I live in Hong Kong where Montessori schools are scarce. With the limited choices I have, I have gone to a 60-hour training class by an AMS instructor. My daughter, who will be 3 in May, started with a once-a-week playgroup at a Montessori center since 18 months. She began going to a Montessori center 5 days a week (not really a school) since last October when she was 2 years and 4 months.
The limited number of centers/schools here seem to be all AMI (including the one my daughter goes to now). My instructor is the only AMS-qualified person/center I know of. I recently talked to her about my daughter who was in her once-a-week "toddler" class for half a year. Her observation of my daughter bascially conincides with my own. If we divide people into two main groups - science/math/engineering and liberal arts, my daughter certainly belongs to the latter. My instructor feels that Montessori, for older kids, is a structured way of learning, with strong emphasis on logic, math and science. Under AMS instruction where more freedom is allowed when handling the montessori tools, my daughter may still blossom. But AMI tends to be more rigid which may even discourage my daughter. She feels that my daughter is more suitable for the Waldorf or Reggio type of school.
I went home and talked to my husband. His reaction is: I have never heard that a child is not suitable for Montessori!
Can anyone share their experiences?
The limited number of centers/schools here seem to be all AMI (including the one my daughter goes to now). My instructor is the only AMS-qualified person/center I know of. I recently talked to her about my daughter who was in her once-a-week "toddler" class for half a year. Her observation of my daughter bascially conincides with my own. If we divide people into two main groups - science/math/engineering and liberal arts, my daughter certainly belongs to the latter. My instructor feels that Montessori, for older kids, is a structured way of learning, with strong emphasis on logic, math and science. Under AMS instruction where more freedom is allowed when handling the montessori tools, my daughter may still blossom. But AMI tends to be more rigid which may even discourage my daughter. She feels that my daughter is more suitable for the Waldorf or Reggio type of school.
I went home and talked to my husband. His reaction is: I have never heard that a child is not suitable for Montessori!
Can anyone share their experiences?
