Montessori, I want to believe but...

[Anonymous]

Associated vs recognized? Difference?

[Anonymous]

Associated schools are those schools that cannot meet all of the quality standards but have a three year grace period to meet all of the standards; for instance, class size is a standard and the recommended size is 24-30 students in primary and elementary classrooms. So if a school could not get up to that limit, they would be "associated" and would have a three year grace period to get up to the baseline number. Upon reaching that base line and satisfying all of the other standards, the school would be "recognized."

Note that LAMB is no where on the list--for either AMI or AMS. Forgot to note that Shining Stars is an AMS initiate member school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:we just did a montessori tour today and thought the preschool program was really interesting and all the kids looked "busy" doing their own things. My concern is that my kdi is already really independent and I want her to learn more coorperative play in groups so this may not help with socialization. I had a lot of concerns about the upper grades. I just don't get out those 5th/6th graders could transition to s school that used common core, especially for math. Lots of kids were walking around the halls, two were sewing, some were making a pie and the teacher gives "lessons" to just two or three kids at a time. These were 4-th through 6th graders folks. I know a lot of schools push academics too early but at some point there needs to be some adamics. I think we will definitely consider it for preschool though.

My 5 year old is at Montessori. I consider it very academic.

Maybe for the lower grades it is. But by 6th grade shouldn't kids be working on pre-algebra and less on making a quilt in the classroom?

Actually my FIVE year old is currently working on geometry to get him ready for algebra. Pretty certain that he'll be doing pre-algebra by the time he gets to 6th grade!

[Anonymous]

The kids at CFMS (private) are working on algebra in the upper elementary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We turned down our spot at lamb because I just didn't get it.

For the thousandth time, LAMB is NOT "real" Montessori. It is sort of a hybrid. They are not certified by AMI or AMS, they use teachers trained by both schools of thought and incorporate technology and other things that are not a part of the Montessori curriculum. Capitol Hill Montessori is AMI certified, and Lee plans to be AMI certified and Langdon are AMI. On the private side you have Aidan and Christian Family Montessori. That said, it is challenging to do the real Montessori thing AND be public, but make sure you are looking at the real thing before you form an opinion about Montessori.

For the thousandth time, huh????

What's your agenda...Shining Stars, Capitol Hill, Lee booster? Jealous much?

LAMB is not dogmatic, is not living in the past century, and is 100% aligned to the Montessori vision and philosophy. For peet's sake, Maria Montessori was a scientist, and she was brilliant. Do you think she would be stuck in old ways of thinking and old ways of being? The Buddha said, look at the moon, not at the hand pointing to it. In the same way, Montessori said follow the child and you will know what you need to do. Look at LAMB's kids and the way they are happy, peaceful, well-rounded, and productive. Then say it is not a "real" Montessori school. AMI and AMS have financial reasons for making accreditation difficult. How can these other public schools justify using public dollars to earn that accreditation? LAMB's staff is full of qualified and experienced Montessorians from all over the world.

PP has an agenda to discredit LAMB if they have commented here for the thousandth time on this topic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We turned down our spot at lamb because I just didn't get it.

For the thousandth time, LAMB is NOT "real" Montessori. It is sort of a hybrid. They are not certified by AMI or AMS, they use teachers trained by both schools of thought and incorporate technology and other things that are not a part of the Montessori curriculum. Capitol Hill Montessori is AMI certified, and Lee plans to be AMI certified and Langdon are AMI. On the private side you have Aidan and Christian Family Montessori. That said, it is challenging to do the real Montessori thing AND be public, but make sure you are looking at the real thing before you form an opinion about Montessori.

For the thousandth time, huh????

What's your agenda...Shining Stars, Capitol Hill, Lee booster? Jealous much?

LAMB is not dogmatic, is not living in the past century, and is 100% aligned to the Montessori vision and philosophy. For peet's sake, Maria Montessori was a scientist, and she was brilliant. Do you think she would be stuck in old ways of thinking and old ways of being? The Buddha said, look at the moon, not at the hand pointing to it. In the same way, Montessori said follow the child and you will know what you need to do. Look at LAMB's kids and the way they are happy, peaceful, well-rounded, and productive. Then say it is not a "real" Montessori school. AMI and AMS have financial reasons for making accreditation difficult. How can these other public schools justify using public dollars to earn that accreditation? LAMB's staff is full of qualified and experienced Montessorians from all over the world.

PP has an agenda to discredit LAMB if they have commented here for the thousandth time on this topic.

NP here. My child recently started at a Montessori that is hoping for AMI certification. It's pretty clear to me, and I'm sure to you, that LAMB is NOT a true Montessori environment. Now, to me, there are many positives about the flexibility that LAMB offers in implementing the Montessori curriculum. In fact, if I had the choice and the commute worked for us, I'd switch my kid to LAMB based on what I've heard about it and its more flexible approach to Montessori, but none of that makes the PP wrong in the statement that LAMB is a hybrid and not true Montessori. I have no agenda and I don't consider this "discrediting" LAMB simply stating facts.

[Anonymous]

Other than language, How does LAMB differ from
other "true" Montessori programs? (Genuine question I have as a prospective parent.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Other than language, How does LAMB differ from
other "true" Montessori programs? (Genuine question I have as a prospective parent.)

It's my understanding that LAMB has more group work than an AMI Montessori, that the classroom is less of a "controlled environment", that is that parents are allowed in, can volunteer in the classroom for story time or other activities, that there is art work on the walls and other things that true Montessori considers to be a distraction for children who need a quiet, calm place that is theirs alone and is free from anything that takes their focus away from the class. They also use technology in the class. I'm sure there are other distinctions and I'm also interested in hearing about them.

[Anonymous]

Can a parent weigh in on how/if montessori helped with socialization skills in young children. We have an only child and I really feel like she needs work on cooperative play. I pbserved the classroom and like that preschoolers work at their own pace but there were little to no actual group activities. She is already very independent and I think she needs work on cooperation now. Would montessori be the right fit?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can a parent weigh in on how/if montessori helped with socialization skills in young children. We have an only child and I really feel like she needs work on cooperative play. I pbserved the classroom and like that preschoolers work at their own pace but there were little to no actual group activities. She is already very independent and I think she needs work on cooperation now. Would montessori be the right fit?

The mixed age classroom seems to really help the kids with socialization and "grace and courtesy".

[Anonymous]

As someone with a 3 year old in a primary class at Montessori, I have to disagree with the notion that the older kids get involved in teaching/helping the younger ones. My daughter, too, is independent and self-directed, so I thought Montessori would be a good fit. But she tends to tag along after the older kids, maybe because she has an older brother, and they often exclude or tease her. The teacher knows, and has been working on it, but I also think this is pretty typical behavior among 4-5 year old kids. (I can imagine my son, age 5, doing something pretty similar if a 3 year old girl tagged along and tried to play with him.) She gets called "baby" by some of the older boys, which is a huge bummer. I encourage her to play more with the kids her own age, but it is an ongoing issue.

I think if you're a true believer in Montessori, you want buy into the gestalt enough not to question that much. And yes, older kids at my daughter's school are doing puzzles that map the countries of the African continent and other content-heavy stuff. So if that's what you're looking for, you'll find the strong focus on content a good thing. For me, I'd rather my kid focus on play, which is the true "work" of early childhood, in my opinion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As someone with a 3 year old in a primary class at Montessori, I have to disagree with the notion that the older kids get involved in teaching/helping the younger ones. My daughter, too, is independent and self-directed, so I thought Montessori would be a good fit. But she tends to tag along after the older kids, maybe because she has an older brother, and they often exclude or tease her. The teacher knows, and has been working on it, but I also think this is pretty typical behavior among 4-5 year old kids. (I can imagine my son, age 5, doing something pretty similar if a 3 year old girl tagged along and tried to play with him.) She gets called "baby" by some of the older boys, which is a huge bummer. I encourage her to play more with the kids her own age, but it is an ongoing issue.

I think if you're a true believer in Montessori, you want buy into the gestalt enough not to question that much. And yes, older kids at my daughter's school are doing puzzles that map the countries of the African continent and other content-heavy stuff. So if that's what you're looking for, you'll find the strong focus on content a good thing. For me, I'd rather my kid focus on play, which is the true "work" of early childhood, in my opinion.

I'm a PP with a 5 year old in Montessori. I remain skeptical on some fronts, but in my classroom observations it's been clear to me that my 5 year old takes a leadership role with the younger kids. I've seen him and other 5 year olds helping the younger children, both redirecting them and specifically helping them on tasks (more so the 4 year olds than the 3 year olds) - there certainly shouldn't be any excluding in the classroom (everyone is responsible for their own work) or teasing and if there is the teacher should have addressed this.

The Montessori classroom is mixed age because it mimics the home environment where kids are with siblings of different ages and functions like a family. I like Maria Montessori's observations that children play better when their "play" is doing real tasks -- that is they really are preparing food, rather than playing with play food in a play kitchen, or they really are polishing brass or cleaning tables or stacking blocks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Other than language, How does LAMB differ from
other "true" Montessori programs? (Genuine question I have as a prospective parent.)

It's my understanding that LAMB has more group work than an AMI Montessori, that the classroom is less of a "controlled environment", that is that parents are allowed in, can volunteer in the classroom for story time or other activities, that there is art work on the walls and other things that true Montessori considers to be a distraction for children who need a quiet, calm place that is theirs alone and is free from anything that takes their focus away from the class. They also use technology in the class. I'm sure there are other distinctions and I'm also interested in hearing about them.

Provide the Montessori quotes, please, to prove that Maria Montessori wanted to keep parents out of classrooms and art work off of walls.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Other than language, How does LAMB differ from
other "true" Montessori programs? (Genuine question I have as a prospective parent.)

It's my understanding that LAMB has more group work than an AMI Montessori, that the classroom is less of a "controlled environment", that is that parents are allowed in, can volunteer in the classroom for story time or other activities, that there is art work on the walls and other things that true Montessori considers to be a distraction for children who need a quiet, calm place that is theirs alone and is free from anything that takes their focus away from the class. They also use technology in the class. I'm sure there are other distinctions and I'm also interested in hearing about them.

Provide the Montessori quotes, please, to prove that Maria Montessori wanted to keep parents out of classrooms and art work off of walls.

Read what she wrote about the Prepared Environment. I think that the question of whether she would have let the method evolve is a very interesting one, but anyone who knows anything about Montessori knows that the approach that is closest to Dr. Montessori's original vision is very strict about the environment in which the children are taught and the lack of distraction.

[Anonymous]

"The first aim of the prepared environment is, as far as it is possible, to render the growing child independent of the adult. That is, it is a place where he can do things for himself - live his own life - without the immediate help of adults."
Maria Montessori: Her Life and Work p 267, Chap XVI