Montessori pre-school.

[notwonamesalike]

Hi there!

We're a Waldorf inspired family - I have a 2.5 year old. I'm thinking that for education purposes we might be a better fit in a Montessori environment.

I've heard from locals that if you don't get your children into a Montessori pre-school you'll have difficulty getting them into kindergarten and grade school. Can anyone address this for me? I'm wondering if there is some sort of truth to their statements. Should I be looking to enroll my son in pre-school soon?

Thanks!

[MattBronsil]

Originally Posted by notwonamesalike

Hi there!

We're a Waldorf inspired family - I have a 2.5 year old. I'm thinking that for education purposes we might be a better fit in a Montessori environment.

I've heard from locals that if you don't get your children into a Montessori pre-school you'll have difficulty getting them into kindergarten and grade school. Can anyone address this for me? I'm wondering if there is some sort of truth to their statements. Should I be looking to enroll my son in pre-school soon?

Thanks!

It depends entirely on the school itself. Schools have different rules regarding that. You'll have to talk to the schools in your area and see what their policy is.

[lach]

As Matt said, it really depends on the school.

Many Montessori schools are only preschools, and when people talk about Montessori, I think they are usually talking about the class for kids aged 3-5. However, many Montessori private schools do go beyond that, and I've heard of public Montessori schools, which I assume don't even start until Kindergarten.

A traditional Montessori classroom contains 3, 4, and 5 year olds. Since an important part of the program is cooperative learning and teaching, with the older kids teaching the younger ones, I would assume that most classes with this setup do not accept all that many new 5 year olds, who would be kindergartners. It's important for the older kids to already be very familiar with the classroom and the work for them to be able to help the younger kids. If the schools near you are of this setup, then yes you should probably start looking into it sooner than later.

However, Montessori schools are all different, and your best bet is to contact the Montessori schools in your area and find out what ages they accept, what their classroom setup is like, and just ask how many students they accept in what grade.

[Lillianna]

Ditto pp.
Since the child stays in the Children's House for 3 years, there are not many openings for 5 year olds. Similarily, a small percentage leave at 1st grade, but at many well-established schools, the 1st grade classes are full of children who have been there previously. There are always a few openings but not like starting a new full class each year.
The lessons for a child at the age of 3 develop the ability to concentrate, develop coordination and encourage independence of all which add to the boosting of self-confidence. Also, there are many ways that the work done in the 1st year are preparing for lessons in the 2nd and 3rd year.
We call it the "3-year-cycle" or "3 year age span" as an important feature of Montessori...one that elicits admiration from the youngest members and gives the oldest children the opportunity to share what they have learned.
Good luck!