Montessori Schools?

LedZeppelin

Hi guys! I hope you are all having a great day!

Does anyone know anything about montessori schools? Like them? Dislike them? Have experience?

I'm looking at one for Emerson (to start in a year) and it looks great on the website, but I really don't know much about them. I'd like the know if it's worth the price tag. Thanks!

I should add, if it is a good school, I'd like him to continue to go there through junior high, not just preschool.

katiewhompus

I went to one and remember loving it. My mom still talks about how great Montessori was for me. I believe my niece also goes to one (or at least a similar program) and she is progressing so quickly it's kind of terrifying. She's 4 and can already spell basic 4 letter words, can name all of the states and their capitals, can write her name and basic words, etc.

jennylove810

I do not have children but I've heard good things about the schools.

zippityb

I went to one. I learned to read when I was 3 because of my Montessori school. I loved it, and they encouraged me to move up "levels" so I was never bored. Then I went to public school kindergarten and had a discipline problem because I was bored out of my gourd.

LedZeppelin

katie, that's very impressive! I don't remember learning state capitals until 5th grade.

rhon - Thank you! I'd be very appreciative!

Jenny - It's good to know you've heard good things. BTW, I love your sig pic!

anna.oskar

Montessori has a very good reputation in my city.  It's the wait-listed place that everyone wants to send their children.  I will be looking into it when we have a child to think about.

LedZeppelin

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_montessori-schools?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:17Discussion:f68ca7b6-d369-40fd-a6ef-40f318564a76Post:8f5c0281-cd83-496f-bace-4b6a59db5b9c">Re: Montessori Schools?</a>:
[QUOTE]I went to one. I learned to read when I was 3 because of my Montessori school. I loved it, and they encouraged me to move up "levels" so I was never bored. Then I went to public school kindergarten and had a discipline problem because I was bored out of my gourd.
Posted by zippityb[/QUOTE]

This is the main reason I'm looking into them. I'm becoming increasingly discouraged by the public school system. I went to public school and did fine, but I feel like it's gone down hill a lot since then.

SarahPLiz

My ex's daughter went to one for preschool, and stayed in an afterschool program during kindergarten until they could no longer afford it. She is a naturally smart kid, and her mom is really big into education, but she REALLY flourished in that program. I went to several of her holiday programs and they were awesome. She was introduced to so many different cultures, languages, and ways of learning, and she was way ahead of her K class. She is in 1st now, and is still ahead.

LedZeppelin

Sarah, that's awesome!

I'm really excited about this now!

SarahPLiz

Oh yeah, I'm definitely going to look into them for my kids. I dig the whole style of teaching and learning that goes on there. 

TurtlesAllTheWayDown

I did not go to one, but my high school (private, Catholic, all-girls) had a co-ed montessori and elementary attached to it. It was very well-regarded.

katiewhompus

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_montessori-schools?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:17Discussion:f68ca7b6-d369-40fd-a6ef-40f318564a76Post:59bee057-a53c-4dd5-9c6f-f4a2a385125a">Re: Montessori Schools?</a>:
[QUOTE]My ex's daughter went to one for preschool, and stayed in an afterschool program during kindergarten until they could no longer afford it. She is a naturally smart kid, and her mom is really big into education, but she REALLY flourished in that program. I went to several of her holiday programs and they were awesome. She was introduced to so many different cultures,<strong> languages</strong>, and ways of learning, and she was way ahead of her K class. She is in 1st now, and is still ahead.
Posted by SarahPLiz[/QUOTE]

Yes this :) Z recently learned to count to 10 in Spanish, French and Mandarin Chinese.

I'm not sure what we'll do school wise when we have kids. Both H and I had a horrible experience with private school, so I'm very hesitant to consider that route. Plus all of them around us are very religious and will not accept students unless both parents profess their fath. I'm very glad I went to a public high school instead of private.

LedZeppelin

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_montessori-schools?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:17Discussion:f68ca7b6-d369-40fd-a6ef-40f318564a76Post:1b6e2eb0-2cce-484d-9b46-bd51cd45e28c">Re: Montessori Schools?</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Montessori Schools? : Yes this :) Z recently learned to count to 10 in Spanish, French and Mandarin Chinese. I'm not sure what we'll do school wise when we have kids. Both H and I had a horrible experience with private school, so I'm very hesitant to consider that route. Plus all of them around us are very religious and will not accept students unless both parents profess their fath. I'm very glad I went to a public high school instead of private.
Posted by katiewhompus[/QUOTE]

Are private schools and montessori schools different things? I was a public school kid, so I just assumed private school was school that you pay for.

katiewhompus

I think Montessori is more of a teaching/learning style so Montessori's are usually private schools, but not all private schools are Montessori's.

LedZeppelin

Oh ok. That makes sense.

katiewhompus

My private school was definitely not a Montessori. They graded you based on your parent's yearly donation (on top of tuition) I'm fairly sure.

LedZeppelin

Ugh. That's ridiculous! That's one of the reason I was very hesitant to even look into any kind of private school. So far, the one I'm looking into doesn't seem to be one of those. They even offer scholarships for students whose families aren't so well off.

zippityb

I would definitely choose it over daycare for my child. I was in daycare, and I guess I told one of the ladies there that I wanted to learn how to read, so she suggested to my mom that I go to a Montessori school.

J&K10910

I went to one for two years of preschool and I and my parents loved it.  The only reason they didn't keep me in it was because I got an invite to a G&T program in a public school so they didn't need to spend the money on a Montessori anymore.

LedZeppelin

J&K what is a G&T program?

J&K10910

Gifted and Talented.

I'm still trying to figure out why they thought I was either

LedZeppelin

haha. Oh ok. My school had Project Ideal for the "gifted" kids. I was in it from 3rd to 8th grade, but I don't think it was as beneficial as your program probably was or the montessori schools are.

J&K10910

Yeah, I just remember doing lots of really awesome (and educational) things whereas a lot of the other preschools in town seemed to be more like day cares with a little learning how to count thrown in.  That's just my town though, I don't really know what normal preschool is like elsewhere.

jelique7

I have heard great things about this! My aunt was going to try to get a job at one so her kids could go there. It is mighty expensive though!

kpwedkk

LedZepp, I've heard and had first hand experience with some of the Montessori schools (looking for a friend and their son) at which one to pick and what experiences he's had since...

There are always pros and cons -

Cons - it's super expensive, it's worse than babysitting, or kid sitting...  Some of the activities are akin to a pre-school, the kid in this case was a very slow learner, and a rebel (rolls eyes). 

Pros - Once acclimitized to the school, he made friends that were of the same learning curve that he was.  He had skills of a 1st and 2nd grader when entering kindergarten in public school, but they put him back into Montessori until 2nd grade.

It helps with accelerating the learning curve than at public schools....

I went to public schools, and had times table quizzes at home (go parents), and I turned out okay

zippityb

I was in the G/T program at school and I accredit to eating a bunch of junk food and watching hours upon hours of tv as a kid.

[Deleted User]

I heard that they pick one kid each week to sacrifice to their weirdo voodoo gods. But their family gets a goat and a shitton of respect in return.

zippityb

Our school gave out bees.

missy68

I observed a combined classroom in action for several weeks while getting my AB in Elementary Education. It happened to be a Montessori Elementary School within the school system. I'd originally picked it because it was the school I went to (but was a regular elementary when I was a student). I was fascinated by the different learning stages I saw in the room, and the responsibility level among the children (it was either 1-2 grade or K-1-2) and the different development levels.

Students worked on mats on the floor, no desks. They chose where in the room to work. They had a contract to finish every day. The most fascinating thing I saw was their order of teaching math. Instead of addition, subtraction, multiplication, then division, they did addition, multiplication, subtraction, then division. The teacher explained to me the concepts connect better with the students because it's "mores" and "less." And they got it.  I was floored. My 5th graders when I taught later on couldn't get division.

Do some research on the teaching method and the thought behind the method:
http://www.montessori.edu/
http://www.montessori.org/

brookelynpaisley

My sister went to a Montessori school. She really liked it, but only went for one year. My mom, who is a private preschool teacher, speaks highly of them.

loop0406

My nephew goes to Montessori and he's so smart, he's learned a lot. However, it's pricey, I'm not sure I would pay that much but I don't have kids yet so we'll see if I change my mind.