Montessori is about choice...a child may chose to eat alone...they are not spoon fed...some students are so engaged that they forget to even have snack...This happed to my daughter often.
She had to learn that if she didn't want to feel hungry, she needed to eat. She had to decide if she wanted to wait for a friend or eat by herself. She chose everything..She chose how to spend her time.
If the teacher thought she was making poor choices she would narrow them down for her....she rarely made pour choices...She often chose things to work on that I thought were not challenging, but she was working on what she wanted to become and expert at. When she felt she had mastered something she would move on....not because time was up...not becuase she had to because the rest of the class was moving on, but because she felt she had mastered it.
My daughter was way above grade level when she transferred to public..and she has very good executive funtioning skills. She knows how to use her time and thinks for herself. She often wonders why there are so many meaningless things in her day at public school.
The teachers are highly trained to guide your children to learn to help themselves so that they do not have to relly on other people for their happiness...:)
