Anonymous wrote:^ DEPENDS on the teacher, ugh -- killed to many brain cells last night

TOO....

^ DEPENDS on the teacher, ugh -- killed to many brain cells last night

Not to harp on the superiority of Reggio, but I've seen it benefit a wide-variety of personalities. Extroverts learn to stop and listen to others, introverts are encouraged to share and given a variety of ways in which to do it. Even children on the spectrum seem to thrive in the model since there is such an emphasis on "different" being valuable and that there are many different ways one can communicate.

I have seen the children great with adults (only-kids in particular) who are pretty sharp get a little exhausted with having to be patient while a shy and stammering friend sings through the ABCs, but I think they're learning a valuable lesson there.

I know a child personally who has THRIVED academically in a Montessori environment, but this is a kid who took it upon himself to memorize all of the state capitals by the time he was 3. He's brilliant, but I'm not sure how hard it will hit once he finds himself needing to work in a group of other children, or the direction of a boss, at some point in the future.

All of this stated, per a PP, it really matters on the teacher. Reggio is a framework that focusses more on the social-emotional education of a child, but that doesn't mean a teacher in Montessori or TOM can't excel in teaching children community respect. I'd say more than focusing on a model: immersion, Reggio, etc, it would be better to focus on the culture of the program. All of these programs can be implemented poorly.

What does the school value? What do they hope their students leave their program with?

I wish all of you the best this new year, the lottery, and parenting in general, can be a stressful time.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How old is your kid?

I ask how old because we started at Montessori very young, it was only part-time but both of my kids were in it at 2, and it wasn't so clear at the time, but in retrospect, if I knew then what I know now, it would have been easy to tell that a long-term Montessori model would probably work well for one, not so great for the other. They are now both in Reggio and find the model fits their different styles well.

My older child, who is ahead of most of his class in a reading level in first grade, is extremely distractible. He thrives where he can play out his fantasies, but he needs pretty constant reminders to stay on task. His most-focused activities appear to be the "1000 language" tasks that the Reggio model supports. A child who won't sit still for 20 minutes at home will sit for an hour in school drawing some incredibly elaborate drawings. (I'm still not sure how his teachers manage it.) I can't be positive, but my gut is that Montessori probably would[vimeo] not have ended up well for him.


If you have an 18-month-old, it might be able to tell if she's a good fit for one model already (again, I wouldn't have been able to see this at the time.) Is it difficult to pull her out of tantrums? How does she interact with her peers? Seeing hers?

Np here finding this thread helpful. Thanks for the detailed perspectives! My daughter sounds a lot like how you describe your older child, plus she is very social, particularly with adults, and not at all clingy (is that independent?) but of course she's only almost 2.5. I keep going back and forth on applying to Montessori and having trouble knowing how much attention span I could really expect of someone her age. Would love to hear additional thoughts on what personality types worked with different style programs and also how to even assess your own kid's style of play and learning.

I am the PP who commented about TOTM needing a good teacher to work well.

I notice many are saying they dislike it and/or it inhibits teacher flexibility. I have to say, our teacher is super creative and we have seen her go in all kinda of directions within this program. I stand by my original comment that the teacher makes the program. I sadly believe, however, throat many DCPS teachers don't do it well. Fortunately, ours does!

I'm glad you find that helpful. Perhaps it's because we tried Montessori first that we appreciate Reggio so much now. Regarding your concerns with the materials in Montessori, it does seem that the Montessori model has more specific lessons in mind when it sets forth the materials, but perhaps a parent/teacher with more experience could speak to that. If my older child wanted a specific "station" and another kid had it at the time, it was "go work on this one over here by yourself for a while."

Whereas, in our experience with Reggio, the conversation may go along the lines of: "What do you want to do with these materials? Oh, that's great! How does that compare to some other things we've done in the past? But, look over here, look what your friend did with the same materials, it's really different. Friend, why did you do that? What do you think of that? What are some other things we can do? Hey, What so you think would happen if we..." And THEN insert the more specific goal.m. Of course, at some point the model needs to funnel down, but PS-K it's been ideal for us, and the great thing is that it suits BOTH widely varying personalities.

I also love the history of the model: A community in post WWII Italy, who thought "well, hell, someone is doing SOMETHING wrong here" thought there might be more to education than letters and arithmetic. The community pulled together to create a model that would educate the hearts, as well as the heads of their little ones. They made delicious, healthy meals along side the kids, they used the environment as another teacher, they acknowledged and taught the children to acknowledge, that everyone brings a different value and perspective to a community, and there is always to find value in that.

My children aren't in a language immersion program but I look at it as if they're learning the language of happiness by learning to empathize, and to think critically. I can't think of a better goal.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How old is your kid?

I ask how old because we started at Montessori very young, it was only part-time but both of my kids were in it at 2, and it wasn't so clear at the time, but in retrospect, if I knew then what I know now, it would have been easy to tell that a long-term Montessori model would probably work well for one, not so great for the other. They are now both in Reggio and find the model fits their different styles well.

My older child, who is ahead of most of his class in a reading level in first grade, is extremely distractible. He thrives where he can play out his fantasies, but he needs pretty constant reminders to stay on task. His most-focused activities appear to be the "1000 language" tasks that the Reggio model supports. A child who won't sit still for 20 minutes at home will sit for an hour in school drawing some incredibly elaborate drawings. (I'm still not sure how his teachers manage it.) I can't be positive, but my gut is that Montessori probably would not have ended up well for him.

My younger child (now in PK4) doesn't seem, at this point, to have nearly as strong language skills as his brother, but is much more focused (OCD? - hopefully not) I think Montessori worked better for him and may have worked longer-term, but the Reggio model allows him to still get his perfectionist attention to detail stuff out yet it drags his introverted self into the community and also lets him know it's ok to make mistakes - in fact, sometimes mistakes are good!

If you have an 18-month-old, it might be able to tell if she's a good fit for one model already (again, I wouldn't have been able to see this at the time.) Is it difficult to pull her out of tantrums? How does she interact with her peers? Seeing how monumentally different my children are, I am convinced most of this stuff is not taught and that makes decision-making easier. (I'm going to keep telling myself that anyway

Thank you! That is very helpful. My daughter turned 2 in September, so we'll be applying for PK3 next year, but she will be the youngest in the class. She has moments when she can really concentrate on things. Relative to other kids her age, e.g., she can sit still and listen carefully for pretty long books--and she's done so for quite some time. Generally, though, she's pretty high energy, likes to move a lot, and tantrums can be long--it's definitely not easy to pull her out of them. I think they provide her with a release of energy that she really needs. The thing that worries me most about Montessori is having a "right" and "wrong" way of using the materials; she has a good imagination, so she will sometimes use things very different from how they are intended to be used. I could see a teacher intervening and showing her how to use something, and that seems potentially stifling.

I really appreciate your sharing your perspective!

Anonymous wrote:How old is your kid?

I ask how old because we started at Montessori very young, it was only part-time but both of my kids were in it at 2, and it wasn't so clear at the time, but in retrospect, if I knew then what I know now, it would have been easy to tell that a long-term Montessori model would probably work well for one, not so great for the other. They are now both in Reggio and find the model fits their different styles well.

My older child, who is ahead of most of his class in a reading level in first grade, is extremely distractible. He thrives where he can play out his fantasies, but he needs pretty constant reminders to stay on task. His most-focused activities appear to be the "1000 language" tasks that the Reggio model supports. A child who won't sit still for 20 minutes at home will sit for an hour in school drawing some incredibly elaborate drawings. (I'm still not sure how his teachers manage it.) I can't be positive, but my gut is that Montessori probably would not have ended up well for him.

My younger child (now in PK4) doesn't seem, at this point, to have nearly as strong language skills as his brother, but is much more focused (OCD? - hopefully not) I think Montessori worked better for him and may have worked longer-term, but the Reggio model allows him to still get his perfectionist attention to detail stuff out yet it drags his introverted self into the community and also lets him know it's ok to make mistakes - in fact, sometimes mistakes are good!

If you have an 18-month-old, it might be able to tell if she's a good fit for one model already (again, I wouldn't have been able to see this at the time.) Is it difficult to pull her out of tantrums? How does she interact with her peers? Seeing how monumentally different my children are, I am convinced most of this stuff is not taught and that makes decision-making easier. (I'm going to keep telling myself that anyway

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here - thought I would share this. Today, I met a mom who sent her kid to Montessori through 6th grade and definitely agreed that it works for some kids, not others. She suggested that it works best for kids who are generally independent and inclined to do work on their own. It is great at meeting all kids where they are, using different methods to reach kids who learn in different ways. On the other hand, this made me suspect that kids who thrive in a more group situation (or perhaps who are already independent and need to be encouraged to work with others in groups) would do better in a different environment.

The frustrating part of this process for me is trying to figure out what kind of program will work for my kid when she is 2, knowing that switching programs gets a lot harder in later years in DCPS/charters.

Totally agree. Please don't apply to LAMB.

NP, how is this response helpful to the PP? Information will help her make an informed decision so she is less likely to ditch out on lamb and waste the spot.

Agree. Bizarre and non-helpful response.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here - thought I would share this. Today, I met a mom who sent her kid to Montessori through 6th grade and definitely agreed that it works for some kids, not others. She suggested that it works best for kids who are generally independent and inclined to do work on their own. It is great at meeting all kids where they are, using different methods to reach kids who learn in different ways. On the other hand, this made me suspect that kids who thrive in a more group situation (or perhaps who are already independent and need to be encouraged to work with others in groups) would do better in a different environment.

The frustrating part of this process for me is trying to figure out what kind of program will work for my kid when she is 2, knowing that switching programs gets a lot harder in later years in DCPS/charters.

Totally agree. Please don't apply to LAMB.

NP, how is this response helpful to the PP? Information will help her make an informed decision so she is less likely to ditch out on lamb and waste the spot.

Anonymous wrote:OP here - thought I would share this. Today, I met a mom who sent her kid to Montessori through 6th grade and definitely agreed that it works for some kids, not others. She suggested that it works best for kids who are generally independent and inclined to do work on their own. It is great at meeting all kids where they are, using different methods to reach kids who learn in different ways. On the other hand, this made me suspect that kids who thrive in a more group situation (or perhaps who are already independent and need to be encouraged to work with others in groups) would do better in a different environment.

The frustrating part of this process for me is trying to figure out what kind of program will work for my kid when she is 2, knowing that switching programs gets a lot harder in later years in DCPS/charters.

Totally agree. Please don't apply to LAMB.

How old is your kid?

OP here - thought I would share this. Today, I met a mom who sent her kid to Montessori through 6th grade and definitely agreed that it works for some kids, not others. She suggested that it works best for kids who are generally independent and inclined to do work on their own. It is great at meeting all kids where they are, using different methods to reach kids who learn in different ways. On the other hand, this made me suspect that kids who thrive in a more group situation (or perhaps who are already independent and need to be encouraged to work with others in groups) would do better in a different environment.

The frustrating part of this process for me is trying to figure out what kind of program will work for my kid when she is 2, knowing that switching programs gets a lot harder in later years in DCPS/charters.

I'd be interested in this as well... But could it be the people who are implementing?

Anonymous wrote:Tools of the Mind feels like crap to me. My DC is in a Tools class and I wish I had known more before committing my child. Why would DCPS commit so many schools to this program.

OP here. I would love to hear about your child's experience with the program. We are considering applying to 2 TOTM schools right now. What don't you like about it? What do you wish you had known?