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Preschool philosophy

J+A10J+A10 member
in Stay at Home Moms
I know there is a preschool board to ask this question but you all see like a knowledgable group. This fall I need to pick a preschool for my first DD. There are so many great preschool options in my area which is great but makes decision making hard. Based on research and what I have heard I seem to be drawn to the Montessori philosophy. I like the structure that is offered, I like how they encourage independence and the classrooms seems so calm compared to play based schools. From what I've seen many of the play based schools just appear to be a free for all with tons of kids running around for long periods of time. (But this may be an unfair judgment, I don't know). But advocates of play based schools claim that it's not developmentally appropriate to encourage academics and more structure during the preschool years. 

If there was a Montessori school IN my town I would choose it without much debate. But the closest Montessori is in the next town and while it's not a far drive at all it's not nearly as convenient as our neighborhood preschools. There is a play based preschool 3 blocks from my home and work (I work part time), this school comes very highly recommended by everyone I have talked to! And my husband is really opinionated about wanting our DD to go to school in our town where she can make friends with people she will go to school with for many years.

 I'm pretty sure that I'm overthinking this decision... Does preschool philosophy really matter that much? Do you like your child's play based preschool.
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Re: Preschool philosophy

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  • kcisthebombdotcomkcisthebombdotcom member
    Play based preschool shouldn't be chaos. My sons school had learning centers for much of the day and each center only had x amount of kids allowed to be there at any point. Of course there was time to run around and play in the gym/playground but there was some structure and not a total free for all. I would tour the individual preschool and see how you feel. If it doesn't give you warm fuzzies go for Montessori. Play based or Montessori are both good choices IMO.
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  • MomIn2013MomIn2013 member
    Andrewsgal said:
    Play based preschool for the win. All research tells us nit only how important play is at this age but also how much kids learn from play. My kids play based preschools were far from free for alls.

    What she said. DS is not in preschool yet, but will go to a play-based school for this reason.
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  • IlumineIlumine member
    Debunking the Play vs Learning Dichotomy - a NAEYC article


    I like this article because it actually spells out what "play" is, in regards to educational play.  


    A bit academic, but since our country's test scores have been compared to Finland a number of times, I think its best that we look at what Finland is actually doing with their children. 
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  • jnksmomjnksmom member
    Andrewsgal said:
    Play based preschool for the win. All research tells us nit only how important play is at this age but also how much kids learn from play. My kids play based preschools were far from free for alls.

    What she said. Both of our kids went to a play-based preschool and we loved it. It was not a free for all at all.
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  • dmartin726dmartin726 member
    DD goes to play based and it is not a free for all at all.  They do have some play time where there is not a specific activity to be done.

    DDs preschool is 4 minutes away and I am in heaven.  Literally a 15 minute round trip.


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  • dizzycooksdizzycooks member
    diapersnwipes said:
    I've looked into both and prefer play based. Play based shouldn't be a free for all. At DD's school they have: -20 minute free play. This happens at the beginning of the day so everyone has a chance to get in and settled. - circle time: learn date, weather, read story and learn a song - snack time - outside time if it's nice It's very structured but engaging. DD has a great time. The Montessori quite honestly seemed boring to me. The activities didn't look quite as engaging. I like that they want to teach kids life styles but DD has her whole life to learn how to clean up, pour drink, etc.
    This.  Plus, my DDs preschool is within her daycare center and they focus on family style meals, serving food for themselves, cleaning up toys and meals, and lots of centers to choose from.  She loves it and while it might be busy and at times, loud, the kids are learning.  They are making choices and engaged.  I love it!
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  • KeeptruckinKeeptruckin member
    We did the accredited montessori preschool, and now montessori for grade school. But the preschool was close, so I honestly would have gone with play based if it was closer. I like the Montessori philosophy and trust me, they played a lot. Maybe the toys are a little different, but they were still toys. But again, I wouldn't have gone out of my way for montessori, it just worked out for us.
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  • catycatecatycate member
    Play base all the way. I dislike the Montessori philosophy, so I wouldn't go with that close or not, I personally drive 20 minutes bc the closer preschools were too academic for me.
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  • J+A10J+A10 member
    Thanks for all of your thoughts. I'm really happy to hear all of the great experiences with play based schools!
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