Above primary at Montessori

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This thread was hijacked but back to lower and upper el classes I have a child in 2nd grade and we are so thrilled with the work that they do. It’s so much more expansive than what I see at typical schools.
They are also big on independence with going outs, reports on any subject, etc.
Also the method of how they teach math is very tactical and physical. So when I see parents complaining about common core and I look at the work it is actually similar to Montessori method (teaching in units, tens, thousands etc vs memorization.

I knew it was awesome when my 5 year old brought home a division problem in the millions and it was right (I used a calculator to check lol)

I would sincerely say to anyone wondering ask a parent in an upper grade, do an observation or see if the school offers any educational programs.

I agree with this. My children are at LAMB and now the first is in Upper El. I think this is where Montessori really brings out its best in terms of independence, responsibility, and planning. The preparation for going outs, extensive multi-step research projects are liberating for my child. And the observation about math is correct. My child loves math, precisely because there is very little rote memorization. It is very hands-on for her. I do worry that a traditional middle school may deflate her after experiencing the independence of Montessori, but she is resilient and we will deal with that if necessary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This thread was hijacked but back to lower and upper el classes I have a child in 2nd grade and we are so thrilled with the work that they do. It’s so much more expansive than what I see at typical schools.
They are also big on independence with going outs, reports on any subject, etc.
Also the method of how they teach math is very tactical and physical. So when I see parents complaining about common core and I look at the work it is actually similar to Montessori method (teaching in units, tens, thousands etc vs memorization.

I knew it was awesome when my 5 year old brought home a division problem in the millions and it was right (I used a calculator to check lol)

I would sincerely say to anyone wondering ask a parent in an upper grade, do an observation or see if the school offers any educational programs.

I agree with this. My children are at LAMB and now the first is in Upper El. I think this is where Montessori really brings out its best in terms of independence, responsibility, and planning. The preparation for going outs, extensive multi-step research projects are liberating for my child. And the observation about math is correct. My child loves math, precisely because there is very little rote memorization. It is very hands-on for her. I do worry that a traditional middle school may deflate her after experiencing the independence of Montessori, but she is resilient and we will deal with that if necessary.

Thank you. We are also at LAMB but in Primary and while we like it I think a lot of local PK programs are also good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have an upper elementary and a lower elementary child, and we LOVE it. I think that the special sauce of Montessori is actually in the older grades. My kids are learning how to make choices, plan their own work, and their guides do a great job of encouraging them to work evenly across all areas. Will your Montessori let you observe elementary? Mine did and it was what sealed the deal.

Which are you at?? We have talked to a lot of folks who's kids are way behind academically. Some have sighted the larger class sizes so not work well in the upper grades. Both for social emotional development and academics. Most of them have said the hard class work really needs some small group or larger group instruction.

It does seem like it would need to be more of a mixed instructional method to make it work for most kids in the upper grades.
I love the independence, thinking skills, sense of self, I see happening with the kids in the program.
But I do worry about students struggling with hard subjects. It jsn't like you can run chemistry labs or stats as a drop in subjects for most students no matter what type of school they went too before.

[Anonymous]

Not a good idea for upper elem kids. That's when you start to see a big difference in progression. That was our experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not a good idea for upper elem kids. That's when you start to see a big difference in progression. That was our experience.

Can you please flesh out this point? Isn’t the very fact that you start to see a “big difference in progression” a reason that a Montessori approach would be especially beneficial?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not a good idea for upper elem kids. That's when you start to see a big difference in progression. That was our experience.

Can you please flesh out this point? Isn’t the very fact that you start to see a “big difference in progression” a reason that a Montessori approach would be especially beneficial?

As the kids get older, behavioral issues and lack of teacher control start to impact kids. Everyone can't just go work on their own and be "fine". Also, that's when all the testing starts. Montessori is really not set up to accommodate standardize testing. That's why a lot of purist say "Montessori light" for a lot of schools with upper el.