NWR: tell me about Montessori

JWSchwarz · September 2013

Hi,

First, sorry about all the daycare posts lately.

I found a new daycare that is opening near me. It is a Montessori school. DS will be 2 soon. I would love to hear personal experiences both good and bad. All ages too because if he goes there, there's a chance we will keep him there through elementary.

SoMoNY · September 2013

My son went from 18 - 30 months and loved it.

We switched schools at 2.5 because we that was the earliest the school we wanted would take him, its a program run like a school with retired K teachers, french lessons. etc. If we didn't have this school as an option I would have left him at Montessori.

Kumon is another good option but closest location is 30 min from me.

JWSchwarz · September 2013

Thanks. There is a Kumon right down the street but they only do tutoring here. DS needs 4-5 days a week all day.

court115 · September 2013

My LO doesn't go to a Motessori center but my uncle sends his daughter to one. She's been there since I believe 1 and she's 7 now. They absolutely love it. She does know a lot and she certainly loves it as well. Every time I see her, she's raving about how much she loves school. It's something that we'll look into in the future.

DenverAmy · September 2013

My son went to a Montessori daycare from 4 months to 13 months. We absolutely loved it! Just couldn't afford it anymore.

PunkyBooster · September 2013

I love the Montessori approach. Ds has been in a Montessori school for a year. It is really in line with our parenting philosophies.

It's downside is that is it a whole lot more expensive than traditional daycare and they are a "school" which means closings when the general public schools close- which is a lot, IMO. Tuition is paid regardless.

Regular centers run about $8k/yr here and our tuition is $12k/yr.

JLS0320 · September 2013

Both of my kids go to a Montessori and we love it. After we moved and had to leave our 1st Montessori we tried a typical preschool/daycare and we lasted 4 months there. My oldest wasn't learning as much, his behavior was terrible and I couldn't stand the chaos in his classroom. I love the Montessori approach and both my kids are thriving there. Ours isn't as convenient as the daycare was, but the sacrifices we have to make are well worth it

Netty_3 · September 2013

I'm a fan. LO has been at his school since 9 weeks old. He has had great teachers and thriving. I love the program.

Starofd00m · September 2013

I'll be the negative nancy here. I went to Montessori from age 2 - 3rd grade and pretty much hated every second of it. For preschool/kindergarten, it was actually a positive experience. I was reading short story books by the time I was 4 because in my mind the bigger kids were reading, so why couldn't I? When I finally transferred to normal schools for 4th grade (private Christian school) I was reading 2.5 years above my grade level, and always tested very well in not only reading, but also subjects that were interesting to me, such as composition and history. While this was certainly a bonus when I transferred to "regular" school, it also came with serious drawbacks.

If you decide to keep your child(ren) there for anything past first grade, you must be very careful to monitor your child's progress. With Montessori, if the child is "trying" that is sufficient for a "passing grade." For someone who never found an early interest in math, this proved to be almost detrimental to me as I became older. As it was never very engaging for me, I chose to not learn about it - the big flaw in the Montessori way, if you ask me. While my classmates were happily learning about fractions, I was content to sit in the library corner and study the scientific names of dinosaurs. When I did transfer to public school (finally) in 7th grade, I was placed in the math class that was geared for kids that didn't qualify for special ed, but who had some, let's just say, learning difficulties. Keep in mind, I was still reading 2.5 years ahead of grade level and was so far beyond my honors reading class I was allowed to sit in a corner and read books/ write essays while the teacher taught the rest of the honors class in books that I had already read. But because math didn't grab me like reading did, I was testing at 1.5 years BEHIND my classmates in the 7th grade. After busting me ass that entire year, I caught up and was placed in honors math my 8th grade year.

Point being, Montessori can be wonderful for children, especially if they have some precocious tendencies. However, MONITOR WHAT THEY ARE LEARNING because to this day I still joke I have a math "learning disability" - my high school ACT scores were all above 31. Except math, in which I scored a 19. College was extremely difficult, and I would have anxiety attacks when math worked its way into the curriculum.

The end!

tigersgirlgv · September 2013

I'm a kindergarten teacher and every year have several children come to my class from Montessori preschools. For some kids it can be a very tough transition. They are used to being able to choose what they'd like to study, learn and play all day and are now in a more traditional school situation without those choices. For most kids, after a few weeks they fall into the routines and have no problems, but for some it's tougher. Just something to consider.

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