Montessori vs preschool ?
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Topic: Montessori vs preschool ?
Posted By: julz85
Subject: Montessori vs preschool ?
Date Posted: 10 June 2011 at 4:02pm
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I am moving to the other side of town in a month so i need to find a new childcare centre for dd (she will be turning 2 the day before the move ). she has always been in a preschool environment but while on my search for childcare i noticed that there is a montessori down the road from the new house and on the way to work and as i dont really know anything about montessori i thought i might ask my fellow ob mums what your thoughts are and if you have any good/bad experiances with montessori ? dd is VERY energetic , loves talking and picks up new words and sounds very easily , she loves painting and craft and thrives in a structured environment , she is also VERY independant . ------------- http://lilypie.com">  
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Replies:
Posted By: ange221
Date Posted: 10 June 2011 at 4:44pm
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Which area of town are you moving to?
IMO Montessori wasn't suited to my DS because he was very energetic too and liked noisy play. When I visited most of the children were quiet and engaged in individual play. They all had their "own" Play spaces (carpet squares). One of the children knocked a puzzle off the shelf and proceeded to build a tower but the teacher told him off and showed him the right way to play with it and the sequence it must be played with in. Everything seemed to have to be done in a particular way with not much room for creative, imaginative play. Hope that doesn't sound too negative. ------------- http://lilypie.com">  
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Posted By: julz85
Date Posted: 10 June 2011 at 4:47pm
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Im moving over to hoonhay side of christchurch and i was looking at the airdmhor montessori in hilmorton which is in between home and work .
------------- http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: ange221
Date Posted: 10 June 2011 at 4:55pm
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My advice is to visit the preschool between morning tea and lunch so you can see how happy/engaged the children/teachers are.
Hope you find somewhere suitable. ------------- http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: julz85
Date Posted: 10 June 2011 at 5:07pm
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thanks Ange :) ------------- http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: rorylex
Date Posted: 10 June 2011 at 7:26pm
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I had my son in montessori for 1 term and pretty much saw the same thing happening as ange and I ended up pulling my son out before the end of the term because I felt it just wasnt for him. I found the teachers picked on him a bit because his speech wasnt at the right level which i had already told them b4 he started. he did enjoy the activities they did but I found it much too stuctured and felt they were forcing things on him too much he never liked being dropped off I moved him to a different centre 2mths later and he loved it.
Im not saying its not a good centre just very stuctured and for some children its too much. some kids no doubt will thrive there. ------------- Mummy to 4 boys Samuel - 18.6.05 Rory - 15.7.06 Mason - 13.06.08 Emmett - 24.01.10 Baby #5 - cooking |
Posted By: floss
Date Posted: 11 June 2011 at 2:39pm
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I have just done a paper on Montessori as part of my teaching, it depends on the child, but mainly if they like imaginery play then Montessori don't do this, they only allow children to role play real life situations so no superheros etc.
Also what the others have said about the order of doing things, Montessori believe that equipment should only be used for its intended purpose and everything must be finished and put away for moving on to the next thing. For my children I know that it wouldn't be the right choice, but deff go and check it out and see how you feel. ------------- My beautiful big girl Sienna 15.04.06 Double the trouble double the fun Noah & Lola 10/11/07 |
Posted By: choco69
Date Posted: 11 June 2011 at 4:15pm
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like Floss said Montessori philosophy is based around play is actually work - the children do have the freedom to choose what they do however there are sequences and not all centers will allow them to use the equipment however they like
definitely a good idea to go and visit the center (usually it's a good idea to visit a couple of times on different days - wet days are good) so that you get a really good feel of how they work also most montessori pre-schools only allow children from when they are 3 - so check that out too also have a read here as it will help http://www.montessori.org.nz/choosing-montessori - Montessori NZ eta: check on the costs as some are substantially more expensive than regular childcare ------------- http://lilypie.com">  
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Posted By: Isabella
Date Posted: 11 June 2011 at 4:20pm
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My younger sister went to montessori, starting when she was 2yrs old and I have to say it was incredible how switched on the wee kids were!! My sis read from a crazy early age and she has always done really well in school.
Also - one of the coffee group mums is a m teacher and she was talking about how it is a real independent style of learning where the are consequences for actions etc.. Real life stuff.. As for any type of schooling - if the teacher isnt right for your kid then it wont work as well.. So that would be an important consideration. We will be enrolling our girl in to start at 2yrs as well as I personally like the teaching style. |
Posted By: TheBabe
Date Posted: 11 June 2011 at 4:25pm
We have a local montessori preschool and its very popular amongst a particular 'set' but it really wasn't for us. They're very quiet and in my visits I didn't find them very kind to the kids. Jake is a really enthusiastic, loving kid and in the daycare we went with he often runs in and gives his teachers big hugs and tells them how happy he is to see them and they love it but I sincerely doubt that would be acceptable at montessori from what I've seen. Everything is very proper and strictly regulated. GL  ------------- Formerly 'Babe' Mama to my beautiful, busy boys Jake 01-07-2007 Tyler 20-02-2010 |
Posted By: Isabella
Date Posted: 11 June 2011 at 5:07pm
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Haha - this is really strange - Maybe my little sister was at a different type of montessori - she was/is a cheeky little terror who absolutely adored her teachers and 16 years on still keeps on touch with one of them! Maybe I should visit the one here before enrolling my baby then to make sure!
I found this link (it is obviously written by a montessori teacher so a bit biased) but you might be interested; http://www.montessori.org.nz/myths |
Posted By: Nikki
Date Posted: 11 June 2011 at 9:31pm
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I'd say definitely visit the centre Julz. I think there is a real range in how strict they are. I looked at the one near us as we thought once Jake gets to school we may need to move Morgy closer .... but I found it weird that they wouldn't let me look inside really and I had to make an appt to come back and spend a morning there without the kids. Its really education focused. I personally think Jake would love the environment (the kids are really quiet and respectful and lovely to each other and like learning ... no pushing / shoving / taking toys or yelling) and suit him, but Morgan is more like Amelia and I think she would find it more difficult! (shes more of a creative "playcentre" kinda kid!)
I didn't look at it as they had school holidays off, which didn't work with my work hours. But definitely check out all your options. ------------- DS (5yrs) and DD (3yrs) |
Posted By: scribe
Date Posted: 12 June 2011 at 10:01pm
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Do a search on here - there are lots of threads on Montessori.
Personally, I love the Montessori philosophy, but our local one is fantastic and unfortunately they do vary. For enrolment in our school it is compulsory to spend a morning observing, and I think this is really important. What we observed was quite different to what Ange saw, re:the play squares, it was definitely the exception for children to be playing alone, most of them were working with other children on the play squares, and I liked that it was older children mentoring the younger ones. However, I am a little concerned about the lack of imaginery play as my daughter is very imaginative and creative, but I love everything else about it so we'll give it a go when she turns 3 in a few months' time. Like Amelia, my DD is very independent and I love that it gives them control and responsibility for their own decisions, instead of trying to squash that independence and give control to the teacher, as the traditional model of schooling does (although I know most modern schools are moving away from that model). |
Posted By: julz85
Date Posted: 12 June 2011 at 10:40pm
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thanks everyone! after reading all these posts im still very much in two minds . The lady i spoke to on the phone would not tell me the fees, hours or much about the place at all and insisted that i come in and see for myself and observe it with Amelia so i think that is definatly going to be my best bet . this particular centre caters for 2+ but like Nikki said if it closes in holidays then it wont suit me as i work and the hours would have to suit too as well as the fees , i do not mind paying a bit more if i think it is going to be best for her but i cant afford ridiculous prices so ill go have a look this week and see if it ticks all the boxes I am not so sure about the non imginary play part of it as i really like the fact that children have such huge imaginations and can make a box into a car, a fridge, a bed or pretty much whatever they like ------------- http://lilypie.com">
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i wouldnt want to take the imagination out of AmeliaPosted By: blossombaby
Date Posted: 13 June 2011 at 1:11pm
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My 9month old has just started in a nursery montessori,
We chose it because of a few things including thinking about schooling for her .. montessori preschool = entry into the school (which we will most likely so), it was on my way to work, it was cheaper then alot of ones we looked at and we arent able to get the subsity so it mattered lol, I personally like the small 'class' they have 17 babies (7 month - 2) and 7 teachers/helpers! which i think is great! ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
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