I don’t understand the Montessori hype

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As soon as I found out that the kids "play iron" I was out. I mean, no.

Also, no one in my house sleeps on a mattress on the floor. Even the toddlers were fine with a regular bed with a rail.

We aren't hobos.

So, I'm sure the purist will argue out of this, but I'm not teaching my kids to iron and sleep on the floor. I hope they never have to do EITHER in this lifetime...

That doesn't sound like a true Montessori school. I went to a Montessori preschool and my children went to Montessori preschool. The kids don't "play" anything. They do real, productive work.

[Anonymous]

There’s this Montessori mom on TikTok who has her 3 year old cooking pasta, waffles, eggs, hash browns, omelettes and all kinds of stuff. Her 20 month old is even already doing the simpler things like scrambled eggs on a hot plate. It’s incredible to me.

[Anonymous]

I find certain concepts of Montessori good (the real life experience stuff like sweeping and ironing), and other parts weird (like the prohibition of imaginative play). Wasn’t something I considered for my kids. I believe imagination and creativity is incredibly important for the growth of a child.

[Anonymous]

Preschool options near us during the pandemic were pretty weak, so we wound up at a Montessori because it was by far the best of available options. There was a "STEM-based" PK as well but it was $$$ and I honestly do not think PK kids need that much academic teaching -- some play-based integration of pre-kindergarten readiness concepts is fine (pre-literacy, numbers, world awareness, etc.). And then there were a few play based PKs that allowed kids as young as 18 months, which is find for a young 3 but at some point you're kid just needs a bit more structure than that.

The Montessori school was a happy medium. The playtime was largely unstructured ("child driven") but the environment and days were very structured, which was great for this age because my DD really learned her routines and that's huge with 3/4 year olds. They didn't teach the kids to iron, but the did teach them to clean their little area after lunch or playing with art materials (they each had a little spray bottle and rag and they learned to wipe things down and make sure their chairs were pushed in). And they did clean up time where they put away all their toys before meals and rest time and the end of the day, and the kids really did it, it was kind of amazing. I feel like my kid gained some good independence there and some basic life skills, and it was also safe and they seemed to have fun. I probably would have preferred something with more music and more outdoor time. But again, options were limited.

Agree the quality in teachers varies a lot. I really liked the woman who ran the center we went to -- she was very knowledgeable and clearly was invested in the kids as individuals and spoke very affectionately and knowledgeably about DD. Some of the other teachers were not great and there was one in particularly my DD just could not stand because she was very rigid about potty visits and my DD is self directed about that and really resented it. But the other teachers weren't that way so it was only an issue every now and again, and honestly kids have to learn to deal with annoying or subpar teachers sometimes -- they will not all be amazing.

Overall a good experience and I'd recommend it, but if we'd had access to an Reggio Emilia based program with more outdoor play and a music program I would have picked that. Other than the cleaning up stuff, I don't know that the Montessori approach was superior to others, and those are skills you can teach other ways. But they were effective!

[Anonymous]

One of my kids went to Montessori. They loved the sewing and the real-world work built a lot of confidence. I think working with your hands and doing “adult” activities is empowering for some kids. There is an age when they want to do what they see grown ups do and being able to succeed is a huge confidence builder. I also like the approach of showing kids the real world around them and not cartoons or fantasy. My child was really interested in nature and that seemed grounding.

Free and pretend play is allowed at interludes especially recess, they had three recesses so that was a good balance.

Although Montessori was good also for reading, writing, and math (our kid went to 1st being able to write full essays, multiply & divide), I found the approach too rigid once we got to about five and we transferred out. Our school was a strict AMI. I just think going on a 19th century curriculum when we have learned a lot about how kids learned seems, well, not open minded. Overall I agree that it really depends on the teachers. We had two wonderful teachers who connected and made learning a joy. The third was way too rigid and not warm. Could happen anywhere.

[Anonymous]

I am not sure why cleaning seems to be specific to Montessori. My kid goes to a regular preschool and they clean up after playing with toys and eating.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I find certain concepts of Montessori good (the real life experience stuff like sweeping and ironing), and other parts weird (like the prohibition of imaginative play). Wasn’t something I considered for my kids. I believe imagination and creativity is incredibly important for the growth of a child.

I agree with this. We were very interested in it until we realized that the way the children must use the materials to do their "work" is very rigid. Our child rarely used any toys the way they were intended, and we foresaw that aspect being a disaster. She's still a super creative kid. I think it's just not a good fit for some kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am not sure why cleaning seems to be specific to Montessori. My kid goes to a regular preschool and they clean up after playing with toys and eating.

Exactly. Teaching independent skills can be done at any preschool.

[Anonymous]

It was a good fit for my kids. What I appreciated about the Montessori approach was the focus on independence, the peaceful environment, and the emphasis on kindness and letting kids work through their own interpersonal challenges where possible.

None of those things are unique to Montessori, but I found the combination of them to be a very strong foundation. My kids exited their Montessori experience with the ability to work independently, to appreciate art/nature, and to articulate their feelings.

It won't work for everyone, and there are other environments that do the same, but that combination is why we chose it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have no idea if it works or not but we sent our kids to one because it is close and I think the space is beautiful and safe and the teachers are lovely and caring. They taught my kids to be kind, thoughtful, respectful and self sufficient. They even taught one of my kids how to tie his shoes, which saved me because I hate that task. I ended up supplementing reading and math at home because I didn't like the lack of structure over their education at school, which was no big deal.

Meh, my kids' preschool also taught kindness, sharing, manners, classroom etiquette, had great teachers, etc but it was play-based.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One of my kids went to Montessori. They loved the sewing and the real-world work built a lot of confidence. I think working with your hands and doing “adult” activities is empowering for some kids. There is an age when they want to do what they see grown ups do and being able to succeed is a huge confidence builder. I also like the approach of showing kids the real world around them and not cartoons or fantasy. My child was really interested in nature and that seemed grounding.

Free and pretend play is allowed at interludes especially recess, they had three recesses so that was a good balance.

Although Montessori was good also for reading, writing, and math (our kid went to 1st being able to write full essays, multiply & divide), I found the approach too rigid once we got to about five and we transferred out. Our school was a strict AMI. I just think going on a 19th century curriculum when we have learned a lot about how kids learned seems, well, not open minded. Overall I agree that it really depends on the teachers. We had two wonderful teachers who connected and made learning a joy. The third was way too rigid and not warm. Could happen anywhere.

I agree there seems to be a slavish devotion to Maria Montessori's teachings in some schools that is odd, and for me, unwarranted. I guess it wouldn't be Montessori if it wasn't? I'm sure her work was very important and quite ground-breaking for its time, but yeah, haven't we learned a bit since then? Are we still practicing medicine like we're in the 19th century? Still doing therapy like Freud?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I find certain concepts of Montessori good (the real life experience stuff like sweeping and ironing), and other parts weird (like the prohibition of imaginative play). Wasn’t something I considered for my kids. I believe imagination and creativity is incredibly important for the growth of a child.

My kids did plenty of imaginative play at Montessori, and one is majoring in creative writing and film now after being very active in theater -- a love that started from the plays they imagined and made up in Montessori preschool. That they do "real work" doesn't mean they never use their imaginations too!

[Anonymous]

My mom had a 40 plus year career in elementary education and she thinks Montessori is way over rated. It's fine. But it's not superior in any way. Like many things, it works well for some kids and not others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My mom had a 40 plus year career in elementary education and she thinks Montessori is way over rated. It's fine. But it's not superior in any way. Like many things, it works well for some kids and not others.

I don't think most folks think it is better, to be honest. Most folks with any sort of perspective understand that there are lots of ways for a preschool to be "good"

[Anonymous]

To me, montessor pros are promoting independence, reading and math, and nature play. Cons are too quiet, not much interaction, seem to be less structured and I don't see any smiles on kids.