Montessori Schools???

[tiredmum]

dd2 attended a montessori nursery a few mornings a week from 1 year till nearly 4.

She loved it and struggled with the loss when she left.

It seemed to be driven by learning activites via play and led alot by the children.

Independence was well fostered and dd2 thrived with this concept and it stayed with her through out school.

[zvrk]

I work in 'normal' pre-school and all our activities are child led.

I have been to one Montessori run nursery recently and have seen children being taken away from whatever they were doing to do set activities/ snacks/ play in the garden.

sherry_d ,you have to look for yourself and take your son with you (they should let you have a trial session) and see how he likes it. Ask lots of questions. and open your eyes.

[hermanmunster]

I think montessori schools are generally part of a franchise, they can vary hugely.

There was a montessori nursery / pre prep level school near where I lived at one time. Problems were the personalities of those running the place - it rapidly went downhill, I am sure it was not typical but shows you need to judge the individual school not the name of the organisation.

[Sally-Anne]

There is good Montessori and bad Montessori, and we have seen both.

At his Montessori nursery DS1 was allowed to do exactly what he wanted and if he chose not to engage with the central activity he was just left to get on with it. A waste of money, he learned nothing and was socially isolated within the group.

DS2 went to a different nursery and although the education was still "child led", there was every encouragement to make sure that a child used their time profitably, had fun and learned through play. It was an incredibly happy time of his life and he still looks back on it with a misty eye!

Go and see it in action, as others have advised. If they won't let you sit in on a session, you should be walking away.

[sherry_d]

Thank you all, KentandSussexboarder your experience is similar to what I understood about how the place is run. I have been to other preschools in my area but this was very calm. I still have to go in again and have another look. My other concern was how well they would fit in the main stream school but it seems they cope just fine.

My son is a bit immature for his age but we still have 2more years before he starts school so will see how things go. My daughter had a terrible time in reception and it was the worst school year she had. She was coming from a nursery where she was happily settled full time for a year before starting school but she didnt settle in school until Year 1. It was a very tough year and when she got into Year 1 all the problems dissapeared so I am not so keen on my son starting school at 4 now but would like him to go straight into year 1. If the Montessori works out, he could stay there until 5 and its good that his place will be kept till he is 5.

The word Montessori isnt trademarked so anyone can use it. Most are privately run but because they have the word Montessori they may seem like a Franchise. The one I am interested in is privately run.

Sally Anne did your DS2 go to a Montessori nursery or was it just a normal one?

[Sally-Anne]

It was also a Montessori nursery, and the two could not have been more different in every way. It was a leap of faith to put DS2 into a Montessori after our experience with DS1, but it was the best decision I have ever made. The teaching was simply inspired.

[doodles]

Hi Sherry. I think you need to go and see the nurseries that you are interested in and disregared whether they are Montessori or not. There are nurseries of every type and you need to find one that suits your child. I work in a non-Montessori nursery and we certainly react to the children and what they want to do.

The other thing you need to consider is whether your DS will have peers with him if you leave him at Nursery through the Reception Yr. The little tinies that come to us from 2 1/2 are very different from the children that leave to go to school. You may find that by the time he is in that pre-school year he is ready to go to school, if he isn't then will he be the only one there or will there be other children who are also missing Reception Yr at Primary School.

I think you really need to go with the flow and make these decisions nearer the time depending on how your child develops.

[kentsussexborder]

Montessori is a pedagogy or method of instruction developed by Maria Montessori. It is not a franchise. There are differing levels of adhesion to the principles of Montessori - some Montessori schools are more Montessori than others. There is an accreditation available under the Montessori Education (UK) banner and it might be an idea to ask the nursery if they have this.

I'd agree that the best way of seeing if the nursery suits or doesn't is to see it in action. I have had only positive experiences but it was an accredited nursery with an oustanding OFSTED and excellent staff. I would say that, as with all nursery schools, it depends on the staff and how they apply the teaching methods they use that counts.

My other concern was how well they would fit in the main stream school but it seems they cope just fine.

At my DD's old primary there were several children a year who had passed through the Montessori system. None of them seemed to have had any issues in adjusting to life in a mainstream school.

[ian35mm]

Again, in the true nature of this forum, opinion trumps information.

Their is a wealth of material on Montessori schools. You just have to bother to look it up!

The Montessori method is an approach to educating children based on the research and experiences of Italian physician and educator Maria Montessori (1870–1952). It arose essentially from Dr. Montessori's discovery of what she referred to as "the child's true normal nature" in 1907,[1] which happened in the process of her experimental observation of young children given freedom in an environment prepared with materials designed for their self-directed learning activity.[2] The method itself aims to duplicate this experimental observation of children to bring about, sustain and support their true natural way of being.[3]

Applying this method involves the teacher in viewing the child as having an inner natural guidance for his or her own perfect self-directed development.[4] The role of the teacher (sometimes called director, directress, or guide) is therefore to watch over the environment to remove any obstacles that would interfere with this natural development. The teacher's role of observation sometimes includes experimental interactions with children, commonly referred to as "lessons," to resolve misbehavior or to show how to use the various self-teaching materials that are provided in the environment for the children's free use.[5]

The method is primarily applied with young children (2–6), due to the young child's unique instincts and sensitivity to conditions in the environment.[6] However, it is sometimes conducted with elementary age (6–12) children and occasionally with infants and toddlers, as well as at the middle and high school level.[7][8]

Although the Montessori name is recognized by many, it is not a trademark, and it is associated with more than one organization. Schools differ in their interpretation, practical application, and philosophy in using this method with children.

Wikipedia!

As has been said, this is NOT a franchise!

[Amber]

Again, in the true nature of this forum, opinion trumps information.

I suppose many users of a forum might feel that it was the mix of information and opinion which made that forum attractive. After all, one can use an encyclopaedia if all one is seeking is information. Perhaps some people feel occasionally that they would like the opinions of others to help them consider an issue or a problem. For those who are comfortable that they have all the answers already, I suppose this would be less important.

Luckily, there is usually someone with all the information to hand who can come along and put the rest of us right while we exchange uninformed opinions.

Of course, no teacher would ever advise students to use Wikipedia, unregulated and therefore prone to inaccuracies, and God forbid! - opinions, as it is.