Help finding a Montessori school

[luv2bmommy2*2]

Ok-I did a search for my local area and there is only two Montessori schools and one only takes children from K-on so that won't work. So now I am down to one and it isn't accredited. I am going to go tour it and see but I am no expert on what a "true Montessori school" is so I was wondering if you gals can provide some guidance on what I should be looking for.

[tbone]

I would look for authentic Montessori materials, and a nice, inviting classroom setup. Ideally, you will be able to visit while a class is in session to get an idea how the kids interact, the 'work' enviroment, how the teacher interacts with the kids.
Usually, a M classroom is pretty quiet and the kids are 'working' on their materials, though there are times that are more interactive like circle time.
You can ask if the teacher is AMS or AMI certified, they should be even if the school is not. Also, how long she/he has been teaching for. I would also about how many assistants there are too.

Hope this helps!

[chekhovgirl]

Originally Posted by luv2bmommy2*2

Ok-I did a search for my local area and there is only two Montessori schools and one only takes children from K-on so that won't work. So now I am down to one and it isn't accredited. I am going to go tour it and see but I am no expert on what a "true Montessori school" is so I was wondering if you gals can provide some guidance on what I should be looking for.

That's really weird that one of the schools only does K and up, that isn't truly Montessori...so I'd say the fact that the other one does younger children is a step in the right direction!

[goobyhead]

It's super important that the Montessori school has AMI or AMS certified teachers. The term "Montessori" is not copyrighted, therefore, ANY school can call themselves a Montessori school. Therefore, certification is critical in order to insure that your child is getting a true Montessori education.

[Valkyrie9]

One thing I learned quickly in my search was if there's a TV there, it's not true Montessori. You also shouldn't see play pens.

All the materials should be neat and accessible to the kids, and ITA with the PP who said it is usually nice and quiet in there while the kids are working.

[Melda]

Personally (and this is not to get into a debate here) if you can find a school with AMI accredited teachers over AMS i would head that direction.

[Melda]

Originally Posted by Valkyrie9

One thing I learned quickly in my search was if there's a TV there, it's not true Montessori. You also shouldn't see play pens.

All the materials should be neat and accessible to the kids, and ITA with the PP who said it is usually nice and quiet in there while the kids are working.

OUr childrens school has a TV but it is rarely used. We hae show and tell and have had kids bring in videos of family vacations, skydiving, educational videos, etc and it is used during that time. It is never part of instruction to things though and is tucked in a closet 99% of the time.

[nkm1968]

One important thing is that there are roughly equal numbers of 3,4,5 and 6 year old children in each class, usually around 24-26 per class with a teacher and an assistant. If most of the kids leave the Montessori for public or other kindergarten, even if your kid stays in Montessori in lieu of kindergarten, they won't get the true Montessori experience of first learning from older children, and eventually teaching younger children.

Make sure that each casa classroom has a full complement of the practical life, sensorial, language, math, and cultural materials. Our almost 6 yo dd spent last summer at a for profit daycare center that called itself Montessori, but had two "distance learning" trained teachers (childless and young, of course, and screamers, both), only about half of the practical life and sensorial materials, and less than a quarter of the language, math, and cultural materials. It was a horrible place, the kids were all screaming non-stop, as were the teachers.