Anonymous wrote:My experience is that Montessori works for every child (if done well) but it doesn't necessarily work for every parent.

The kids LOVE my child's Montessori classroom. They are thrilled to be there and they are learning a lot, from developing fine motor skills (from things like wiping tables and polishing), learning letters, understanding (truly understanding) math concepts and doing lots of things that are FUN. The older kids help the younger kids. the younger kids look up to the older kids.

But for the parents who aren't truly familiar with this form of teaching it's HARD. (For us too). Some of us have had trouble just accepting that our young kids are learning and enjoying school because parents aren't part of the classroom (it's the children's space) and we don't get daily feedback. We just have to trust. Others have focused on the fact that it takes a while for new activities to be introduced, particularly at the beginning of the year.

Anonymous wrote:Our son is (or definitely was, at 3 - he's come out of his shell a bit now and some of his speech delays have been addressed) a lot like you describe your son. We felt the Montessori's we visited near our house were not a good fit at all for him. He went to a play/reggio preschool and has loved it. The emphasis on social interaction and giving children lots of opportunities to participate, lead, and contribute within the group, emphasis on collaboration, and small class sizes have benefitted him a lot. All Montessori's apply their principles a little differently, so some might have some of these more play-based features incorporated in to their program. The ones we looked at may have been good at instilling confidence in the sense of "look, I can accomplish this puzzle/work/reading" but my son actually did have that kind of internal confidence -- he was just shy and unsure of himself when he was around larger groups of kids and needed lots of opportunities to interact socially in an environment he felt safe in. And good, experienced teachers talented at getting kids to come of their shells and engage fully are probably the key no matter what type of program. I agree w/ PP that you should trust your gut - you know your kid best.

Anonymous wrote:OP here - 15:55, your child sounds EXACTLY like mine. Would you be willing to share your child's school?

Anonymous wrote:Kids have to take turns in regular classrooms, too; this is not some spectacular feature of Montessori. And the flip side of it is that kids hear the word 'no' about a hundred times a day: no, you can't do that puzzle work because you haven't gotten a lesson in the other puzzle work first. No, you can't use the pink blocks to build a rocket ship, only to demonstrate your understanding of how to build a graduated tower. Far from the unstructured image many people have of Montessori, it is actually a VERY structured environment, with a *lot* of rules. Since every object in the room has a ritual purpose and can only be used for that purpose alone, there is very, very little in the way of creative or imaginative room to roam.

Also, at least in my experience, the mixed age ideal of older kids helping younger ones didn't pan out at all. Because the older kids can do things the younger ones aren't allowed to, your younger child may be frustrated to see so many activities off limits. Also, my younger child was picked on a lot by the older kids she gravitated toward; they called her a baby and she felt left out and unhappy a lot.

Anonymous wrote:No and it's a crock of shit. Something non religious (no rental discount) to justify the higher costs and make you feel better/

Anonymous wrote:Kids have to take turns in regular classrooms, too; this is not some spectacular feature of Montessori. And the flip side of it is that kids hear the word 'no' about a hundred times a day: no, you can't do that puzzle work because you haven't gotten a lesson in the other puzzle work first. No, you can't use the pink blocks to build a rocket ship, only to demonstrate your understanding of how to build a graduated tower. Far from the unstructured image many people have of Montessori, it is actually a VERY structured environment, with a *lot* of rules. Since every object in the room has a ritual purpose and can only be used for that purpose alone, there is very, very little in the way of creative or imaginative room to roam.

Also, at least in my experience, the mixed age ideal of older kids helping younger ones didn't pan out at all. Because the older kids can do things the younger ones aren't allowed to, your younger child may be frustrated to see so many activities off limits. Also, my younger child was picked on a lot by the older kids she gravitated toward; they called her a baby and she felt left out and unhappy a lot.