Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My school used Montessori for math and sciences only and it was the perfect combo for my personality. DD is 2 and will start Montessori next week. I'm so excited!

We'll see how she'll do and go from there. Montessori is not for everyone.

How so?

If the kid needs close interaction with an adult, if they need directions for every single step for example M is not for them. M fosters indepence. Kids who crave leadership don't do well in M.

I went to a Montessori program as a really little kid, and we considered Montessori for our DC, but said no. Montessori encourages tactile and experiential learning to a rather extreme degree, and between that and the mixed-age classrooms the result is that Montessori kids wind up academically way behind their peers when they're enrolled in more traditional programs. Montessori wrote extensively about "human tendencies," and thought that her program would best be applied to children with communications and/or learning issues. The program leads to classrooms that are more chaotic, and a bit less flexible, then you might guess.

My DC loves reading and math and understands spelling and math concepts well. DC is ahead of peers in elementary and enjoys the subjects more as well. I have not found any better system for understanding phonics and math than the Montessori way.

I agree w/ 10.30.

Signed: A Montessori teacher

9:19. Most schools would not know how to handle children many years above their level. This isn't an issue particularly with Montessori that there weren't appropriate gifted materials. And some Montessori schools extend into elementary where they would have had more elementary materials available.

My son went through the toddler and primary program at two schools. The second school was much better and allowed the child to touch any material they wanted to in the classroom plus they really tried to balance their learning in all areas while still allowing a lot of free choice. They were also better with social skills. At the first school it was almost nonexistant in the toddler classroom. I liked that they learned practical life skills like cooking, cutting, and cleaning. My son is still helpful around the house. He also learned about many cultures and eating a variety of healthy foods. My son seems more interested in trying new foods and activities than some of his friends in traditional schools perhaps because of the lack of group think in Montessori classrooms.

Anonymous wrote:He went from not reading at all to reading "The Hunger Games" by the end of the year.

I know it's off topic, but I am stunned...shocked and stunned that you let a kid that young read the Hunger Games. Wow. Reading level isn't everything, content matters for age appropriateness too.

Both of my kids are very gifted and are creative. We started Montessori because we heard how great it is for gifted kids. Montessori was not a good fit for them. They attended from age 2.5 years to 1st, and age 5 to 9. (Preschool and lower elementary). Despite the hype about a "learn at your own pace" curriculum, the Montessori school they attended could not differentiate the curriculum enough for them. They blew through the classroom materials in about a year and the teachers had no idea how to find more material for them to learn. The curriculum is MUCH more rigid than you would think. Kids can't touch materials until they have been given a 1-to-1 lesson in them (which takes time in a class of 20-25) and they must use the materials as shown. It's not the best environment for really creative kids.

The youngest also loves math and refused to learn to read. He would do a lot of math and science, but refused to do any reading. It wasn't for lack of smarts. He just didn't want to read. The school refused to push the issue, saying he would read in his own time. I'm sorry, but a first grader who doesn't read at all is NOT acceptable to me. We switched to a public school and he learned to read very quickly. He went from not reading at all to reading "The Hunger Games" by the end of the year.

I went to montessori school in 4th and 5th grades and really enjoyed it. Similar to 00:34, projects were normal and didn't phase me once I got to public middle school. As far as grammar goes, we arranged words on colored tiles that indicated the type of word. Articles were light blue, verbs were red, etc. It seems like a really simple activity, but I had a much better grasp compared to my middle school classmates. I'm sure we did other grammar-related things, but can't remember.

My mother always had to be needed, so she would tell me that I couldn't do basic tasks and "teach" me by making me watch her do it over and over again. Sometimes she would let me try and if I made one mistake, she would immediately tell me how she knew I was stupid and that I would always need her. I don't say that for a pity party, but to show that the montessori program gave me just enough independence, skills, and confidence to believe in myself. It's very possible that any teacher could have given me confidence, but seeing at 9 and 10 that I can plan my day, carry out the tasks, and do it well really shaped me.There was also a large focus in independence and the ability to really move at your own pace. If I wasn't understanding something quickly, it didn't stand out because everyone is working on something differently. I could take all of the time I needed. If I was really learning quickly, I could ask for more difficult work. It didn't depend on my classmates' speed.

My 3-year old is in a montessori program and it has been a great experience so far. He was originally in a federal daycare in DC and I do see the difference between his daycare friends and montessori friends. Similar to 02:16, my son and his M friends "host" each other. It's so cute at that age, especially when they eat. They use please and thank you, which kids learn in any environment, but they also set their table, serve each other, and then put the dishes away together. His M friends are also better about leading and following. I think this goes along with the mentoring that 02:16 mentioned. He is already "mentoring" his baby sister. They're so young now, so it's hard to really say how it will influence him down the line.

Oh, other things we did in Montessori:

1. Learn how to be "hosts" -- greet people at the door when they come to the classroom, give them a tour, offer them a snack, serve our classmates with kindness, and thank them when they serve us [I have no idea if this is part of the M curriculum, but it seems that my DD, age 5 who's been in M since 3, is learning this, too.]

2. Learn about birds and bees -- I think sometime in the equivalent of Grade 1 or 2 we read "How Babies are Made" and learned about plant and animal reproduction. The basics.

3. Dissection -- we did this ourselves, under the supervision of teachers and aides. Started with plants and progressed to a frog. Careful observation, drawings, that kind of thing.

4. Society and Community Issues -- we took on projects like World Hunger and Community Health. Sounds lofty, doesn't it. Well, one of the parents was an Anthropologist and she spearheaded some community activism. We did things like read newsletters, fund raise, look at maps for geographic context, read profiles of children from various backgrounds, that sort of thing.

5. Take responsibility for our own learning. Every day we had to write a "contract" listing the three or four activities we wanted to do that day. We'd present it to the teacher who would add two or three more, and maybe even cross out one of ours, to ensure we were getting a balance of content and process in over the days and weeks.

6. Mentor and be mentored. Classrooms were multi-age, multi-grade. Kids were up to two or three years different in age in each classroom. Same holds true for my DD's class. She started thre at 3 and will be going there throuh K: all kids in the same classroom. This means that as you grow up, you have the opportunity to mentor the younger kids coming up.

Anonymous wrote:My school used Montessori for math and sciences only and it was the perfect combo for my personality. DD is 2 and will start Montessori next week. I'm so excited!

We'll see how she'll do and go from there. Montessori is not for everyone.

How so?

My school used Montessori for math and sciences only and it was the perfect combo for my personality. DD is 2 and will start Montessori next week. I'm so excited!

We'll see how she'll do and go from there. Montessori is not for everyone.

Interesting topic. I'm curious to see what responses you get.
I didn't go to Montessori and my child is too young still, but I have been considering it for pre-schools.
My brother-in-law and his wife are both Montessori teachers and I'm intrigued by it. However, their son seems. . . sheltered? It may have more to do with their parenting than their schooling.
Anyway, as an aside, I saw a really great book at Barnes & Noble the other day called "How to Raise an Amazing Child the Montessori Way". It had some really interesting, fun things in it - activities to do at different ages to develop different skills.
I think there are some really nice skills/qualities to be taken from Montessori, but I'm not fully convinced it is a great way to go for all of one's education.

Well, I'm 42 and went to Montessori from preschool until 4th grade. What do you want to know? If it influenced my personality?

No, I don't think it did that. But it was a very comfortable and positive environment for me. I transitioned to a more traditional PS in 4th grade, and some elements--especially the social "cliques" of the school--definitely threw me. I was used to being in a school where there were no cliques, no real "best friends" (although there was, unfortunately, one kid who got picked on a lot--not proud of that).

I also really liked the relatively low levels of achievement/ability comparison at my M school. I don't really remember knowing which kid was in which reading or math level, and I don't remember thinking so and so is a smart kid, and so and so isn't. In PS, however, I felt like that information was much more public, which I think is a bad thing for kids.

One thing that I think did carry over is a comfort level with doing bigger, complicated projects. So things like writing a report using several sources; writing and putting on a puppet show; doing a science investigation or demonstration--did not freak me out. We just always did stuff like that in the upper M grades... in PS, it seemed like these projects were rare, and a "big deal" and often really slowly stepped out into little constituent parts.

What my PS had as an advantage of M was teaching certain things like science CONTENT (but not thinking) and grammar (which we never did in M, as far as I know). So the didactic, declarative information stuff... better in PS.

Looking to learn more about the personalities of the kids (and thereby parents) who chose Montessori, and how the kids went on to do in school, socially, etc.