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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]DS #1 was enrolled in play based preschool and seems to have done OK there.  For #2 we are considering a Montessori school which is in a more convenient location for us.  My question is whether different personality types tend to do better in the Montessori setting?  DS #2 is a talkative, outgoing kid who can sit and play by himself at times, but also loves to start dancing and singing at the drop of a hat.  Any thoughts on whether the quiet environment at Montessori might hinder his social/emotional side at the expense of his "academic" development? [/quote]

We have a son who sounds very similar to yours who has done very well in a Montessori environment. His favorite activity is "dance party," which he asks for every night before bed. He has a number of ways of exploring these interests at his school. For one, his room has a musical instrument set up that he uses a lot. (I have, to be fair, heard the teacher ask him to be quieter on it once, but he was literally hitting a drum as hard as he possibly could while some other children were sitting next to him trying to read, and it seemed like a pretty darned reasonable request). The school has a spectacular art program that my son adores that has let his creative side blossom. It is also good for physical kids, since they tend to do a lot of dancing and listening to music while they work. He also takes an optional additional art class, since its his favorite topic. My son is fairly social, so he tends to do his Montessori "work" with one or more other kids, as a group project. When you watch them, it seems like they are just playing and laughing, though surprisingly they usually do get their work done. He also has a group he likes to eat his lunch with, and he tells me about their discussions at the end of the day, which are often pretty funny (I am certain my school does not disallow talking at lunch, as one of the PPs claimed). It is also a little easy to over-imagine how much of the day is "work time" to begin with. They have lunch and snack time, music time, multiple trips to the playground, etc. so at the end of the day, the amount of time they are really expected to be choosing a "work" is pretty limited.

If you read previous threads on Montessori, you will hear a really wide divergence of opinions on whether the classroom environment appears too quiet. Some of this depends on the individual parents' perspective, but I think a lot of it must depend on the school as well. I think on DCUM we tend to get a little over-focused on the difference between educational philosophies - literally every preschool you're likely considering is a play-based school, including the ones that we typically refer to as non-play based on this forum, such as Montessori. Being comfortable at your particular school is more important.[/quote]

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