Continue Montessori or public Kindergarten next year?
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Anonymous
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I know similar questions have been asked before, but which would make more sense for DD? She has been at a Montessori school for the past 2 years, and will be old enough for kindergarten next year. The Montessori school promised a certain level of reading and arithmetic skills by graduation, and DH wants DD to stick with the program to hopefully reach that level. In addition, DD is very strong-willed and doesn't like change or being told what to do.
However, I would like DD to try the public kindergarten because: it's free, we can walk to and from school, there's a cafeteria selling lunch, she can meet more kids in the neighborhood, it starts 30 minutes later than the Montessori school (DD is not a morning person at all), and it offers a more structured curriculum. DD loves arts and crafts and would do it all day if she were left to her own devices. I know the Montessori teachers sometimes encourage her to do non-art projects too, but I don't know how often this happens. I also want DD to be introduced to structure because she's definitely going to public school starting 1st grade. |
Anonymous
| If she is starting in public school in 1st grade, I would put her in public K instead of doing K at the Montessori school. |
Anonymous
| she would definitely benefit from public. |
Anonymous
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Lol Montessori is a joke. And I’m about to send my youngest to one - because he’s a tornado and they won’t bother me when he beats on kids.
When we moved our older daughter from Montessori to PK3 her skills skyrocketed. That being said, I’m not white. I see no value in children self guiding their learning whatsoever. |
Anonymous
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I am happy to offer a different perspective: your daughter will have an opportunity to really blossom in the 3rd year of the Montessori classroom.
Everything that she has been absorbing and working up to the past three years will have a chance to fully manifest in the final year. Transitioning in 1st grade is fine. She will be moving into a new phase of development then. First grade is a more natural transition point. |
Anonymous
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Depends on how much you like your Montessori, what you can afford.
Former Montessori teacher / Mom |
Anonymous
| Public. I drank the kool aid on Montessori and completing the three year cycle with my first. Probably the worst parenting mistake I’ve made (and I’ve made several). There is nothing magical or special about the third year and the idea that the Kindergartners are leaders teaching the younger kids is laughable. |
Anonymous
| My now first grader at a public had a wonderful kindergarten year at a Montessori K and for him it was very much the right choice. He has also transitioned wonderfully to public first grade. In my experience years one and two of Montessori really are setting the foundation for it to all come together for kindergarten. That said, we probably won't keep our youngest in Montessori for K. As the benefit of having him at the same school as his brother will likely out weigh the K year for him |
Anonymous
Agree. I’ve had three kids move all the way through a wonderful Montessori school from age 3 until 6th grade. The kindergarten year is their third year in primary and very special. They are absolutely teaching and assisting the younger students at times. A good Montessori absolutely would not let her sit and craft all day. But I don’t know if yours is a good one. That would be for you to explore. Talk to other parents whose children have been through the kindergarten year there. |
Anonymous
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Different children are different. Different (Montessori) schools are different. Different publics are different, even within a single public school system. Do whatever is best for your DC. Any school will have some teachers who are better, and some not as good. If you are confident in current school and your current teacher(s), then any change might be partly a gamble on which teacher/classroom the new school assigns DC to.
Concrete suggestion is to visit/observe the public K, and visit/observe DC’s current school’s K, and slso observe maybe any other schools’ K which you are considering. Then compare/contrast inside your head and try to find the best fit for your DC. For us, we stayed with Montessori through 3rd, then DC moved into Fairfax County’s AAP. Smaller class sizes, more individualized instruction, reasonable transportation logistics, and knowing we happened to already have good quality teachers all were factors for us. That was best path for our DC, but it might not have been best for a different DC (or in a different locality). |
Anonymous
Sorry you had a bad experience. Different Montessori schools can be, and often are, very different — even if one limits the comparison to schools with AMS or AMI accreditation. Similarly, different public schools can be, and often are, very different - even within the same public school system. Even within any single school of any type, different teachers will be different - and might be more or less suited to a particular student. |
Anonymous
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It really depends on the Montessori program and also on the kid. I'll share my experience. My daughter went to Montessori 3 year old through 5th grade. She then transferred to public middle school and then to a competitive sci/tech magnet for high school. She is now about to graduate in Electrical Engineering from a top 10 school. When she was a straight A student in high school she said, unprompted, "Public school is so chaotic but I can deal with it because of the foundation I got at [Montessori School]."
Indeed, learning how to learn and in a self-directed way is the ultimate goal of life. She had no problems transitioning to a "traditional" school model and neither did any of her peers. I'll also add that research shows that there is no benefit to pushing kids academically at an early age. Although many Montessori kids are, in fact, early readers (DD was an early 4), most kids catch up to the group by 2nd grade regardless of when they learn to read. Also, pushing early academic skills can be at the expense of actual foundational skills and that will end up making things more of a struggle in the long run. |
Anonymous
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I don't know about other Montessori schools, but ours has cameras that we can watch the classroom. Next year I'm sending my DC to public school instead of her K year at the Montessori. After spending time observing how these kids learn, I would definitely not want her K year there.
You can't tell which kids in her class are in K. The teachers have a very hands off approach and I have no idea how much they are actually learning in there. This school values that kids are calm, focused in their centers, and follow the rules. They are sticklers for the Montessori way and I know theyre following it as it should be, but it's not for me. I won't miss it. |
Anonymous
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You just said your child is strong willed and doesn’t like change or being told what to do. Send her to public for kindergarten and do yourself and her a favor getting her acclimated early rather than later. She will have a terrible time adjusting in first grade based on what you have shared
Signed an early childhood public school teacher (and I’ve seen kids like yours come to us from montessori over the years) |
Anonymous
Plus one. We’ve done Montessori for both kids, one is in her K year now and one just moved to public this year for grade 3. My older kid absolutely blossomed in his K year. Like all schools, YMMV based on the teachers and quality of the school. |