CMI or Lee?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The IPC at CMI is absolutely completely different than Montessori. I have a child in each one so I speak from experience. Also CMI is 20 kids with two maybe three teachers. If, however, you think Montessori is good for both then congrats on your decision!

Oh- can you speak to this at all? It seems that both kids will have a spot at CMI next year guaranteed & I think CMI is a better fit for the older one, and Montessori better for the younger one, I'm starting to think that maybe we'll go with CMI and see what happens with Lee's waitlist or just apply again next year and hop for the best for the youngest. I think if you have a 'typical' or bright kid Montessori is the best option at least for the original primary- upper elem. years- not sure about after that and IPC is very new but maybe better for a 'quirky' child. I've been sick with worry all weekend with this choice. CMI also gives more support in diagnosing differently abled kids so that is a draw as well- i just don't know WHY one child is having such difficult time achieving her goals/developing age appropriate skills

[Anonymous]

My worry would be if you REALLY want Montessori for your youngest and swap the older to CMI, you will lose your spot at Lee bc your sibling preference will go away

[Anonymous]

First grade at Cmi will be an amazing group of families. My child is in it. She will have no trouble making friends. The kids are sweethearts. My child is quirky and there is no teasing at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The IPC at CMI is absolutely completely different than Montessori. I have a child in each one so I speak from experience. Also CMI is 20 kids with two maybe three teachers. If, however, you think Montessori is good for both then congrats on your decision!

Oh- can you speak to this at all? It seems that both kids will have a spot at CMI next year guaranteed & I think CMI is a better fit for the older one, and Montessori better for the younger one, I'm starting to think that maybe we'll go with CMI and see what happens with Lee's waitlist or just apply again next year and hop for the best for the youngest. I think if you have a 'typical' or bright kid Montessori is the best option at least for the original primary- upper elem. years- not sure about after that and IPC is very new but maybe better for a 'quirky' child. I've been sick with worry all weekend with this choice. CMI also gives more support in diagnosing differently abled kids so that is a draw as well- i just don't know WHY one child is having such difficult time achieving her goals/developing age appropriate skills

I am the poster who has Montessori and IPC experience. First thing is that all children are different so this explains why one child may be having difficulties and the other is not. People are different and need different things and approaches to succeed. The IPC is not for "quirky" kids. It is just a project-based, experiential based sort of curriculum. Sort of like the IB curriculum or expeditionary learning of Mundo Verde or Lowell. Montessori is also not for just the bright or typical child. I don't know how it works in public Montessori with all the testing and benchmarks (I would ask your school about this) but typically in Montessori the child can move at his or her own pace, which is great. It is true differentiated learning. So a kid may be above grade level in math and below "grade level" in Reading but has the luxury of advancing at his own pace without the social pressure and comparison to his peers. Montessori is great about respecting children's differences. I have heard that Lee does a great job with IEPs. I think CMI is good for a child who may need a little more built in structure and who will enjoy the arts program. For instance a lot of kids thrive knowing what's coming next. I.e. Today at 9 we have reading them at 10 we have math, etc. Montessori can be structured to accommodate this need (i.e. More structure) if you have a good teacher. Not sure how Lee handles this.
I do know that LAMB told a kid she should repeat Kindergarten because not on grade level. This made no sense to me because there isn't supposed to be a K in a Montessori class. I would ask Lee how they handle this. Good luck and happy Mother's Day!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:First grade at Cmi will be an amazing group of families. My child is in it. She will have no trouble making friends. The kids are sweethearts. My child is quirky and there is no teasing at all.

My child is in this class too! Such a great group of kids and families. If you can lottery into this class...do it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The IPC at CMI is absolutely completely different than Montessori. I have a child in each one so I speak from experience. Also CMI is 20 kids with two maybe three teachers. If, however, you think Montessori is good for both then congrats on your decision!

Oh- can you speak to this at all? It seems that both kids will have a spot at CMI next year guaranteed & I think CMI is a better fit for the older one, and Montessori better for the younger one, I'm starting to think that maybe we'll go with CMI and see what happens with Lee's waitlist or just apply again next year and hop for the best for the youngest. I think if you have a 'typical' or bright kid Montessori is the best option at least for the original primary- upper elem. years- not sure about after that and IPC is very new but maybe better for a 'quirky' child. I've been sick with worry all weekend with this choice. CMI also gives more support in diagnosing differently abled kids so that is a draw as well- i just don't know WHY one child is having such difficult time achieving her goals/developing age appropriate skills

I am the poster who has Montessori and IPC experience. First thing is that all children are different so this explains why one child may be having difficulties and the other is not. People are different and need different things and approaches to succeed. The IPC is not for "quirky" kids. It is just a project-based, experiential based sort of curriculum. Sort of like the IB curriculum or expeditionary learning of Mundo Verde or Lowell. Montessori is also not for just the bright or typical child. I don't know how it works in public Montessori with all the testing and benchmarks (I would ask your school about this) but typically in Montessori the child can move at his or her own pace, which is great. It is true differentiated learning. So a kid may be above grade level in math and below "grade level" in Reading but has the luxury of advancing at his own pace without the social pressure and comparison to his peers. Montessori is great about respecting children's differences. I have heard that Lee does a great job with IEPs. I think CMI is good for a child who may need a little more built in structure and who will enjoy the arts program. For instance a lot of kids thrive knowing what's coming next. I.e. Today at 9 we have reading them at 10 we have math, etc. Montessori can be structured to accommodate this need (i.e. More structure) if you have a good teacher. Not sure how Lee handles this.
I do know that LAMB told a kid she should repeat Kindergarten because not on grade level. This made no sense to me because there isn't supposed to be a K in a Montessori class. I would ask Lee how they handle this. Good luck and happy Mother's Day!

This is an awesome description/comparison. OP, when do you have to decide? Strongly encourage you to meet the new elementary teacher on Thursday eve.

[Anonymous]

We started at a private Montessori preschool, then lotteried in to CMI. I absolutely loved the Montessori primary teaching methods, so I can understand your dilemma.

In hindsight I feel like the larger Montessori classroom was hard on my DCs and they love the individual attention they receive at CMI.

One of my favorite things about Montessori is the differentiated learning. Both my DCs however, have differentiated learning at CMI, as their teachers divide the kids into smaller groups for reading and math, and they're moved to different groups as they gain skills.

I can also speak to this year's awesome K families. They are very close and the parents all get along, and the kids - including mine - are all super sweet.

You have a tough decision but it sounds like your kids will be fine either way. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We started at a private Montessori preschool, then lotteried in to CMI. I absolutely loved the Montessori primary teaching methods, so I can understand your dilemma.

In hindsight I feel like the larger Montessori classroom was hard on my DCs and they love the individual attention they receive at CMI.

One of my favorite things about Montessori is the differentiated learning. Both my DCs however, have differentiated learning at CMI, as their teachers divide the kids into smaller groups for reading and math, and they're moved to different groups as they gain skills.

I can also speak to this year's awesome K families. They are very close and the parents all get along, and the kids - including mine - are all super sweet.

You have a tough decision but it sounds like your kids will be fine either way. Good luck!

I love you too!

CMI K Parent

[Anonymous]

PP here.

I was confused by the "quirky" comment in the previous post. Their are lots of quirky kids at CMI, including mine! However you are correct that the program isn't specifically geared for certain kids.