My kid is in his second year. I wouldn't be surprised if he is diagnosed with ADHD when he gets a little older. His Montessori preschool is SUCH an amazing fit for him. He LOVES school, and it seems that other kids at his school do too. He is at a small AMI certified school. His experience has been so great that it makes me wish he could remain in a Montessori school. But alas, he will go to traditional public. But I still think this is setting him up well.

I have no idea if it works or not but we sent our kids to one because it is close and I think the space is beautiful and safe and the teachers are lovely and caring. They taught my kids to be kind, thoughtful, respectful and self sufficient. They even taught one of my kids how to tie his shoes, which saved me because I hate that task. I ended up supplementing reading and math at home because I didn't like the lack of structure over their education at school, which was no big deal.

I like the idea of Montessori, and as a kid I liked polishing silver so the learning to iron thing wouldn’t bother me but I also toured one in Bethesda where the kids looked unhappy, plus they said it would be a problem if I went part time and wanted to take my kid out of school one day a week.

I experienced both imaginative play-based preschool and Montessori with my son.
Both were good. Different but good.
Montessori had the insight that children can learn advanced concepts at a young age when approached in the right way. I think that the Montessori math materials are especially wonderful and am happy that my son was able to work with them. He continues to have a great facility with math in middle school that I trace back to those early years. The concept is that children want to, and can do real work, scaled to their size. So, they don’t pretend to do “dangerous” adult activities like chopping or ironing, they do the real thing! (In a safe way.) In a good Montessori environment there is a lot of warmth and respect for the child. It’s beautiful when done well. Good luck!

We did a play based preschool. I didn’t like the Montessori style BUT I did a lot of the Montessori style ideas at home. Like books and toys at her level and accessible to her all the time. A mirror at her level on the wall etc. We also had a broom set and play kitchen but I didn’t care what she did with them.

Anonymous wrote:Well, to start, "Montessori" is not trademarked philosophy. Any school can call themselves Montessori, so everything you observe is pretty anecdotal. Not to make a No True Scotsman arguments, but what you may have observed may not be in line with Maria Montessori's teaching. There's no standardization.

Separately, I don't see the point in starting my very young child in a subpar mold (behaviorally speaking) just because they're going to have to deal with subpar institutions in the future.

Signed,
A person who went to Montessori school as a preschooler, sent her kid to a very play-based, radical, but non-Montessori preschool and still sent her kid to "subpar" public school

There are certifications for Montessori and some schools have them.

I sent my kid to a very structured academic preschool and they loved it. We toured about 10 preschools and it was the one they refused to leave.

Anonymous wrote:As soon as I found out that the kids "play iron" I was out. I mean, no.

Also, no one in my house sleeps on a mattress on the floor. Even the toddlers were fine with a regular bed with a rail.

We aren't hobos.

So, I'm sure the purist will argue out of this, but I'm not teaching my kids to iron and sleep on the floor. I hope they never have to do EITHER in this lifetime...

We did a mattress on the floor temporarily to get the kids used to it but that's not a big deal vs. some of the other stuff.

I taught Montessori for 25 years, and I am a mom to an 8 year old who went to a wonderful home daycare/excellent public schools.

This is my take on the Montessori experience:
1) All Montessori schools and TEACHERS are not created equal.
2) i think there are more sub-par Montessori teachers than traditional teachers. Why? Because
I do not think most Montessori teachers truly “follow the child” and instead suck the joy out of school.

(To be continued) i have to go for now.

I went to an open house and brought my son who was 3 at the time. The teachers there took the kids while the parents went into an informational session. When we came out, one of the teachers kept insisting over and over again "That's not a leaf blower. It's a broom. You use it to sweep. Let me show you." She must have said that half a dozen times to my son. My son knew it was a broom. He was just pretending. The teacher looked exasperated. I guess they aren't big on pretend play, huh? No thanks.

Well, to start, "Montessori" is not trademarked philosophy. Any school can call themselves Montessori, so everything you observe is pretty anecdotal. Not to make a No True Scotsman arguments, but what you may have observed may not be in line with Maria Montessori's teaching. There's no standardization.

Separately, I don't see the point in starting my very young child in a subpar mold (behaviorally speaking) just because they're going to have to deal with subpar institutions in the future.

Signed,
A person who went to Montessori school as a preschooler, sent her kid to a very play-based, radical, but non-Montessori preschool and still sent her kid to "subpar" public school

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand it either. I looked at a few and the kids all looked unhappy, little structure, some kids were just randomly roaming, not much fun, and teachers didn't interact much. One in Bethesda was creepy as we were only allowed to sit in a designated chair for 10 minutes to watch the classroom and the kids looked miserable. A few kids tried to say Hi and the teachers would not allow it.

Wtf?!

Maybe it’s bc I already went in with the belief that even toddlers need some structure, but I don’t really understand why ppl think this is superior than a traditional preschool.

As soon as I found out that the kids "play iron" I was out. I mean, no.

Also, no one in my house sleeps on a mattress on the floor. Even the toddlers were fine with a regular bed with a rail.

We aren't hobos.

So, I'm sure the purist will argue out of this, but I'm not teaching my kids to iron and sleep on the floor. I hope they never have to do EITHER in this lifetime...

+3 never understood the advantage

I don't understand it either. I looked at a few and the kids all looked unhappy, little structure, some kids were just randomly roaming, not much fun, and teachers didn't interact much. One in Bethesda was creepy as we were only allowed to sit in a designated chair for 10 minutes to watch the classroom and the kids looked miserable. A few kids tried to say Hi and the teachers would not allow it.

Toured a Montessori school today. Not because it was Montessori but because it was one of the closer ones to my house. Am I missing something that some parents are dead set on Montessori? I also don’t see necessarily the advantage if they are going to a public (aka non-Montessori) kindergarten/elementary school after. Enlighten me please, because while none of it sounds necessarily bad, it also seems a bit gimmick-y.