Montessori and Waldorf, the best of both worlds?

[Mirzam]

Is it possible to do?

My DS will be attending a new comtemplative elementary school next year. He will be in a mixed age classroom of 15 1st and 2nd graders with two teachers one is a certified Montessori teacher (24 years experience) and the other is a Waldorf elementary teacher (25 years experience), the unifying factor is the comtemplative nature of the educational experience. The teachers have told me they don't always see eye to eye on their approach but they feel they can offer the children what is missing from each model. Obviously it is does not and cannot offer pure forms of either one tradition, but it seems an interesting approach. Anyway, we love the school and the teachers are amazing as educators and human beings so we are pumped, so I guess that is all that matters in the end. I have observed in the school but I still haven't completely come to grasp how this is going to work. But I am going with my gut here because it really does seem to be the ideal school for my "comtemplative" 6 year old.

[lauren]

Wow that does sound interesting. From what I have learned it is hard to fathom both operating in the same classroom, due to the Waldorf focus on imagination and fantasy and the Montessori focus on 'work' in the form of playing with the toys in a very specific way to gain mastery. I wonder if the day will be split into sections, one part for more imaginative, dreamy play and the other for focused 'work.'

Let us know how it plays out. I would be interested to hear the teachers articulate what their differences are, and how they intend to deal with that in the classroom.

[Mirzam]

I will be interested as to how it works out too. Right now as I understand it the the "Montessori" teacher is teaching 1st grade and the "Waldorf" teacher is teaching kindergarten and they both work together with the children and also seperately with the two "classes". Next year when they add 2nd grade the kindergarten will have a different teacher and the current two teachers will move on so to speak. My DS will be entering as a 1st grader.

We will be having several playdates for the children to get together before the school year starts, so I will have more opportunity to discuss this with the teachers to get a better handle on things.

I don't know that much about the Montessori philosophy, I am much more of a "Waldorf" parent, but from what little I have read about Montessori, the rhythm of the day at the school seems to be leaning towards more of a Montessori approach, but with the Waldorf stories and circle time at the beginning and end of the day. I know they have a specific story each week and by Friday the children act it out themselves. The classrooms look like a mix of Montessori and Waldorf items which is interesting!

I will be sure to keep you update, we are so excited about the school. It will be incorporating martial arts, and other comtemplative practices into the day which I think is so neat. The child are also taught Spanish and Chinese language and caligraphy.

[raksmama]

Sounds very interesting!
I am a former Waldorf, now a Montessori parent.
There are things I like about both, but Montessori works better for my son (who is now almost 8). I like all the natural materials in Waldorf as well as the way they incorporate art and music in almost all the subjects. However all the unstructured free play in Waldorf was not good for my son, it made him really wild. He has really calmed down and become more focused after going to a Montessori school for a year now. It is a much more structured environment. The Waldorf people would say rigid, but in many ways Waldorf is more rigid. In Montessori if a child does not want to do a certain activity he does not have to, as long as he does another one. Montessori learning is child led. In Waldorf the children are all expected to do the same activity at once except during playtime and my son never really liked allot of the activities they did. In the Waldorf elementary class my son also had a hard time focusing in the class of almost 20 children where they all had to sit in rows of desks with the teacher in the front. There was just too much distraction and my son was certainly not the only child who found it difficult to focus in this environment. In Montessori they usually sit at small tables with only 2 or 3 children maximum sitting with them. He can focus much better this way. There is no copying off the blackboard like they do in Waldorf, which is also hard for some children.
On the other hand I am disappointed with my sons new Montessori school because there is no music or Art. His old Montessori school (we had to change because we moved) at least had art and music once a week.

So I am really curious how this mixture of Montessori and Waldorf would work.
Are they doing Montessori seating arrangements or Waldorf? And in Waldorf they are against children reading before first grade and in Montessori they encourage it. How does this school do it?
I hope the two teachers are open minded and are able to see the good of the other system as well as the potential weak points of their own system. Please Keep us updated!

[Mirzam]

Right now the desks are Waldorf style but that is only because the room the current 1st grade class is in is so small that is the only way they can physically put 12 desks in there. For next year when my DS will be attending they are moving to a larger room so I think the desk arrangement will be different. They do have a blackboard in the class room, intestingly the Montessori teacher is the one that gives the morning lesson to the 1st graders!

They are not against reading in the kindergarten and do introduce literacy to the children. On the whole the materials are probably more Waldorf than Montessori I think.

To give you some idea of the rhythm of the day this year, not sure how this will change next year if at all. Here is what a typical day looks like:

8.30 - 8.50 Entry (outside)
8.50 - 9.20 Morning walk/large movement
9.20 - 9.45 Morning circle
9.45 - 11.15 Kindergarten/1st grade lesson
10.30 - 12.20 World languages (Spanish Mon/Weds/Fri, Chinese Tues/ Thurs)
11.15 - 12.30 Unfettered time (this includes snack the children can eat when they want to)
12.30 - 1.00 Weekly story
1.00 - 1.30 Lunch
1.30 - 2.20 Afternoon activities (includes out door play), these activies come from each domain of learning (here's where the comteplative philosophy of the school comes in -- I could go into the domains if you are interested)
1.30 to 1.50 Silent time during afteroon activities (this is an excercise of being with oneself in a group setting)
1.50 - 2.20 Continuation of afternoon activities
2.20 - 2.40 Chores and clean-up
2.40 - 3.00 Afternoon snack and closing circle

The school is not claiming to be a Waldorf/Montessori mix, but the teachers are extremely experienced educators in both of the disciplines and obviously are heavily influenced by them.

[raksmama]

Originally Posted by uccomama

They are not against reading in the kindergarten and do introduce literacy to the children. On the whole the materials are probably more Waldorf than Montessori I think.
To give you some idea of the rhythm of the day this year, not sure how this will change next year if at all. Here is what a typical day looks like:
8.30 - 8.50 Entry (outside)
8.50 - 9.20 Morning walk/large movement
9.20 - 9.45 Morning circle
9.45 - 11.15 Kindergarten/1st grade lesson
10.30 - 12.20 World languages (Spanish Mon/Weds/Fri, Chinese Tues/ Thurs)
11.15 - 12.30 Unfettered time (this includes snack the children can eat when they want to)
12.30 - 1.00 Weekly story
1.00 - 1.30 Lunch
1.30 - 2.20 Afternoon activities (includes out door play), these activies come from each domain of learning (here's where the comteplative philosophy of the school comes in -- I could go into the domains if you are interested)
1.30 to 1.50 Silent time during afteroon activities (this is an excercise of being with oneself in a group setting)
1.50 - 2.20 Continuation of afternoon activities
2.20 - 2.40 Chores and clean-up
2.40 - 3.00 Afternoon snack and closing circle
.

I agree, what you describe sounds much more Waldorf to me.
What do they do Montessori?

[Mirzam]

Originally Posted by jalilah

I agree, what you describe sounds much more Waldorf to me.
What do they do Montessori?

Honestly I am not sure at this point.