I just had to add my .02 in here so if I go on a tirade I apologize...my son's experience at his Montessori school is what pushed us over the edge, killed his love of learning and opened our eyes to homeschooling. I agree with everyone on here 100%...it all depends on the teacher and how that teacher perceives "montessori". I have seen countless children go through Montessori and then come into my K classroom when I used to teach and I saw an absolute difference between "regular" preschooled children and Montessori children - for the better. I have friends in other states that have had outstanding experiences with Montessori programs. The clue is to find the teacher and the school that is a "true" Montessori.
So of course when it came time, we began my son at a Montessori program. Because my husband and I both had to work, he began at a Montessori school when he was 2 (they had a pre-montessori class at the montessori school that he attended). His teacher was amazing, he thrived for 1.5 years in her program....when he moved up to the 3-5 regular Montessori preschool class that is when all the stuff began to hit the fan. The first year, he was still trying to learn how to deal with his Sensory issues and kind of took a back seat to things...was very quiet. He would hardly say boo in class and then run circles at home all evening long exploring everything under the sun. The next year (his 3rd year there), he felt confident and really started to be himself in class and the teacher was completely overwhelmed...she kept trying to pigeon hole him..wouldn't allow him to move from one activity to another even though he very clearly had the activity mastered. If it wasn't done absolutely to her exact specifications (such as QUIETLY carrying his activity tray WITHOUT spilling any of the activity items off the tray)..then he was made to do it over and over again despite the fact he could do the activity. She would not allow him to move on to more complex math activities (which is his love and strength) because he could not write "properly". She swore up and down that Montessori was all about being in complete control of your body and learning how to walk slowly, handling one item at a time, completing the activity and slowly walking to put items back one at a time. Yes, self control is part of the Method but it is not the end all of it. She complained that my son was learning "too quickly" and what would she do. She purposely held back activities he was ready for and told him he couldn't do it until he was in Kindergarten. So a whole section of the class got closed off to kids unless they were delegated as K children..no matter that the child was very much BEGGING to do them.....my son became a changed person and began to hate school. We should have pulled him sooner but we kept thinking it would get better the more teacher conferences we would have explaining that Maria Montessori did NOT pigeon hole her students...if they were ready to move on, she allowed them.....he was frustrated and so were we....so we are exploring homeschooling which is going wonderfully. Please make sure to go in with a list of questions to find out if they are a true Montessori and ask how they handle it when a child is very clearly able to handle the next level of an activity even though they might not be able to write....sorry to rant..