Friday, June 17

Do you have a Montessori Child?

Maria Montessori


Do you?  Because if you do, you could really help me out! 

You see I'm considering in enrolling my nearly 3 year old daughter in the Montessori Program.  Its a two or three year cycle program and could see her attending full time (9-3) by the time she reaches five years of age.  

I've always liked the Montessori Method of teaching and you can read about the differences from other educational methods  here.... Some of the aspects I like are that the Montessori classrooms 
  • provide a prepared environment where children are free to respond to their natural tendency to work. 
  • The children's innate passion for learning is encouraged by giving them opportunities to engage in spontaneous, purposeful activities with the guidance of a trained adult. 
  • Through their work, the children develop concentration and joyful self-discipline. Within a framework of order, the children progress at their own pace and rhythm, according to their individual capabilities. 
  •  Also the children are grouped in mixed ages (so ages 2-5 years) are together allowing for the younger ones to learn from the older children. 


My son has gone to a local Kindergarten and I've been thrilled with what it has offered him and his growth and development.  But no two kids are the same.  I had my son enrolled to go to Montessori, but pulled out at the last minute thinking it wasn't for him.  But i'm feeling different about how my daughter would go, and they are two very different children.  Also,  the truth is, my daughter will miss out of a 3 year old Kinder spot in mainstream Kinders and I know that socially she will need "something" next year.  I thought of all the options, like Occasional Care, Extra Curricular activities, etc, etc.  Now that Montessori has joined that list of possibilities it is really making me wonder what to do.  I don't know anyone that has a child that has gone through the Montessori Program so I thought I'd throw it out there to the wonderful bloggy community. 

Do you have a Montessori Child?  Are you happy with the program and what it offers your child? 
Have you made different educational decisions for your children?  Or do you keep it the same? 

7 comments:

  1. Hi Brenda, my little Will isn't in Montessori although I considered it but a few of my friends have their kids in and they love it. They seem to learn about 'others' really well from my observation and I like the fact that they have to pack up after themselves and everything is quite ordered but still independent too. I think if your gut is telling you then you should put her in (I think Will is like your son and is fine in mainstream but I know I would have loved Montessori as a child). Hope that helps,
    Jxx

    ReplyDelete
  2. Our daughter (who's off to high school next year ) went to a Montessori preschool and we loved it. It really brought out so many wonderful qualities and I swear was just one of the reasons why she loves school. One of her really good school friends also attended and her parents were also impressed. Every time I went there I just loved the atmosphere, happy children who just always seemed both engaged and content.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh Brenda, such a great post idea. Why not seek advice from those 'in the know'!

    My eldest son missed out on Montessori (we couldn't get him in), but I have two friends who sent all their children there and they are bit ambassadors for the schools! In fact, one of them now sends her eldest boy to a school where they have a Montessori stream for primary school as well.

    On the down side, I have spoken to educators about what they think of Montessori and there are a few who think that they struggle in a mainstream school as they tend to be undisciplined. But if you send your daughter to a Montessori primary school (or one that does the Montessori stream), then it doesn't matter!

    All the best as you decide what to do. It's a hard one. At the moment I'm trying to decide on schools for Madison. Yikes!

    xx

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm continuing on with the point that Kymmie mentioned previously. I'm an educator and I also think that some students can struggle to settle into the routines of mainstream school. But that would assume that all kids have no issues with school routine!

    I do like the premise of Montessori education and the methods make sense.

    So what am I saying? I guess it comes down to mum's gut feeling. I think that your child is already giving you signs that tell you she may benefit from Montessori.

    But you need to ask yourself what do you want to get out of this kind of education for her. How important is it to you? And are you doing this for her or for yourself?

    All I know is that no-one knows your child better than you. Trust yourself and feel comfortable with the decision that you ultimately make.

    Good luck.

    ReplyDelete
  5. We just got our 3 year old into a montessori pre-school here in Perth after it had been recommended by several friends.
    To be honest, I had not actually considered sending her to a montessori pre-school (although I had always liked the philosophy), we just put her name down on the waiting list shortly before we moved to Perth and we were lucky enough to get a place, but now that she is there I am so impressed with the way that they teach and the things that they learn.. and most importantly Sophie LOVES it.

    I think that she really loves being in a class with kids of all ages as she learns so much from the bigger kids. She responds really well to the routine of the day (story time, constructive play, gardening, lunch, music time etc..) and is constantly being encouraged to engage in tasks that are beyond her level of development, which she loves.
    However, I can imagine that it would really frustrate some kids..

    Good luck with your decision..

    ReplyDelete
  6. Both my kids study in Maria Montessori here in the Philippines and it is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made as a parent. They used to study in a traditional school and although it was also a good school, the pace and the amount of homework that they had to do left my daughters stressed out every night.

    With Maria Montessori, they are more relaxed, and they seem to enjoy learning more. I attribute this to Maria Montessori’s philosophy to “follow the child” and make them learn at their own pace. Everything you said in this post is also being practiced to the letter here. In a way, it assures me that the standards of a Montessori education is strictly enforced here as it is elsewhere. The effect to my children is amazing: they seem to be more critical thinkers (as opposed to kids from traditional school who do more memorization) and as a result, are more self-assured.

    I have since devoured everything I can get my hands on about Maria Montessori. The fact that she was nominated not once, but thrice, to the Nobel Peace Price, was perhaps a testament that she had an excellent vision about education. Just my two cents ;-) Good luck on your quest for a school. I can just imagine that there are a lot of good schools there in Australia at your disposal. I’m sure you will find one that best suits your kid’s needs.

    xx

    ReplyDelete
  7. Both my kids study in Maria Montessori here in the Philippines and it is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made as a parent. They used to study in a traditional school and although it was also a good school, the pace and the amount of homework that they had to do left my daughters stressed out every night.

    With Maria Montessori, they are more relaxed, and they seem to enjoy learning more. I attribute this to Maria Montessori’s philosophy to “follow the child” and make them learn at their own pace. Everything you said in this post is also being practiced to the letter here. In a way, it assures me that the standards of a Montessori education is strictly enforced here as it is elsewhere. The effect to my children is amazing: they seem to be more critical thinkers (as opposed to kids from traditional school who do more memorization) and as a result, are more self-assured.

    I have since devoured everything I can get my hands on about Maria Montessori. The fact that she was nominated not once, but thrice, to the Nobel Peace Price, was perhaps a testament that she had an excellent vision about education. Just my two cents ;-) Good luck on your quest for a school. I can just imagine that there are a lot of good schools there in Australia at your disposal. I’m sure you will find one that best suits your kid’s needs.

    xx

    ReplyDelete

Thanks so much for stopping by....I love knowing your thoughts and comments... xx