Reply to Help! Shining Stars or AppleTree CH?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Quote:
FWIW, Montessori is just as "academic" if not more so in it's methods which can be quite rigid. It's not a play based curriculum.

SSMA Family PP here:

I agree there is some rigidity to method, but it's not academic in that there aren't drills. Letters and math are taught through manipulatives with the idea the concepts are learned intrinidically. The Montessori classroom seems so ordered and calm vs the more traditional classrooms I toured. [/quote]

Why do we constantly see the insinuation that academic = drills or that Appletree = drills or even Appletree = academic.  I want to clear up this misconception, children at Appletree are not taught by "drilling".  Learning is fun, they "play games" to learn numbers and letters and ultimately to read and write (rhyming words, talking about beginning sounds, ending sounds, being read to etc).  They are not sitting in rows chanting numbers or letters and getting hit with rulers when they say the wrong thing.[/quote]

I think that's a really fair point (this is OP). I guess maybe the right word is more of a traditional or teacher-led type of instruction? I definitely don't think a creative way of teaching kids letters, numbers, etc is a bad thing at all.

Ah, i am so torn![/quote]

To some extent it might depend on your kid.  My child LOVED Appletree.  And she thrived there to the extent that she is so well prepared for kindergarten that she could actually (academically, not socially) skip a grade or two.  The major downside is that it only lasts for two years and that after such a great experience for the first two years, you might find (as I anticipate) that nothing can quite compare!

That said, the Montessori method also has many great positives.  It's just very different in approach.  I'd be most concerned about the longevity of SS based on their track record to date.  From what I've heard their implementation of the Montessori method is excellent and the results are good. But I'm not sure if I could overcome my concerns about their abilities to run a school after the most recent debacle (with the location) and problems I've heard from other parents about communication.  That was why we ultimately turned them down.[/quote]

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