Preschool/kindergarten Teachers...your opinion please

DeniseRN · November 2012

I put DS1 in Montessori this year. He's 3. He goes 5 days per week for 3 hours a day. I know that Montessori is very different from traditional school in that they use real life activities to teach. The trouble is he's complaining about going to school every day and there's nothing really measurable as far as progress. Example letters, numbers, etc

He's a very bright kid and very verbal, but his birthday is 9 10, so he would be the oldest kid in his class in traditional school. That's why I picked Montessori. His class has kids aged 3 to 6

However, I don't want to send him to school to wash a table or wash his hands all day.

I don't know. I was really excited about it to begin with, but now I'm doubting my choice. Any experience w Montessori kids going into traditional school? FWIW, his school is 1 of only 4 in the state that is AMI certified,so they're very legit and official

reinedecajun · November 2012

I worked at a Montessori school for about 2 years and I never got it. To me the kids pretty much poured water, and sorted things all day. There was not much "learning" in the traditional sense. It was all a lot of fine motor and gross motor stuff but not much on number, letters, that sort of thing. The teachers were there to aid the kids in what they were doing but that was about it.

I don't know if that was just my experience of if it's truly like this at all Montessori schools. The one I worked at was AMI certified also but honestly that doesn't mean much. The preschool I just left working for was NAEYC certified and trust me that didn't mean nothing but the paper it was printed on.

DeniseRN · November 2012

reinedecajun:
I worked at a Montessori school for about 2 years and I never got it. To me the kids pretty much poured water, and sorted things all day. There was not much "learning" in the traditional sense. It was all a lot of fine motor and gross motor stuff but not much on number, letters, that sort of thing. The teachers were there to aid the kids in what they were doing but that was about it. I don't know if that was just my experience of if it's truly like this at all Montessori schools.nbsp; The one I worked at was AMI certified also but honestly that doesn't mean much. The preschool I just left working for was NAEYC certified and trust me that didn't mean nothing but the paper it was printed on.

See that's what I mean. They seem to do activities of daily life, but no real learning. One plus is that he was PT within 2 weeks of starting. That helped offset the tuition a little lol

DeniseRN · November 2012

fishybride82:
I learned a lot about the Montessori method is school and we have a Montessori magnet school near us. That said, I do not work in a Montessori school. nbsp;If your son is a kid that's into exploring and getting his hands on things, it's probably for him. nbsp;Some kids like the structure of a traditional school maybe your son is more like that. nbsp; Another thing, I'm a true believer that kids know when they are uncomfortable in a setting. Maybe something else is going on that scares/intimidates your son another student, something in the building etc. If it's the activities that he dislikes maybe see if a new school will let him visit for a day and see if he gravitates more towards more "structured" activities.nbsp;

He acts like he doesn't want to go to school, but tells us he had a good day when we pick him up and says "bye school, I will see you tomorrow!"

He talks about his friends too, so I think he's ok socially

The teacher said it takes about 3 years to really "see results", but I don't want to "waste" time during these crucial years if its not his thing

Vive · November 2012

I know you didn't ask my opinion but DH went to a Montessori kindergarten, but has said he wouldn't send our own kids to one.
He said the lack of formal structure to the day still stands out in his memory. He also got bored [as children are inclined to do] when transferring beans from one jar to another and stuck one up his nose [and needed to see a doc to have it removed]... So yeah... Not his cup of tea.

nicolepatricia87 · November 2012

I've taught at a Montessori school and I agree with Reinedcajun. I agree with some Montessori methods but once kids hit 3 or 4 I like to see more concrete learning results in language and math. The majority of kids that I taught went to the Montessori school until they were old enough to enter a pre-k program at another school. I think that's the best time to transition them to another school.

nicolepatricia87 · November 2012

Oh and their discipline doesn't fly with me either. We weren't supposed to tell the children "No". Try having a class of 14 2-3 year olds with that rule. Also, I had a child on the autism spectrum in my class and he would run around the classroom in circles and I was just supposed to stand there calmly and try to redirect his behavior. Hahaha.

DeniseRN · November 2012

Vive:
I know you didn't ask my opinion but DH went to a Montessori kindergarten, but has said he wouldn't send our own kids to one.
He said the lack of formal structure to the day still stands out in his memory. He also got bored [as children are inclined to do] when transferring beans from one jar to another and stuck one up his nose [and needed to see a doc to have it removed]... So yeah... Not his cup of tea.

All opinions are welcomed and appreciated. It's interesting to hear the perspective from an adult who was a Montessori kid

DeniseRN · November 2012

nicolepatricia87:
Oh and their discipline doesn't fly with me either. We weren't supposed to tell the children "No". Try having a class of 14 23 year olds with that rule. Also, I had a child on the autism spectrum in my class and he would run around the classroom in circles and I was just supposed to stand there calmly and try to redirect his behavior. Hahaha.nbsp;

I know! I asked his teacher what she does if there's a conflict between the kids. She told me they go to this special little table called the Peace table and read a little story about being nice or something and then they are done with it.

I may have given a side eye to this

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Preschool/kindergarten Teachers...your opinion please

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