What you mention about working at their own pace is what actually gives me concern. I mean, she is only two, but at the same time, I could see how they would be working with her individually, and not use her abilities comparably. In our montessori school/daycare, the ages are not mingled. She is in the 2s classroom and another child has to age out of the 3s room before she can move in, and they do it by age order, not by ability. which frustrates me. They say they curriculum is the "same", but I think her being exposed to kids that are her peers would be beneficial for her. Like her teacher says, she is very smart. but she also, I doubt, is being given much room to grow.
Is the teacher bringing materials from older age rooms into her classroom once she's mastered those in the 2s? Our son's teachers did that regularly. They were always bringing in new-to-him materials. I don't know that anyone there every called him gifted, but the head of school did tell us several times that he was amazingly smart.
As with any school, experiences vary considerably between Montessori schools. We had a 95% awesome experience with one our ODS (DYSnow ) attended for nearly four years (age 2-K). He flourished there. The teachers knew he could handle more advanced materials and made sure he had exposure to them. In particular, the math manipulatives worked very well for him.
We visited two Montessori schools in our new town and were far less impressed with them.
