within one working day
13 years
in Ao Nang
Ages 1½–6
three mixed-age rooms
Small classes
everyone knows everyone
English + Thai
every single day
Meals included
cooked here, eaten together
Why Montessori
Children who are trusted to do it themselves
Montessori is not a style of nursery furniture. It is a way of arranging a room, and a day, so that small children get to be capable.
Independence
Concentration
Mixed ages
Three rooms
Your child will stay in the same room for three years
Long enough for a teacher to know exactly how they learn — and long enough for them to go from being the youngest in the room to the one showing everybody else.
Playgroup
First steps away from home, in a small room where everything is within reach and nothing needs asking for.
More about this room
Junior Montessori
The full prepared environment opens up: practical life, sensorial materials, early language and number.
More about this room
Primary Montessori
Reading, writing and mathematics arrive through materials rather than worksheets, at whatever moment each child is ready.
More about this room
Meet Joy
The whole school is one person’s idea of how children should be treated
Joy is Irish, has family in Thailand, and has been running Daisy Chains in Ao Nang since it opened. She built the school around the idea that a small setting, where the adults know every child by name, is worth more than any policy document.
Joy Stapleton — Director & Montessori Teacher
B.Sc in Education & Training · Diploma in Montessori Education
Life here
An ordinary Tuesday morning
Real photographs of the real classroom. Nothing staged, and nobody in these pictures is a model.
“I first met Joy at the Nemo fish park, being followed by a group of youngsters of all ages on a school field trip. I was with my then two-year-old daughter, who sheepishly said hello. From that fateful meeting I was pretty sure I had found Ellie’s first school and teacher. One year later she has been attending for two months and she loves it — if she could have her way the weekend wouldn’t exist. After looking at all the other options, the only option for Ellie was Daisy Chains.”
Paul WattsParent
International families
Thinking of moving your family to Krabi?
Most of our families arrived from somewhere else, and every one of them had the same three questions first: is there decent schooling, what does living here actually cost, and what happens about visas for the parents.
We have written down the honest answers, including the complicated parts.
Mid-year places
Families arrive here all year round. Starting in February is nobody’s idea of unusual.
Short stays
Half-days and drop-ins for families here for a few weeks rather than a few years.
Video tours
See the classroom properly before anyone books a flight.
School paperwork
Enrolment letters and documents for visa applications, prepared properly.
Fees
Published, so nobody has to ask
You should be able to work out whether a school is affordable without sending a message and waiting two days for a reply.
1½ – 2½ years
฿18,000
per term · a term is three months
8:30am – 3:30pm, Monday to Friday
2½ – 6 years
฿24,000
per term · a term is three months
8:30am – 3:30pm, Monday to Friday
No registration fee
Half-days and a drop-in service are available on request — useful for families visiting Krabi for a few weeks rather than settling.
Find us
A quiet, wide road, five minutes from the beach
241, Moo 2, Ao Nang, Mueang Krabi 81000, ThailandMonday to Friday, 8:30am – 3:30pm
Questions
The things parents ask first
If yours isn’t here, ask us — we would rather answer a question than have you worry about it.
What ages do you take?
Children from 1½ to 6 years, in three mixed-age classrooms. Get in touch if your child sits near a boundary — placement follows readiness as much as birthday.
Is the school English-speaking?
Yes. English is the language of the classroom and Thai is taught alongside it. Our families are a mix of Thai and international, and children pick up both faster than their parents expect.
Can we visit before deciding?
Please do. Visiting during a working morning tells you more than any brochure. If you are still abroad we will do the same tour over a video call.
Do you take children mid-term?
Yes, subject to space in the right age group. A good number of our families arrive in Krabi partway through the year, so this is normal rather than exceptional.
What does it cost?
Fees are published in full on the fees page — ฿18,000 or ฿24,000 per three-month term depending on age, with no registration fee. Half-days and drop-in sessions are available on request.
What is included in the fees?
Meals, all Montessori materials and the extra-curricular programme. Swimming lessons and off-site trips are charged separately.
Come and see a morning
Half an hour in the classroom while the children are working will tell you more than this entire website. If you are still abroad, we will walk you round on a video call instead.