Montessori School

[Athena-Nadine]

I am thinking of enrolling Robert into Montessori school instead of standard preschool/kindergarten, and if it remains financially feasible, through all of elementary school.

Do any of you have any experience with this or any thoughts on the Montessori philosophy? I know a few children who have been there/are there currently, but none of them are old enough yet for me to be able to determine if there is any real beneficial difference.

[Xirian]

I have heard only good things about the Montessori schools, so I guess I'm pretty biased. I thought about trying to get my son in when he was little, but there was a 3 year waiting list around here, or some outrageous time frame.

I like the idea of a child initiating their own learning so to speak. There was an example of a child who couldn't read, but loved dinosaurs. The teacher bought him a dinosaur model, but he couldn't read the instructions to put it together. He was instantly interested in learning how to read.

I like hearing stories like that. I look forward to other's comments on this, either pro or con.

[Sequoia]

I, too, have heard nothing but good things about Montessori schools. The only thing I'd be worried about is that if your local Montessori are only PreK-6, they're going to have a SHOCKER when they enter regular school. So, if your local area hasn't got a montessori high school, you may wish to homeschool those years.

But, I believe my nephew went to a montessori preschool, and they got him to think "outside the box" so to speak. He was always a bright kid, but man, after that, you wouldn't beieve the 3-D puzzles he could put together. It was kind of scary to see a three-year-old putting together puzzles that I know I'd have trouble with! :lol:

[Temptation]

My daughter attended a Montessori pre-school and I have nothing but good things to say about it. Each child is treated as a unique individual and encouraged to learn at their own pace. I don't know about elementary school, but as far as pre-school/kindergarten goes, I highly recommend it.

Be careful when choosing a school, though. Some schools claim to be Montessori schools when they're only loosely following the Montessori system and have no Montessori trained teachers on staff at all.

[Xirian]

I think it's interesting about the 3-year old with the 3-D puzzles. If you think about it, every child will excel at something if they are allowed to venture out. I think with the curriculum of regular schools being so rigid, that many children don't even know much about the potential that they inately possess. Which is sad. I really enjoy the idea of a teacher or school taking the time to find that potential and allowing the child to learn from it.

[frigga]

I, too, have heard nothing but good things about Montessori schools. The only thing I'd be worried about is that if your local Montessori are only PreK-6, they're going to have a SHOCKER when they enter regular school.

Yep! My oldest attended montessori schools and we both adored them. But then I heard from a few parents whose children had problems once they entered mainstream learning. But if you have a high school and junior high in your area that has, say an open program or alternitive learning school, go for it! Then they just have to wrestle with college!

[Sequoia]

Yep! My oldest attended montessori schools and we both adored them. But then I heard from a few parents whose children had problems once they entered mainstream learning. But if you have a high school and junior high in your area that has, say an open program or alternitive learning school, go for it! Then they just have to wrestle with college!

And by the time they get to college, a child trained to go by their own strengths and nurture their weaknesses will figure out his own way to excell in a college environment.

[banondraig]

A close friend of mine went to Montessori schools when he was young and public high schools later. He had to be held back a grade because he taught himself binary numbers when he was eight instead of whatever history, etc 3rd graders are supposed to learn, but went on to get a master's degree in computer science, and only needs to finish his dissertation before getting his Ph.D. So I'm all for them.