Are Montessori Kids Really Serious?

[Valkyrie9]

Do you find your kids who attend Montessori are fairly serious, sober individuals? I've only been to the two different schools (one of which was so horrible that it should have been shut down, according to the real Montessori school, and I agree), so I'm not super knowledgable.

But I wonder...do the kids laugh and whoop it up? Do they go outside and run around and get their ya-yas out? I want to make sure my DD is going to not just be learning, but developing her fun-loving side as well.

I hope that doesn't sound offensive, because I think Montessori seems wonderful. It's just that even at 15 months, my DD is a little goofball and I want to know that aspect of her personality will be just as cherished as her incredibly bright mind. Thanks for input...

[Ideesmom]

My 4 yr old dd has been at her Montessori school since 18mo. She is quite the silly girl. I know that every school is different but i feel that ours has given my daughter the opportunity to learn to control her body(movement and voice) in her community and wherever it is needed. She knows when she can be silly is what im trying to say. My dd's community is very quiet but as soon as they hit the playground they get it all out. Im sure it depends on the teacher but I know my dd's has a great sense of humor and shares that with her students .

[kaydee]

My son is not particularly serious. Then again, he's not doing particularly well in his M school (it's taking a loooooong time for him to normalize, and at this point, we're not sure it's ever going to happen).

[LookMommy!]

I went to M preschool for 3 years, and I was a very serious, diligent child. It was a good match.

It's a short day, right? Is there anything wrong with saving her ya-yas for the afternoon?

Lisa

[midstreammama]

Originally Posted by Valkyrie9

But I wonder...do the kids laugh and whoop it up? Do they go outside and run around and get their ya-yas out? I want to make sure my DD is going to not just be learning, but developing her fun-loving side as well.

Most definitely! When the kids at my M school go outside, they play just like any other preschool...the have fun and laugh and run and play with their friends. It's even fun inside, but they do concentrate very hard on their work.

[tbone]

Ds has only been going to M school now for a little over a month and he loves it. He is most definately not a tame, quiet child. In fact everyone that meets him is shocked at the amount of energy he has. He's silly, loves to laugh, social and very outgoing.

When I first went to visit the school, I was a little worried because he's so spirited, but the director said that it was no problem at all. That's how most kids are and the "work" in the classroom helps them focus their energy on something.

[Thalia the Muse]

Ha! hahahahaha. Ahem. My daughter had three years of Montessori and she definitely is not impaired in the whooping-it-up and yaya-getting department. I suppose it depends on your school, but all her friends seemed pretty goofy too.

[Valkyrie9]

Originally Posted by Thalia the Muse

Ha! hahahahaha. Ahem. My daughter had three years of Montessori and she definitely is not impaired in the whooping-it-up and yaya-getting department. I suppose it depends on your school, but all her friends seemed pretty goofy too.

That's wonderful to hear. I'm reassurred by all you moms with wacky little ones who are getting a lot out of Montessori. It sounds like it enhances them, rather than limits them.

[zinemama]

Oh yeah, I've had two boys in Montessori and they are the most energetic little folks you could imagine. Great senses of humor, too. Their funnybones are most tickled by fart jokes these days (alas), but yes, they whoop it up pretty well.

[Thalia the Muse]

I worried that Montessori was too serious and work-oriented before my goofball started too, actually. I think in practice they break the day up with lots of time on the playground, so it's not work-work-work; it's circle-work-recess-work-snack-work-lunch-nap-playtime. At least at the school we used.

[arahzel]

Our little 20 month old's personality runs between very serious and very goofy. Mostly their schedules look like: play in the morning, snack, activities, lunch, nap, activities, and then play.

DD just moved up from the little ones room and into the toddler area where there are more activities available. I'm stoked for her. I was a little taken aback when her teacher/guide mentioned line time just before she moved. I wasn't aware they started line time with the littlest ones.

[Flor]

Ds's class is full of little goofballs. They have outside time, circle time, read stories, go for walks, and do a lot of singing. Though his teacher seems to be a bit serious, ds often comes home and tells me that Miss P was the engine of our train, or Miss P showed us how to do the hokey-pokey, so there is silliness going on there, too.

[RubyWild]

My Dd is very silly. Her classmates are very silly. They can be focused and quiet and have a long attention span, but they can be quite silly and active.

[nkm1968]

My two dds (ages 14 and 5) are both Montessori goofballs, but I am also a slacker. And always chose the louder more boisterous classes for them. They also love to read (well, my slacker 5 year old doesn't read yet and I don't care! so I read to her), hate to practice their fiddles, and have truly great and psychologically intimate friendships with all kinds of kids. Although, if I didn't work, we'd probably unschool. But we have had a blast in their Montessori schools, and met some equally slacker parents too.

[Ilaria]

My son is a spirited, wild child who is quite disciplined and serious at school. At our school, you will not find much craziness, laughing or whooping it up at all. It does seem a little somber coming from a loud and crazy regular preschool, but there's time for wild times at the playground...I'm ok with that. It's just a different environment.