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Originally Posted by mayaandx  I am not so far from a Waldorf School, but there are many more Montessori schools in my area. However, they all seem to go up to only Kindergarten or first grade. Does Montessori only go up to that age? Is it primarily a philosophy that applies only to early childhood education?
Thanks!
Maya
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The original Montessori school in Italy was from ages 3-6. It wasn't until much later that Montessori Schools developed an Elementary program as well. So during the huge rise and interest of Montessori in the early stages of existence, the Montessori Method was only used in the 3-6 age range. This is part of the reason why you do not see as many elementary schools as you do Preschool/Kindergarten.
The elementary years are divided up into two sections: ages 6-9 and 9-12. There are many similarities between the philosophies of Elementary and the Birth-6 age groups. They do differ in many ways, however, because the needs of the children is quite different. Many of the materials are carried over as well, but applied in different ways. For example, a child may have mastered using the stamp game to add numbers in 3-6, but in the 6-9 classroom, he will be using it to do square roots of 4 digit numbers.
Many facts are still learned with hands on materials. The division of fractions is something most people cannot really understand, even after high school and college. With Montessori, it is obvious to the grade school child why we flip the other fraction and multiply when he works with the materials more frequently.
Research projects are also a key part of Montessori - where a child finds an interest in something and learns about it, integrating as many different areas. The student learning about the history of an area may start off with the question of why people settled there. That causes you to look at the land formations, which may lead you into looking at the geology of the land and the reasons for different weather changes in the area. The teacher might guide the student and teach him how to make a bar graph or other math chart showing the rise in population over time. The child may then decide to present his work to his peers so they can learn as well. This is the type of work that happens in a Montessori Elementary program and it continues into the Junior and Senior High as well.
The Junior High and High School Montessori schools are beginning to grow, but they're still not as popular. More teachers are becoming interested in this, however. Another poster was right that most are not exactly how Maria Montessori envisioned the education for the older children. They do, however, seek to help a child find their place in a community that helps others while still providing an excellent education. Community service is a key component.
If you want to find out what schools are in your area and whether any go up into Elementary or beyond, visit the following web sites:
www.amshq.orgwww.montessori-ami.org
Matt
