Anonymous wrote:Actually observe what the older kids are working on in the Montessori daycare. If they're doing letters and numbers, then she'll be well prepared for kindergarten. If they're all doing practical life, then IME that's telling about the quality of the program and level of preparedness your DC will have. May still be worth it for the time saving aspect, but you'd want to keep that in mind for later.

If she can use the bathroom by herself, follow instructions, wait her turn, and get along with other kids, she will be well-prepared for kindergarten, where she will learn the other stuff in a developmentally appropriate way.

Use the time you save going somewhere convenient to read to her and let her help with dinner. Letters and numbers, done.

How often do kids in the Montessori program go outside? What protocols do they have to make sure no kids are left behind?

I agree that distance/convenience is a huge factor, but not going outside regularly would be a deal breaker.

We were in a military CDC pre pandemic. Cost difference was much more substantial than you are mentioning and it was close to our house. I don't think that curriculum for 18 month olds really matters much. I did find that there were more kids per teacher in the military facility and the rooms often seemed more chaotic there than other places we've been. Ultimately, if there had not been such a dramatic cost difference, we would not have switched. Also, fwiw, we just got offered a jbab spot, but will be declining.

Distance, hands down. It will make your life so much easier. It’s one less errand you have to run every single day. If you decide “I need a ‘me’ day” you are close enough to do the drop off and pick up without sucking up half the day.

20-30 mins commute won’t be fun. I did it for a period after we moved and it made our dinners later, forced me to stop what I was doing earlier, etc

Convenience was always the top priority for us. It gave us more time with the kids. For 90% of kids, the type of school doesn't matter...some daycares teach more, some play more...in the end, after a couple years of public school it all evens out.

Montessori doesn’t suit all kids, so keep that in mind too.

20-30 minutes is way too far away. That’s an hour less that you won’t see your kid

Actually observe what the older kids are working on in the Montessori daycare. If they're doing letters and numbers, then she'll be well prepared for kindergarten. If they're all doing practical life, then IME that's telling about the quality of the program and level of preparedness your DC will have. May still be worth it for the time saving aspect, but you'd want to keep that in mind for later.

My son was in a preschool pre-Covid that was 1.5 miles away, which was walkable but took too much time from my day to walk there and back, so I drove him every day. Now he is enrolled in a preK program about 4 blocks from our house and It is so great not to have to get in the car. I don't love the program like I loved the prior preschool but the convenience partially makes up for it.

Original poster here. Thank you everyone for your thoughts! Very helpful.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not sure what $200 is relative to the overall cost, but I would pick option 2 (Montessori) without hesitation for the convenience. driving 20-30 minutes every day will get very tiring. $200 is well worth the 10+ hours of convenience a month...

people tend to overthink the other details like the food (I'm sure its all fine), curriculum (teach them at home), and play areas (kids are adaptable and will have fun in whataever space they are in). As long as the facilities are comparable in terms of how safe they will keep your kid and how well run they are, the logistics should be the biggest factor (i.e. your time taking to and from)

I'll agree with this. And I don't generally love Montessori, but if I could walk from my house and drop off, that'd be awesome.

+1

We currently drive 30 mins each way twice daily to a daycare that we have loved, but I'm sick of the drive. If I could find an option walkable to our house, I'd switch in a heartbeat.

Anonymous wrote:Not sure what $200 is relative to the overall cost, but I would pick option 2 (Montessori) without hesitation for the convenience. driving 20-30 minutes every day will get very tiring. $200 is well worth the 10+ hours of convenience a month...

people tend to overthink the other details like the food (I'm sure its all fine), curriculum (teach them at home), and play areas (kids are adaptable and will have fun in whataever space they are in). As long as the facilities are comparable in terms of how safe they will keep your kid and how well run they are, the logistics should be the biggest factor (i.e. your time taking to and from)

I'll agree with this. And I don't generally love Montessori, but if I could walk from my house and drop off, that'd be awesome.

Not sure what $200 is relative to the overall cost, but I would pick option 2 (Montessori) without hesitation for the convenience. driving 20-30 minutes every day will get very tiring. $200 is well worth the 10+ hours of convenience a month...

people tend to overthink the other details like the food (I'm sure its all fine), curriculum (teach them at home), and play areas (kids are adaptable and will have fun in whataever space they are in). As long as the facilities are comparable in terms of how safe they will keep your kid and how well run they are, the logistics should be the biggest factor (i.e. your time taking to and from)

We hypothetically have an option to have our 18 month old at one of the CDCs on JBAB or put her in a Montessori daycare (think Guidepost). My husband and I are having trouble hypothetically making a decision due to disagreement on quality of care vs. cost. Would love some opinions! Assume we get into both and have to decide.

JBAB CDC
-20 - 30 min away (4.5 miles)
-$200 less per month
- includes breakfast, lunch, snacks (carb heavy though, not impressed with food options)
- Creative curriculum
- outdoor play area

Montessori
-1 mile away, walkable
- $200 extra a month (after subsidies)
- hot lunch program with snack but don't believe they do breakfast. Maybe an AM snack. Food looks local / organic / less sugar added
- Montessori curriculum
- have to walk to local park / big indoor play area in building though

To me, having our 18 month old at the Montessori makes sense from a distance perspective. We can walk there which would be very cool. I'm not sold on the lack of outdoor play area though or have a solid understanding of how well she'll be prepared for kindergarten, but I have the impression that care / curriculum is better here than at JBAB.

Thoughts? Worth it to do Montessori or the should we go with cheaper option?