Montessori?

Question

Hi, has anyone had their kiddies at a Montessori creche/preschool? How well do children transition to a regular government primary school? Do they struggle with the structure? Please will you share your thoughts on the pros and cons.

Thanks!

Answer 1

My kids went to Montessori pre-school, and ended up staying there through the 6th grade. The montessori school didn't want to handle the hormones of middle school.

I would have no problem with a Montessori pre-school. I think at the pre-school level Montessori helped with both my girls socialization (we didn't have other children in our neighborhood) and in their learning to accept structure from someone who is not their parent.

We decided to keep both girls in Montessori because we didn't like some of our alternatives. In Pittsburgh we had to sign up for a public school in October before the child entered Kindergarten. Enrolling that early was required to have the child enrolled in full day Kindergarten. Our oldest was sort-of sounding out words at McDonalds. We didn't know what this meant, but we thought it was something we should mention. The Kindergarten teacher told us 3 times that she thought our daughter should be in first grade (almost a year after we were talking to her). It took the 3 times for us to actually hear her, as we didn't want her to be with older kids. We left her in Montessori because they had a range of ages in the classes, and she could work at whatever level she ended up at.

Both my girls did reasonably well in school after the transition out of Montessori. This was true immediately after and later. One is graduating from Berkeley this year, and the other is a freshman at Columbia. The older girl had a poor teacher in 3rd grade at the Montessori school. However my opinion is that can happen anywhere, and it is the parent's responsibility to ameliorate the problems that come from a poor teacher.

I was concerned that the standardized testing at the Montessori school was poorly administered, mainly because it seemed everyone was testing high. However, there is a city program for children in the summer where the child is tested, and those test results at least made me feel that my kids were not being left behind.

The main negative, is that my younger child has a learning disability (in reading) that went un-diagnosed until she left Montessori. Even the city's testing didn't diagnose the problem, so I'm not sure any other school would have caught it. She will be dealing with this problem the rest of her life. I don't know if catching it earlier would have helped, or what type of school environment would have detected the problem. The reading tests before middle school are really fairly simplistic For her the more intensive reading assignments that came in middle school were required to make her reading problem apparent.

Answer 2

I went to a Montessori for preschool, and then regular school for kindergarten up. I have many wonderful memories of my preschool.

I think your kids will do just fine with the transition. The important thing to remember is that the Montessori method is very specific- I would advise you to research the original method, and make sure that the creche/preschool you are looking at follows the method in its original form. The Montessori method as it was originally intended should have freedom within structure - the kids should not dictate everything.

Here is the website for the school that I went to in Phoenix, AZ. It has a lot of good information to get you started.

Answer 3

Studies have proven that Montessori kids are ahead of the game. This type of learning system is SO much more structured that public school. They shouldn't struggle, they would most likely be annoyed at the lack of education. Give your child the best and keep him in montessori. Transfer him to one that goes to 7th grade. Studies show these kids are like private school kids and getting a better education.

Answer 4

Lauren, you can work with your child at home as far as Montessori projects go. There is a set of tapes out there that focus on Montessori-teaching called Preschool Power. You can find them discounted at EBAY. Also check your local library for Montessori videos. I had both of the above for my two youngest and it really helped them to learn hand-eye, thought processes, etc. I would also imagine that the web has good resources as well.