Chrysalis Montessori was established with a profound commitment to providing a nurturing environment for young children. It was Roxana Haloiu’s quest for a secure and supportive space for her own child that led to the creation of a place children could explore freely while having their grown-ups as a safe anchor. The name “Chrysalis” was chosen to reflect the transformative stages of life that both babies and butterflies undergo. At Chrysalis Montessori, they firmly believe in the paramount importance of this transformation and feel privileged to witness children grow and become more of themselves in their caring environment. They take pride in delivering a transformational programme that both children and their carers look forward to coming back to. Here, founder Roxana talks to The Natural Parent Magazine about the inspiration behind the business, the challenges she has overcome, and her hopes and dreams for the future.
The passion: What inspired you to set up your business?
When my son was a baby, I tried to find an environment where he was free to move, explore and express himself. I tried a few baby classes, but they seemed hurried and a lot more adult-led than I thought possible for this age.
Of course, there were a few that I liked, and they usually involved live music.
As I was an educator before, Montessori trained and with an active curiosity in other child-led pedagogies, I set up a playgroup in my living room.
I soon realised that there was a real need for community in a more authentic way, and that people can feel incredibly isolated and lost when they are becoming parents – for the first time, in particular. My passion for providing a truly authentic child-led environment for the under 3s combined with what I found to be a new purpose for me: building intentional community. A place where both children and their loving adults (be it parents, grandparents or nannies) feel like they are not only accepted unconditionally for who they are, but that they feel celebrated.

The launch: How did you start out in the beginning?
The beginning was humble. I started this in my living room with a few beautiful, natural materials that I put together for my son. I wanted him to make friends as he was an incredibly social child from the very start. I had no idea that this was going to become a business or that I would find so much meaning in this.
As my son was only 9 months, one of my friends I met at university joined me as a volunteer and really believed in our little project. She became my most trusted adviser and later my co-founder.
I was overwhelmed by the positive response I got from the people who came, so I wanted to offer this experience to more people. I hired a place soon after and it filled up in no time. People needed something else, more authenticity, more respect for the child and their freedom, their unique individual needs. There’s a shift in the way people choose to be parents. It’s becoming a lot more conscious, I feel. That’s how Chrysalis started.
The innovation: What was the biggest breakthrough for you with your business?
Chrysalis Montessori was established with a profound commitment to providing a nurturing environment for young children. My quest for a secure and supportive space for my own child led me to create a place where children could explore freely while having their grown-ups as a safe anchor. The project gradually brought in focus the need for community for new parents and their need to reflect deeper. My latest project’s duration is 3 months, which includes 12 play sessions and 4 parent workshops. The play session includes both parents and children. During this time, the children are given the freedom to explore the environment freely, whilst the parents are encouraged to observe their children and guide and help them when needed. The parents are given a specifically designed interactive parent notebook, with useful information and space dedicated to observation and own reflections. The observations have a specific theme for them to familiarise with certain concepts.
The parent workshops are designed to deepen both concepts presented in the booklets after they have used them and to create a stronger sense of community and shared mission.

Yin and Yang: How do you balance work and family?
I was lucky to have my son as the first participant of my project. My family offered me a lot of support at the beginning when he was a baby. I was offering my son and us a community and I really believed in what I was doing because of that.
I admit, when I was running it from our home, I spent a lot of the nights ahead preparing the environment, making everything spotless, but I was not alone. I developed a wonderful friendship with a fellow educator who volunteered at first and who later became my co-founder. She was the person who kept me going and, to be honest, who made this happen. I totally trust her with my son, and he loved her dearly.
The little community we made space for to arise freely felt a bit like a family, too.
So, I am not saying there weren’t times when I could do with more sleep, but it’s also a project that kept me sane and gave me a real sense of purpose.