Decision between Montessori and Traditional Preschool

[Anonymous]

I'm trying to decide between a 5 day/wk Montessori preschool for my 3 year old daughter, or a 3 morning a week traditional play based one, which she is in now. I'm interested in the Montessori b/c I want to foster a strong love of learning (which she already has), self confidence, and a rich preschool experience. On the other hand, the traditional preschool ed seems fine and her neighborhood friends attend. The five morning a week program is a pretty hefty drive so it would take a huge commitment on my part to her there. The other is more convenient.

Would love to hear some opinions for those who have been there before. How much of a difference does preschool really make?

[Anonymous]

I don't see the need for a 3 yr old to be in preschool 5 days a week. FT school comes soon enough. If you are at home w/ her, send her 3 days a week and savor the time you have together.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't see the need for a 3 yr old to be in preschool 5 days a week. FT school comes soon enough. If you are at home w/ her, send her 3 days a week and savor the time you have together.

Hour-wise, there's little difference. My daughter has been in both programs. At a 3-day, play-based school, she was in class from 9:30 to 1:30. that's 4 hours multiplied by 3. At her current montessori, she's there M-F from 9 to 12, which is a 15-hour week. Furthermore, the transition from preschool to full-day K is easier if they're on a daily schedule. I'm glad I made the change for academic reasons and scheduling purposes. If my son is potty-trained by 2 1/2, I'm sending him to the same montessori.

[Anonymous]

9:30-1:30? That seems like daycare to me. My child's preschool is 2 and a half hrs each morning (or afternoon). 12 hrs a week vs. 5 hrs a week. That's a big difference to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't see the need for a 3 yr old to be in preschool 5 days a week. FT school comes soon enough. If you are at home w/ her, send her 3 days a week and savor the time you have together.

Not everyone has the luxury of sitting home all day. Some of us have to work to make a living...So, while we ALL woeuld lov to 'savor' the time w/our children, 5 days a week is some of our only options.

[Anonymous]

I faced the same decision last year and went with the Montessori school. My son turned 4 in October so that further contributed to the decision. I think if he had turned 4 later in the year I would have stuck with the traditional school. The main factor for me was having something every day since I am working part-time. We've been pleased with how much my son has learned and how much he loves to learn. He is one of the younger kids in his class though, there is actually only one child that is still 3.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:9:30-1:30? That seems like daycare to me. My child's preschool is 2 and a half hrs each morning (or afternoon). 12 hrs a week vs. 5 hrs a week. That's a big difference to me.

What are you talking about? Below is my original response:

Hour-wise, there's little difference. My daughter has been in both programs. At a 3-day, play-based school, she was in class from 9:30 to 1:30. that's 4 hours multiplied by 3. At her current montessori, she's there M-F from 9 to 12, which is a 15-hour week. Furthermore, the transition from preschool to full-day K is easier if they're on a daily schedule. I'm glad I made the change for academic reasons and scheduling purposes. If my son is potty-trained by 2 1/2, I'm sending him to the same montessori.

First, read before you respond.

And in terms of daycare, do you even know the difference between daycare and preschool? Number of hours do not define a daycare OR preschool program.

Do your research before you make such ridiculous statements.

[Anonymous]

Not everyone has the luxury of sitting home all day. Some of us have to work to make a living...So, while we ALL woeuld lov to 'savor' the time w/our children, 5 days a week is some of our only options.


Actually, I work the night shift so I put in my 40+ hrs per week too. Just at a different time. The OP thinks 3 mornings a week might not be "enough" for her child. She wouldn't be asking about 5 vs 3 days if she had a choice. Since she does, I would recommend 3 days a week. It is plenty. Unless she homeschools, she will never have this time w/ her child again.

[Anonymous]

The OP didn't say anything about 3 or 5 mornings being "enough for her child." She said she wanted a program that would foster "a strong love of learning (which she already has), self confidence, and a rich preschool experience." She wanted to know opinions about whether a Montessori program or a play-based program was more likely to do that. Instead this poster jumps in to recommend that her child spend fewer hours per week in preschool. Presumably it doesn't matter what type of preschool as long as it was 3 mornings a week rather than 5. How is this responsive to the question? Or respectful of the OP, who after all knows her child (as this poster does not) and has definite goals in mind for the child's preschool experience?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't see the need for a 3 yr old to be in preschool 5 days a week. FT school comes soon enough. If you are at home w/ her, send her 3 days a week and savor the time you have together.

Our experience was different. Our 3 y.o. definitely needed to be in school 5 days a week and benefitted from more rather than less school. For us play-based was fine for awhile, but the switch to Montessori was great & definitely provided more opportunities for academic exploration which our child loved.

[Anonymous]

Can you visualize your child at this Montessori? I made a decision like this and went with play-based because I could not see my son happy in a Montessori classroom all morning. There was such a preponderance of small motor activities and at that age his small motor development wasn't great and I thought he would be frustrated. I have known a few boys who have been asked to leave Montessori programs because of behavior issues which did not surface in a play-based program. Small motor skills develop earlier in girls (usually) so you may not have this consideration, but it's something to be aware of.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all the responses, they have been very helpful. I can see my child in both the montessori and the traditional environment, which is why it is hard to figure out which one she will thrive in. As for the hours, one of the posters was correct. I'm choosing between M-F 8:30 - 11:30 or MWF, 9-1. The difference is 3 hours a week. I actually like the idea of my daughter getting out and having a productive start to her day. I will be working PT so she will be spending the rest of the time with either me or a nanny and her younger brother.

I'm leaning with the Montessori. It doesn't hurt to try and see how she does.

[Anonymous]

OP here, I need to respond to this:

" The OP thinks 3 mornings a week might not be "enough" for her child. She wouldn't be asking about 5 vs 3 days if she had a choice. Since she does, I would recommend 3 days a week. It is plenty. Unless she homeschools, she will never have this time w/ her child again."

I never said that I thought that three days wouldn't be enough. I said that five days would be more running around for me, but that I wanted her to get a richer preschool experience, thus, making the sacrifice on my time to get her there. While I'm trying to start a business and take care of another younger child. I think if she does the morning program and get home from school every day at noon, I will still have plenty of opportunity to "savor" my time with her. I will have from 12-8, each day. I don't think either one of us will miss our mornings without each other. Its very healthy for everyone.