Hmm ... well, ds6 (who is HG+) had a *great* Montessori experience.
We moved him from playbased daycare (it wasn't *really* preschool, we needed all-day care) to Montessori when he was 4y3m. It was becoming clear to us that he wasn't happy at his play-based center. He was already reading well and was starting in on the math; he seemed bored with the kids and bored with the available toys.
Let me preface this with the fact that the Montessori Early Childhood program he attended (ages 3-6, mixed age group) is a Montessori training college -- they are "good" Montessorians.
He really blossomed at Montessori. He entered reading fairly well (he was big into Captain Underpants at the time), so the reading wasn't as noticeable. But his math in particular took off, not really as a result of particular instruction but because he was able to explore manipulatives. OTOH, he *was* exposed to money and place value, ideas I wouldn't have thought to teach him. Before he turned 5 he was accurately counting large piles of change.
No, they didn't know how GT he was -- but for that matter, neither did I. His teacher was floored one naptime toward the beginning of the year; Ds-then-4 was meant to be napping, and his favorite teacher was sitting next to him with her laptop, working on write-ups for parent-teacher conferences. She heard him whispering quietly, and realized he was reading the words as she was typing them!
I think after that they had some idea that he was pretty bright, and they did work to keep him stimulated.
The nice thing about Montessori, when done right, is that so many of the materials are open-ended and the child can differentiate for herself, to a point. The language lessons and the math are easier to take to a deeper level, especially with a skilled and in-tune teacher.
The other nice thing is the self-help skills. As a pampered only child, ds never had to do much for himself -- it was faster for me to put on his shoes, coat, etc, so I just always did! Montessori places a heavy emphasis on self-help and self-care skills; these were great for ds.
Overall, it was great for us. Ds liked his time there, and we were happy with it. Yes, the classroom was quiet and orderly, but not in a bad way -- the kids were all just busy and engaged! It is amazing to see a Montessori classroom in action -- as long as it's not of the Stepford variety.
The kids are all active and engaged and really enjoying the learning process.
Go in and observe!
