Montessori Schooling?

Question

We're moving in a couple of months and I've been looking for a pre-school for my youngest to attend in September in the new area. He'll be three in August and i think he'd enjoy going to school maybe twice or three times a week. Our older two sons each attended a regular town pre-school and before going to kindergarten attended The Goddard School. In our new area there aren't any little pre-schools that are close by but there is a huge Montessori School that goes K-8 that many seem to attend. I'm not a big fan of the "Montessori Method", but i wanted to hear the opinions of those who have sent their children (any age) / worked there. Did they get a lot of the school? Were they taught basic infomation, like tieing shoes? Did your child ever get frustrated with the structure of the class? Is it true that mulitable ages are all in one classroom?
These questions don't have to be answered, but any info would help. Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

My son is 21 months and in a Montessori school two half days a week and he LOVES it! They do have different ages in the classes b/c they do "levels" instead of grades. If your child is more advanced and picks up on stuff faster, they move him up so he isn't bored with what he's already mastered. It's sort of a "let the child go at their own pace instead of moving them too fast or too slow." They do have an unstructured structure(if that makes sense!), where there are learning stations and the child goes to each one and stays longer if he's more interested or shorter if he's not as interested. They teach them to pick up after themselves and serve each other snacks...the basics.

I was skeptical at first until I went to his first Open House, and watched my son patiently finish a task, get up, push his chair in, return the item to it's proper place, get something else and sit back down in his seat....he's 21 months!!! I never thought I'd see that kind of focus, but he has really been thriving. My husband went to Montessori for K-3rd grade and he still says he doesn't remember anything about 4-6(when he went to public school)but he definitely remembers Montessori....if that says anything. I do know that most will let you bring him for a day and see how he does...you might ask about that. You have to do some checking on the school though, not all "Montessori" schools are accredited with the "Montessori" association. I hope this helps! I would recommend it to anyone!

Answer 2

My first child attended montessori from age 2 1/2-4. She stopped going because we moved, and I could not afford for her to go to Montessori since I stopped working.

I LOVE Montessori! My daughter was very happy. She loved the sense of Independence that the whole philosophy fosters. By her 4th birthday she could read simple books and had a strong sense of time and place value. She could even add and subtract with manipulatives. Her manners were impeccable (thanks to the courtesy and grace curriculum), and she had quite a sense of diversity. All of the learning happened through exposure, and she was never pushed too hard. Did I mention she also became conversational in Spanish? She transitioned into public Kindergarten without any glitches. Actually I attribute her Elementary School success to Montessori.



I almost feel guilty not putting my youngest in Montessori. If I were to go back to work, it is the only program I would consider.

Don't listen to me, though. Bring your child with you and go observe. See what you think first hand.

Good luck.