Your Opinion On Private Montessori School For Kinder-Fourth Grade?

[Silver]

Would you consider sending your child to a Montessori school as opposed to a regular public school? Why or why not?

Thanks,
Keri

[SallyRK]

We are considering this for our ds. In our case, the school in question offers what they consider a combination Montessori/traditional program. I like it that the students can work at their own pace on interactive activities, in their seats or on the floor. It seems like the opposite of lecture-based learning, and i think that kind of interaction is great for elementary school children, who don't necessarily gain from sitting still for so much of the day.

We're actually considering the school in question also because they are more diverse than our local public school. Our sons are Latino and this school has a higher Latino (and African American and Asian American) population than our area public school. It also has Spanish instruction and good music and arts programs. Our son is very excited to be learning Spanish at home, and we'd like him to continue that as he grows if he wants. He's crazy about music, too.

I do like that the elementary Montessori we're looking at has some traditional elements--they do offer opportunties for group work, and they believe the teachers should give praise (rather than everything being self-motivated). The teachers are more "active" than in some more pure Montessori classes, and that's fine by me.

The school we are looking at goes up to sixth grade. I'm only concerned because my son hasn't done Montessori preschool, but the admissions people don't seem too concerned by this, since he'd be starting in kindergarten, and the school does have circle time and group work. Ds does plenty of stuff on his own at home--puzzles and such--so I'm hoping he'll be able to make the transition if we choose the school. But i have a couple of others I am going to look at too, private schools with experiential learning and lots of arts programming.

[mmi]

My daughter goes to a private catholic school. I LOVE that it is so family oriented. The kids learn respect and discipline is enforced.

good luck with your decision.

[Briar]

I had my dd in a Montessori for a year, not a fan. JMHO.

[Sonj]

Kerri, I think your thread will do much better than mine I'd betcha $$ on it!!

[marya]

It would totally depend on the school and how well trained the teachers were. Montessori can be a great program but because of the amount of freedom students are given, you have to have good, well trained teachers. Otherwise it can completely fall apart, especially at the primary education level. A lot of the negative reviews I read of montessori programs describe "goings on" that are *not* consistant with the montessori philosophy. Problem is that "montessori" isn't a trademarked name, so any old school can call itself that. Also, in the US, many of the methods have been adapted to make transition between montessori and regular classrooms easier. This can be done in a good way, or it can be done in a way that just makes a mess of the whole thing.

With a good school with properly trained teachers, yes I would consider it.

[Amy]

Given the school Megan is in we are seriously considering it. The school is fantastic and the teachers have been there for a long time. Very experienced and good at what they do. The founder is the lower elementary teacher (grades 1-3). She's top notch!! We are committed thru kindergarten after that we'll re-evaluate.

[China2007]

Our dd is at a private Montessori school and we love it. She has great fun and loves school and her teachers.

[Mrs.H]

During my studies of early child development, I studied the philosophy of Montessori and do not agree that it would be best for my children.

[Kramer]

I have been so happy with the public education we have been receiving here in Texas that I wouldn't even consider it for DS if we were to be here when he reachs kinder age.