Orderliness at Preschool

[Anonymous]

Can you really expect 2-3 year olds to be quiet and orderly in preschool? It seems my son's preschool is pretty chaotic during free play and bathroom time. Is this the case in every preschool at this age? Or are some kids better behaved in some schools?

[Anonymous]

Its a bad indicator of the school. Our previous daycare/school was chaotic like this and I just chalked it up to 2 and 3 yrs olds. We moved to a Montessori school and it is night and day. I don't think its the Montessori method its just that the teachers at this place have such as better structure and handle on the class. Its amazing but the M class is twice the size of the previous place. In chaotic places ( or at least the one we were at) you had more teachers who just sat back and let anything go.

At the new place, I notice that the teachers continually engage in a positive way and set up good expectations for kids to be respectful and orderly. Its clear they have thought through everything and the kids have alot of fun and physically activity, it just isn't a free for all.

[Anonymous]

I actually have the opposite take of the pp -- I think it's a GOOD sign. Obviously, you don't want total chaos or screaming, but controlled chaos and noise (as long as each kid is using their indoor voice) is a sign that everyone is having fun and that appropriate play is emphasized over authoritarian rules.

[Anonymous]

I feel the same way as pp. I think of it a good sign. I toured a Montessori preschool a long time ago and it was so quiet that it freaked me out. I am not saying it in a negative way just that personally I feel that 2-3 year olds should make some noise while they play, but also be able to sit through circle time in a respectful manner be a less chaotic during activities outside of free play.

[Anonymous]

The first thing early childhood experts will tell you to look for in a preschool is to hear childen's voices and children's laughter. It SHOULDN'T be quiet!

[Anonymous]

There's a difference between energetic, enthusiastically engaged kids (our current preschool ) and chaotic, inconsistent behavior by kids and adults. (Like our previous school where I once saw teacher flip lights on and off when our class got too wild.) To be fair, I think physical space might have had something to do with apparent chaos. We've been in two play-based programs (i.e. not Montessori) with same number of kids and adult/child class size and similar ages and gender. But in our new school, adults are definitely in charge and seem to make good use of space like rooms for chilling out, more than one outdoor play space and organized, secure checkin-checkout. Relaxed experience for adults and (very) entertaining for kids.

[Anonymous]

14:53 I would completely agree if the kids were silent but they are not they are talking with each other and laughing. They simply are not jumping on top of each other, running inside, and shouting inside which is a big difference. Outside they run, play games, and can shout. I don't think orderliness is a distinction between Montessori and playbased (though it is a core component of Montessori). We looked at some playbased and Reggio places that also had a good structure, teachers in control in a positive way and calmer environment.

Our previous daycare/preschool was bad in how chaotic it was at ALL times. IMO the kids don't learn good behaviors on how to interact, listen to each other or focus on what they are doing in this type of environment. Its also exhausting for a child to be in this type of environment for a long time. The teachers were often visibly at their wits end with the kids and looked almost angry or exhausted as they tried to control them.

[Anonymous]

I agree with 11:15 - I have had my kids in several different programs. One was completely chaotic... a small room, and kids falling all over each other and fighting over toys. While I want my kids to be able to play with toys and enjoy themselves, I want them to have the space and some supervision to play nicely. Some of the programs had the rooms divided into little work areas, and generally, 3-4 kids were playing, laughing, and coordinating within each work area. Lots of laughter, and "controlled chaos".

I haven't had my child in a montessori program, but I have noticed on tours that in *some* of them (not all!) the rooms seemed extraordinarily quiet, and the kids were kept in line. I thought that the behavior resulted from an over-strict environment, and that the kids were not being allowed to do what they do naturally -- play! Now, before I upset anyone -- let me reiterate -- this was not true for ALL of the Montessori programs that I observed. Some of them had children moving about and talking among themselves, and exploring their tasks and environments. I think that is appropriate, and I would not have an issue with that.