I haven't read all the replies here, so please excuse me if I repeat what others have said. Any school can use the name Montessori, so individual schools may vary quite a bit. I checked out three Montessori schools when it was time for my son to attend preschool, and each was quite different. We chose the most traditional Montessori school, which was basically a one room school house for kids 3-6. My son was 3.5 when he started, and his abilities were recognized early on. The directress had him working with the kindergarten students, and she brought in things like a 4th grade history text for him to read. He was gloriously happy for the first year, but the following year he was miserable. He'd outgrown much of the curriculum and the older kids who he'd worked with had all graduated. He was told to work alone as there weren't any kids near his ability level. He is a social kid and this caused him great frustration. He started getting in trouble for wandering around the classroom and "helping" other kids with their work. After three months, we pulled him out to homeschool.
Montessori can be great for a gifted kid, but a lot depends upon the flexibility of the staff.
good luck!
