Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Age or Ability Specific Forums Pre-school Montessori preschool experiences

I should add that Montessori would have been a disaster for my DS. He's never met an object that he couldn't repurpose in accordance with his interest du jour and doesn't take direction well. A very different personality and learning style than my DD.

As Dude mentioned, there are other Montessori threads on the site and it may be worth reading them for the personality/learner profiles of the children to see if your child fits more with those who thrived in Montessori schools or those who did not.

I have two children, one of whom would probably have been a disaster in Montessori and one whom I think would have done very well there. The one who I think would do well is a rule-follower and an adult-pleaser.

I have two kids in Montessori right now and I think Dude pretty much summed it up. This is our second year with Montessori - my DD4 is a second year Children's House and is doing very well. My DS7 is a first year lower elementary and I have posted about the issues he has been having. My son is on the higher end of the gifted spectrum and I think is struggling with many issues that have been discussed here (over excitabilities, low processing speed) in addition to perhaps the environment not being ideal for him.

I would characterize my DD4 as being very bright, perhaps even moderately gifted as the skills she has learned in Children's house exceed what a public school Kindergartener would learn. I think the Montessori method works for her.

We have had a good experience with our school - they are strictly Montessori but have been willing to work with our son to modify some of the lessons. I think it really depends on the teachers and school.

Like everyone is saying... It really depends on the school. Visit several montessori schools in your area (if you are lucky enough to have a few). What to ask & look for: lots of materials/works of varying skill sets and variety. Ask how "traditional Montessori" the school is, ect. Most Montessori teachers are very accomodating. Almost everything is explained on a 1:1 or 1:2 basis then the child is left to work on his/her own. At age 3, I tend to think Montessori is a good fit for many very intelligent kids because of the 3-6 classrooms. The concern may be what happens in that last year of "primary" (3-6 room) and that varies by school, so be sure to ask.

Again, thank you all for your replies and advice about questions to ask and what to look for during our visit. We're rather limited where we live for preschools in general, but after reading the replies, I did some more research and found a preschool that incorporates some Montessori philosophy but is not strictly Montessori. I found out this morning that one of our story time friends goes there, and her parents couldn't say enough good things about the school. So, we now have two preschool visits lined up.

Good luck with the school visits. We have a DS5 and have had a overall good experience with a Montessori. Though I think it's a particularly relaxed montessori. This year is harder than last as he's the uppermost age.

I recommend to stay as long as possible for your visits. Also you may be able to go a second time or bring your child for an accompanied visit as a way of getting a second window of observation.

Teachers are often anxious to show off the more academic portions of the day and may ask you to come at a time when you can see them "at their best" so to speak. For my DS the academics are wrong so it's really the rest of the day I most want to see. I like to find out subtler things like how long kids have to wait in a line to wash their hands, transitions. Whether when children pester the teacher if she (or he) answers them in a reasonable way or blows them off. Or how a teacher handles it when one child is rude to another. I've found one can't make any judgements at all based on handouts, philosophies, schedules etc, one has to just go and watch it in action.

For my son key features were mostly play based, a philosophy of letting kids continue with something they are working on or saving it so they can come back later, of complete freedom in craft and art projects, of flexibility in the use of materials/toys, maximal free outdoor play, of most teacher led activities being optional or available at multiple times rather than now or never.

I've never seen a preschool with enough stimulating materials. I could beat my head against a wall from the frustration of seeing preschool after preschool that has only peg puzzles, or one or two "big-kid" puzzles. But it is what it is, I've been generally unsuccessful in getting any changes made. But he likes it, bottom line.

Polly

I've had a very positive experience placing my dd3 in a Montessori school. The school is focused on complete child development, not just academics. My daughter is quite shy, so the teacher goes out of her way to make sure my daughter feels comfortable and has opportunities to make friends. My daughter was even able to perform on stage, singing a song with the rest of the class at a recent recital.

The students are also challenged to be self-sufficient, and self directed in choosing work. The work they do sometimes accomplishes a goal in an indirect way. For example, working with push-pins increases finger strength and coordination, improving penmanship.

Academically, the students are supposed to work at their own level and their own pace. My DD3 has been doing addition worksheets and spelling with the movable alphabet, which I am told most students don't do until the following year. I waited a while to see if the teacher would advance her further, but progress was slower at school than at home. Eventually I spoke up and asked the teacher to pick up the pace, and it seems that the reason for the pace was that that the teacher wanted to make sure DD had sufficient practice and exposure to the topics to form a solid foundation. Unaware that my daughter was getting additional exposure at home, the teacher was not inclined to offer additional acceleration. Once I communicated to the teacher that academically her schoolwork was review of things DD had learned at home rather than exposure to novel concepts, we saw additional advancement. I believe my daughter is now working exactly at the level she should be to be challenged and interested while maintaining confidence in her abilities. That means she is working with the kindergarteners sometimes, so I do wonder what the future holds, but right now I'm just taking things one year at a time.

The point I wanted to make is that even in an environment that is supposed to follow the child, in which the teachers are mindful and accommodating of differing levels of ability, it may take some communication to get things just right.

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Interesting to read. I've always been a big fan of Montessori, but I'm recently a bit disappointed with DS4's school (He's second year Primary.). I've been hesitant to try to enrich the academic work at home because I didn't want to interfere with the "Montessori Method", but now I'm wondering if he'd do better at home.

After $10,000 and a year and a half of daily practice with the sandpaper letters, wouldn't you think that he'd have an idea of how to form the letters, even if he wasn't perfect in execution? It's somewhat shocking how wrong his form is. (I only yesterday had him try his cursive writing at home.)

It was watching a kid use the pink tower that put me off Montessori. There are so many things the child could do and learn but they are required to it the same way each time. Other bits I like a lot of their equipment though.