We used a lot of Montessori methods with my DD when she was ~2-4. I love the philosophy, myself. The local Montessori schools were more Waldorf-ey than Montessori, however, and it was crystal clear that they were not the right places for DD.
Unfortunately, as a few others have noted, Montessori isn't always a good fit for some gifted kids. A lot depends on the exact details of the individual classroom teacher's philosophy.
Mine seemed to
always know how to think symbolically, which translated into a loathing and utter bewilderment regarding manipulative items. She also has sensory issues and loathes anything sticky, scratchy, or messy to touch. Her earliest learning profile with her school lists her learning style as "ANTI-tactile." LOL. That's no exaggeration, actually. She didn't want to write in sand. She didn't want to play in water. In fact, getting a drop of water anywhere on her clothing was a guarantee that she would strip the offending articles immediately. Let's just say that doing a handbuilding pottery class with my then 3 yo was a disaster, and I hope she'll forgive me by the time she's 18.
She refused to trace sandpaper letters with her fingers and thought that the sight-word cards were just weird. She didn't WANT 'instruction' from anyone in the first place, and she certainly didn't want to be prevented from actually doing what she could see perfectly well how to do... so the entire philosophy of "introduce, demonstrate, let child do" didn't always work out as planned with her, and even if it did, she was certainly not going to do the same activity more than a time or two before she moved on to something more compelling-- unless there was something more in it for her than learning.
I'm also laughing at the description of a child 'choosing' activities for their social value. This is
precisely how my DD has always approached Montessori environments, and it was exactly what she did with childcare settings, too.
