Montessori schools??

[keerymom]

I'm hoping some of you might have experience with Montessori schools and could offer me some insight. My DD is 4 years old with her b-day in August. My DH and I have decided that we would like to enroll her in one more year of pre-school before Kindergarten. She has already attended another pre-school, but DH and I have grown dissatisfied with it and decided we'd rather she attend a different school. We have it narrowed down to two. One is very popular and very typical of other preschools in the area. The other is Montessori based. I should add it is quite a bit more expensive.

I'd love to hear some of the pros and cons of Montessori schools. If anyone enlighten me it would be appreciated!!

Thanks all!

 

[KristiKelly]

DS went to a Montessori school when he was 3, we had both pro's & con's with it. Pro's - he learned to tie his shoes at age 4 years 1 week, he is now 7 (going into 2nd grade) and there are kids who don't know how to do this. He has alot of hand/eye coordination.

Cons - there wasn't enough structure for DS, he's the type that needs to be told what to do & when to do it. Their attitude was, "Oh, you don't feel like doing art? Well find something that you do want to do", well he knew the names of every type of dinosaur there was- but that's it. All he wanted to do was play with the dinosaurs. Now, I think DD would've done great in a Montessori school, but this particular school didn't seem to have it all together & I think has since closed.

I would go, visit & get references. Montessori is quite a bit more expensive than traditional schooling & you should make sure it is the best route for your child. It's very self-discipline, DS didn't have it, but DD would've loved it. Good luck

 

[kadaten]

I LOVE the Montessori school my DD is in. She started out in a church preschool, but due to unannounced teacher changes, I could see their priorities and mine did not line up (they didn't think it was a big deal NOT to notify parents that the caregivers had changed ) so we switched immediately. Our local Montessori school had an opening so I toured/observed and fell in love with it.

Montessori is a very nurturning, academic program that encourages independence. THe programs are almost always multi-age classrooms, which allows the younger ones to learn from the older ones, and the older ones to practice their skills teaching the younger. For instance, my DD's class has 23 kids ages 2.5 and potty-trained through 5-year-old kindergardenters, with a lead teacher and 2 accredited assistants. The learning activities are all individualized. Each child works at his or her own pace, on activities of their choosing. This type of environment works very well for self-motivated children like my DD, but may not be for every kid.

It is a LOT more expensive than her other program was ($75/month for 2 mornings/week at the church preschool vs. $180/month for 2 mornings/week at the Montessori....AND she loved it so much we let her got a third morning for a total of $235/month!) but it's been worth every penny. Note that much of the expense is due to the educational level of the teachers (all of ours have degrees and Montessori certification....they don't hire the 18-year-old fresh out of HS with babysitting for work experience)....and the classrooms are very expensive to equip due to all the specialized equipment and activities. Our school added another preschool classroom this year and it cost $30,000+ to outfit it.

My DD LOVES her school. She learns so many things there, and not just the usual colors, shapes, numbers. They learn botany (parts of a flower, parts of a plant, etc), animal classification (mammal, vertebrates, etc.), art styles and themes, and she just started picking up the continents and states at the end of the year....oh....and that was her 2's year (she has a late birthday)! She'll do her 3-year-old year there, too, but then we move

After enduring the whole year with her mad at me on Mondays and Wednesdays that I won't take her to school, she'll be going 5 mornings in the fall. for her, for my checkbook. Most of the other Montessori schools in the area only offer 5 day programs.

I always pick out schools the year before so I have a chance to observe them in action. Is your school offering any summer activities that you could observe? This may help you make a decision.

Also, here's some reading on the Montessori philosophy...
http://www.montessori.org/ --look under FAQ's

http://www.montessori.edu/ --lots of good info here on the Montessori method, environments and materials, and a FAQ section

It is important to note that Montessori schools are all independently owned and operated, and there is no overarching standards or licensing body. As such, it's very important to check out your local school and how they implement the Montessori philosophy!

Good luck in your decision! I know I struggled with mine when I found the original school and felt just AWFUL when I realized I had to pull her out. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise, though, since that's how we found our wonderful school!

 

[keerymom]

Can't tell you how much I appreciate your replies. I'm wondering too if they encourage kids to be artistic and give them time for coloring, painting, etc.. Also, wondering if they do things like story time and singing. I've read that they frown on things like dress up and playing with dolls.

Again, many thanks.

 

[MelessaG]

Most of the info has already been covered. My DD has been at a Montessori school since she was three and will start 1st grade there in the Fall. We love it. I don't think she ever played dress-up or with dolls at school, but still does plenty at home and doesn't seem to attach any 'stigma' to it. Her best friend Emma loves to do the same, and they met at school. So, they may not do it at school, but if they looked down on it-I would have heard about it by now. There are two Montessori's here in town and I like one much better than the other, so even if they use the same method-every school is different.

Edited to add that DD has placed 2nd for her age group in the city's art competition for 2 years in a row, and both times the school submitted the entry for her. So they do encourage art.

 

[kadaten]

Originally posted by keerymom
Can't tell you how much I appreciate your replies. I'm wondering too if they encourage kids to be artistic and give them time for coloring, painting, etc.. Also, wondering if they do things like story time and singing. I've read that they frown on things like dress up and playing with dolls.

Again, many thanks.

Yes, but it may be a little different from what you're used to. In many preschools the kids' art tends to look the same because much of it is teacher-done and the kids just assemble it. Not so in Montessori....they encourage the children to create their own things. They do have examples if they're making a certain themed item, but the kids are free the interpret it however they like. My DD does LOTS of painting...it's one of her favorite activities

They also study various art forms. When they were in-depth studying art, they learned about sculpture, frescos, traditional oil painting, watercolors, etc. The classroom was filled with posters of the works Monet, Cassat, and lots of other famous painters. Their field trip that month was to one of the "Paint your ow Pottery" places where they each painted a tile for Mother's Day

Yes, they do stories and songs and fingerplays and the like. DD's class begins and ends with a group time every day....they'll read stories pertinant to the theme, share things the children brought from home, sing songs, talk about the theme, etc.

They don't do dolls and dress-up and the like because Montessori focuses on the concrete rather than the imaginary. Rather than have the children "play house", they learn by actually doing the things involved: they wash their own dishes after snack and lunch, the dust their own classroom, they maintain their own workspaces, they serve their own food and pour their own drinks, they help wash the windows when needed, etc. All these things build unbelievable confidence in the children because they can actually DO these things rather than pretend

 

[keerymom]

Many thanks Katie for all your valuable info. My DH and I appreciate it. We like to make as informed a decision as possible.