Montessori education

[baby09]

I teach in a Montessori nursery it's great!

 

[Lu28]

Sorry for being dim but what is montessori exactly? Is it instead of primary school or before primary?

 

[mummypeanut]

Sorry for being dim but what is montessori exactly? Is it instead of primary school or before primary?

Its an education style invented by a woman with the name montessori. You can go to montessori schools at any age from nursery all the way through to secondary school but they tend to be independant to the state school system.

The education style is more child lead, there is more of an emphasis on children learning to be independant and to encourage learning through interest rather than curriculumn (though of course the schools in this country still have to follow the governments lead on what has to be taught)

At the nursery we went to see all the activities were on low shelves so the children can help themselves, teachers engage with them on thier chosen activitiy- kiddies are encouraged to choose and activity, follow it through and then pack it away rather than being given activities and timetables.

The activities they had out were based on montessori principals which seems to encourage improving manual dexterity with young children and sensory learning (like sand paper letters which the children can 'feel' as theyre learning the sound of the letter so they learn to shape the letter with thier finger at the same time as sounding it out - i think it probably benfitis visual and 'active' learners)

I dont really know too much about it - but thats what ive gleamed! If you want more info this is a much better explanation https://www.montessori-uk.org/whatis.htm

 

[T-Bex]

I went until I was 5, and I loved it. Things I remember were playing on this 'dinosaur timeline' mat, and I developed this absolute obsession with dinosaurs, and was determined to become a paeoleontologist! Yup; loved it, and if we have enough money coming in (OH is going into teacher training, so I hope we will), then I'm hoping was can get Bethan into one.

 

[CeliaM]

I sent my son to Montessori for a couple months before I took him out and homeschooled him. He didn't like it. I think had I started him there earliers without going to a more tradtional preschool, he might have been alright with it. Too bad, because I do agree with it in theory (obviously, or I wouldn't have put him there!). Anyways, I say it's worth a go to try it first. If your child thrives there, great. But making the move there after trying somewhere else might be trickier!

 

[insomnimama]

I went to Montessori as a child and don't remember having any issues with it (and had sort of vague fond memories of certain activities).

BUT we put our son in it. He was a late talker and is now showing some signs of dyslexia and it was a terrible place for him.

The way the teachers interpreted the curriculum was that every activity had to be done in a certain order. If you didn't "use the materials" (montessori children don't "play") in the prescribed order and in the prescribed way they were taken away from you. So for example when my son left his individual table and went to play imaginitively with what he considered to be "toys" with a friend at another table, he had materials taken away from him, and was eventually sent to time out. Same with when he went to go talk to his little friends during the morning "individual work." Nap time was of a ridiculous length (something like an hour and a half and he hadn't napped since eighteen mos) and he was not allowed to do anything but lie on his mat. Eventually he became so frustrated from all the time outs that he would spend naptime crying and they kicked him out of nursery for this. (I only found out when I asked- in fact they gave me written notice in his cubby which I opened in front of him. I had no warning whatsoever and was "informed" that he would be starting their regular program at another location in two weeks (in a class that was far too large, noisy, and disorganized).

I had to hold meetings with the Director of the whole group of centers to tell them that this was completely inappropriate and wound up putting him half-time in a smaller bilingual class until a full time spot opened up in that class later in the month.

I would second what others have said- go and observe for a whole day, both structured & unstructured time. Ask them about their philosophy re: using materials creatively & talking with others.

At this point I would only recommend it for a very few children- it really isn't appropriate for the average child and for kids who have learning disabilities it can be confounding and traumatizing.

 

[mummypeanut]

I went to Montessori as a child and don't remember having any issues with it (and had sort of vague fond memories of certain activities).

BUT we put our son in it. He was a late talker and is now showing some signs of dyslexia and it was a terrible place for him.

The way the teachers interpreted the curriculum was that every activity had to be done in a certain order. If you didn't "use the materials" (montessori children don't "play") in the prescribed order and in the prescribed way they were taken away from you. So for example when my son left his individual table and went to play imaginitively with what he considered to be "toys" with a friend at another table, he had materials taken away from him, and was eventually sent to time out. Same with when he went to go talk to his little friends during the morning "individual work." Nap time was of a ridiculous length (something like an hour and a half and he hadn't napped since eighteen mos) and he was not allowed to do anything but lie on his mat. Eventually he became so frustrated from all the time outs that he would spend naptime crying and they kicked him out of nursery for this. (I only found out when I asked- in fact they gave me written notice in his cubby which I opened in front of him. I had no warning whatsoever and was "informed" that he would be starting their regular program at another location in two weeks (in a class that was far too large, noisy, and disorganized).

I had to hold meetings with the Director of the whole group of centers to tell them that this was completely inappropriate and wound up putting him half-time in a smaller bilingual class until a full time spot opened up in that class later in the month.

I would second what others have said- go and observe for a whole day, both structured & unstructured time. Ask them about their philosophy re: using materials creatively & talking with others.

At this point I would only recommend it for a very few children- it really isn't appropriate for the average child and for kids who have learning disabilities it can be confounding and traumatizing.

thanks for the feedback and sorry u had such a rough time. Im dyslexic and had similar problems in my 'normal nursery'. We're gonna try and keep a close eye on how things go...its such a shame children are still having this kinda educational experience years on!