Need advice - gifted placement in Montgomery County for a 2.5 y/o

[Anonymous]

Go see for yourself if you like Montessori or not...don't listen to the crazies on either side - including those who need to bash others who choose not to do Montessori.

Remember though - that Montessori schools have a wide range in MoCo.

If you are looking for a school that is nurturing, happy and provides your child with an opportunity to excel at her own pace academically and still be a kid - there are several Montessori's in MoCo that fit the bill. But there are also others that are not like that...so go see for yourself.

I can't think of non-Montessori schools that would provide the nurture and the academics while still allowing your daughter to be a kid....but that doesn't mean they don't exist....it just means I didn't see any when I was looking 3 years ago. I saw plenty of wonderful places - but none that my son would find as exciting and stimulating as his Montessori program. And since he likes to be mentally stimulated - I just made sure to find a Montessori program that would have both the wonderful nurture and creativity combined with the "fun work" he loves so much.

By the way - there is a Mommy and Me Montessori program you could attend with your daughter called Beanstalk Montessori. We used that before our child was able to enter a 3-6 class. Miss Zahra there is wonderful.

Good luck in whatever you choose.

[Anonymous]

I am the one who said Montessori was "boring" for our very bright kid. I totaly agree that schools are very different, including those that brand themselves "Montessori." But I also think people have a bit of a a knee jerk reaction in favor of Montessori. Like Suzuki, we found it rigid. But lots of individual Montessori administrators add their own twist. So do look around.

[Anonymous]

Since OP has never come back..I am assuming this post was just for her amusement...

[Anonymous]

19:57 - thanks for writing back to clarify. On the other side of things - I see many who have a knee jerk reaction against Montessori. And yes - there ARE some very rigid ones around. We avoided those like the plague. But there are ones that are really flexible and nurturing...that focus more on the "letting the child lead the way" approach...which is great for a really bright child that wants to explore and learn new things every day. I feel bad for people interested in Montessori that end up either touring or at a rigid place w/out seeing the others.

[Anonymous]

I am totally bemused by the number of posters who didn't realize that the OP's post was a joke. Think about it...

[Anonymous]

Montessori is the way to go if you want your child to be socially awkward...

I've done playbased and Montessori. In my observation, a school can not make a socially inclined child awkward.

DD is the poster child for Polly Popular. She is an extreme extrovert and it never occurs to her that someone would not want to be her friend. She naturally pays attention and listens to what the other child likes, balances leading and following and the other child ends up being her immediate friend. She had a blast in the playbased program but it was overstimulating for her on several levels. When we switched to Montessori she did not lose any of her social abilities or ability to have fun but she did gain better ability to be calm and focus on her school work. She also learned to connect more with the kids who are socially awkward or younger which I think is valuable character trait.

In her play-based program, I noticed it was already clicquish with the high energy, extroverted kids always having fun together and the more introverted kids standing off in the corner. One little kid always looked sad and left out and I mentioned it to one of the teachers who responded that they don't get involved and kids will eventually make friends or be comfortable on their own. This did not seem to change after almost a year. Maybe after 2 years in the program, the kids would finally feel comfortable but it seemed like they were simply polarizing more as they got older between the popular and awkward kids.

In the Montessori school because there is a balance between working independently and free play times and a lot of focus on respecting each other and inclusion since it is multi-age, there were no introverted, left out kids. I have not seen any of the cliquish behaviors. Again its just my impression but Montessori does not take anything away from a social kid and can provide a very supportive environment for a socially awkward child to gain enough confidence to learn how to interact socially.