Montessori system

[KL]

Anyone has experience with the Montessori system?  Would be great if you could share them here!

From what little I know, the way teaching is done is that there is a broad 'framework' set for the kids, within which the kids are free to choose what they want to learn or participate in.  Is that right?

[nhockaday]

I have always been interested in them too. I would like to send Gabriel to one b/c the schools around here stink! From what I heard, they focus on creativity and individuality. I heard that they have tables set up in the classrooms with different activities at each one, and the kids are basically free to move around and choose which activities to do. I only learned about them briefly in human growth and development, but it was enough to spark my interest!

[lawrence]

I'm a Montessori kid or actually a Montessori toddler.

My parents sent me to a Montessori type school before or around pre-school.
I never thought much about it until now, I guess that's why I've always been pretty curious and creative.

I pretty sure I always had my huge imagination, but being creative is an extension of imagination.

[anushyam]

My first child is doing montessori now. She's 3.5yrs old. They have activities which develop their 5 sensory skills. Basically, practical, sensorial, cultural, langugage and Mathematics skills. Each activity is based and researched under the montessori institute and has been proven to engage and enhance skills.

I'll try to give simple examples of the 5 skills which my daughter has amazingly learnt from them.
Practical: teaches about self reliance and helping others. My daughter one day offered to fold the laundry with me . I was surprised to see her take my big T-shirt, spread it out on the floor and fold it suitably well!!

sensorial: She could identify colors even before she went into montessori but she would color every thing (the sky, grass etc) her fav color, purple! But now she knows that grass should be green, sky should be blue. That i think is an improvement.

Language: I am lucky to be in a place where my child has exposure to many languages. She learns her English and Mandrain in montessori, I teach her tamil at home. I dropped her at school one day when the "lao shi" (teacher in mandrain) was at the door. Both of them started communicating in flawless mandrain to my surprise!!

Mathematics: measurements, tower concepts, tower of hanoi concepts, lengths, heights etc. Its not just numerals or dots. Its what we see in everyday items that is turned into mathematics. It's a fun way to teach kids.

Whew! if you had the patience to read through this long mail.....You've passed the attention span tolerance mark!! 

Hope my blabber was of some help!!

AnuShyam

[KL]

yay, I passed!! 
Thanks for all the input, Anushyam!

[Nikita]

Montessori house have Dvds... I find (and Bubby finds) them way too slow.  There are some ebay sellers who sell flashcard type things, to do with parts of a flower, the country side (this is a peninsula, an isthmus etc). You can make those yourself.  The thing I most noticed about Montessori is it isn't fully child-proof.  little beads and choke-able items are down low, they use real glass to pour with etc.

I havent used it myself but I have checked it out.  I prefer Doman to Montessori...she thinks there's a ripe reading age, I think it's 18 months....or it might be a later age, but everything is about the right age for optimal learning, which contradicts Domans ideas of when is good for learning. (he thinks babies can learn a lot earlier than she did).

I have a friend whose daughter did Montessori.  She's 18 now but I dont know that it did alot of benefit for her... she had issues as a teen (may still do), didnt want to go outside (didnt feel she looked right), wouldn't answer the door to people, had issues at school, not great at socialising. In fact Montessori encourages alot of solitary projects, less interaction.  An individual chooses an activity, takes it to a mat, does the activity alone, finishes it, puts it away. It isnt like palygroup or kinder or daycare, with lots of playing and interacting, sharing etc.

If I were able, I'd do a combination. To balance out the lack in one or the other, to capitalize on the strengths in one...

It is good for being an individual, and for learning things to the point of obsessively, like typing laces on a rack.  The items are self-correcting, as in if you arent doing it the right way, you cant finish it.  So it's good for teaching you what is the right way to solve the puzzle or issue.  So it's educational in ways beyond sing-songs and finger-painting.  There is outside play, but it's mostly indoors. Does teach self-responsibility, cleanliness, orderliness, tidyness, self-discipline. (so is it left or right brained... dont know)
 

[KL]

Interesting.

From what I know though, Montessori schools can vary A LOT. Seems like (in several countries at least) anyone can just open up a school and name it Montessori, and some are only loosely based on the system.

We actually have a member who's a Montessori (argh, I keep typing "Monsterssori"!) teacher. Hopefully she can join in this discussion soon and let us know her experience!

[Nikita]

I honestly wish people wouldnt be pidgeon-holed into being taught in a method, so as to be a Montessori teacher, a Doman teacher, Steiner or whatever.  I'd send my kid to someone who combined the various teachings!! I'd like to be that sort of teacher myself... If only I'd become a kinder teacher, I'd bring in some new radical ideas from all those areas.

[Nikita]

 In my town there are 2 different Montessoris. One is by  people who all had on-campus training, the other by someone who learned Montessori teaching by correspondence. I like them both!! But why didnt they add in extra stuff from other teaching systems. Like, have a Doman period, a Schichda (that is so hard to spell I can never get it right), a Suzuki period, a Doman period, a free play like normal kinder, a right brain flash card time, aDVD learning time, a creative art time etc.

In fact, kids all learn differently, and different methods may work better on different kids, so best to expose them to a variety of teaching methods!

A montessori teacher is a Directress, so she stands back and observes, only interacting when there is obvious difficulties... prefer to let kids self-learn.

[Sapna1322]

Hi Nikita
If you want to learn about good montessori course you can contact timeseldin(at)montessori(dot)org .She is the founder of montessori course.She worked with mentally handicapped children and than she was appreciated by her work.And than she realised that her programme could successfully be applied to all children,not just those with special needs and she put her ideas into practice in schools.You know she doesnt work with traditional formula of teching,reading at very young age.
This is in USA,Maryland-
Sapna

Edited email so it won't be harvested by spam bots - KL

[kraezykat]

I thought this school started in Rome by a pediatrician who later turned teacher. Anyway, I will look into it. Thanks for the info

[KL]

yes it was. Here's more info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montessori

It says:
"The Montessori method is an educational method for children, based on theories of child development originated by Italian educator Maria Montessori in the late 19th and early 20th century. It is applied primarily in preschool and elementary school settings, though some Montessori high schools exist.

The method is characterized by an emphasis on self-directed activity on the part of the child and clinical observation on the part of the teacher (often called a "director", "directress", or "guide"). It stresses the importance of adapting the child's learning environment to his or her developmental level, and of the role of physical activity in absorbing academic concepts and practical skills. It is also characterized by the use of autodidactic (self-correcting) equipment to introduce various concepts.

Although there are many schools which use the name "Montessori," the word itself is not recognized as a trademark, nor is it associated with a single specific organization."

Note the last paragraph especially, which is also what I was told.  the problem is that anyone can open up a school or institution and call it "Montessori", hence there can be a lot of confusion as to which one is 'authentic'.

[nhockaday]

http://www.montessori.edu/index.html

Here is their page. It is a really wonderful site with great info and links to other sites.

My question is, if a child stays in the Montessori system during grade school, will he/she be prepared for high school and college the same as if he/she went to a normal school? With all the emphasis on letting the child do what he/she wants, are all the important core subjects learnt? I wonder if the children test at the same grade levels as their peers who attend other schools?

[anushyam]

I tend to agree with Nikita. There is no way to tell which way is better for our children (montessori, Shichida, doman etc). So why not take the good things in alll these methods and give a blended composition to our kids?

If we teach them with love, any method will do. 

[chispa]

Wow!  I love the discussions!  My information is based on experience and not on any scientific research.  My children and I are a product of the Montessori system.  My main reason for placing them in the system is that I often found a more diverse population goes to the Montessori schools.  Also because here they group the children ages 2 1/2 to 5 years old.  I thought my children benefited from being around older children.  It is true when you say children work mostly individualy.  I have three children...12, 8 and 2.  For my oldest, a daughter it was a good experience.  She is very nurturing and loving.  For my son, my problem was that he was never challenged.  I believe he is gifted.  When he was 3 he wanted to take a Spiderman book to school.  He was told he couldn't bring it because he couldn't read it.  He taught himself to read and 2 months later read it at school.  (He would have benefited so much from this program!  If I only knew then what I know now!)  Since, he has been overly tested by his public school and after reviewing the tests he has been skipped a grade in math.  I didn't want him to skip a whole grade because of maturity, his friends and he is also small...he was still not challenged!

I had a few friends who kept their children through the Montessori system until they finished middleschool.  They had a very difficult time transitioning to high school.  I imagine it is something to investigate if that is what one wants to do.

Good luck!  Finding an education system that promotes learning in a safe enviroment, that challenges our children academically, emotionally and socially is what I would like!

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