Montessori VS public Kindergarten?

[moonsky]

DC2 has been in a 2 days traditional preK. She develops fine academically; however, she is very shy and doesn't participate much in the class. The class size at her preK now is 15 kids with 2 teachers. The public school K will be 21 kids per 1 teacher. The K teacher will have a teaching assistant help only 1 hour from M-Th. She may have some other help from volunteer parents. I am concerned that DC will get lost as she may not get enough attention and help. I started looking for options and found a good Montessori school. The class size is smaller (8:1). The school starts from PreK to 3rd grade. So, eventually she will be back to the public school again. WWYD? TIA!

DC2's birthday is closed to the cutoff date. Another option is the transition program at the public school but I do think that she will be bored.

[codex57]

ATM, we're thinking of having DS skip K and stay at his Montessori.

However, I'm still torn over it cuz I'm wondering if K at a public school might be better for him.

Some kids thrive in Montessori. Some kids don't. The structure of a public school might be better for some kids. If your DD isn't participating much now, it's possible the public school format might work better for her. Can you take a tour and see? It's possible that while your DD might not get as much individual attention, going with the flow of others might cause her to actually get more out of school.

"Individual attention" at a Montessori is kind of a misnomer anyways. The point is independence couched in flowery marketing speak like to "develop a love for learning on their own."

I think you owe it to yourself to at least check out the public school. Plus, you can supplement at home. You should know plenty of kids of your nationality who were shy and didn't participate much but turned out just fine.

[janine]

Personally I think it's too confusing to go to trad pre-k, then montessori, and then back traditional grade school (if I'm reading this right).

My DD is also very shy and a bit coddled at home, I too worry about her being lost in big public school classes. When I called Montessori schools they actually said it's a bit late to join Montessori and adjust just to stay for 1-2 yrs). FWIW my DD's preschool is 6 girls and 1 teacher and 1 assistant. It hasn't resulted in DD speaking up more and I actually wondered if a bigger class would help!

[SnuggleBuggles]

Are there are any other preschool options with smaller class sizes?

[robinsmommy]

Both DD's are in Montessori, older one has been since lower El, and little one is in her "K" year at a private school.

If shyness/social development is the issue, I'd think twice about the Montessori. It's mostly individual work usually at that age, with a small amount of social stuff during outdoor play. But most of the time in the classroom at our school, which is pretty true Montessori, is academic and work they do by themselves, or occasionally with another kid for some of the big math works.

I also think that switching back and forth would be disruptive. I would talk with teachers and the principal about your concerns, a really good K teacher can manage a class that size and pull all the kids in - I saw it in DD1's first K teacher, but sadly, not the second. Is it half day for K, or full day?

[AnnieW625]

ATM, we're thinking of having DS skip K and stay at his Montessori.

However, I'm still torn over it cuz I'm wondering if K at a public school might be better for him.

Some kids thrive in Montessori. Some kids don't. The structure of a public school might be better for some kids. If your DD isn't participating much now, it's possible the public school format might work better for her. Can you take a tour and see? It's possible that while your DD might not get as much individual attention, going with the flow of others might cause her to actually get more out of school.

"Individual attention" at a Montessori is kind of a misnomer anyways. The point is independence couched in flowery marketing speak like to "develop a love for learning on their own."

I think you owe it to yourself to at least check out the public school. Plus, you can supplement at home. You should know plenty of kids of your nationality who were shy and didn't participate much but turned out just fine.

I completely agree with Codex. Codex, my mom was an office manager for a two school location Montessori area in your general area and some kids went to public kindergarten and some kids went to Montessori for kinder and then transitioned to 1st grade, and did just fine. If it were my DDs I probably would have kept them at the Montessori until they started the first grade.

[codex57]

I completely agree with Codex. Codex, my mom was an office manager for a two school location Montessori area in your general area and some kids went to public kindergarten and some kids went to Montessori for kinder and then transitioned to 1st grade, and did just fine. If it were my DDs I probably would have kept them at the Montessori until they started the first grade.

For further clarification, the primary reason we're thinking of keeping him at Montessori is convenience. DD goes there now and I think having his little sister there brings him confidence. He's opened up way more after his sister started going to the same school with him. If it weren't for that, we almost assuredly would have yanked him already. Now, if we keep him, we only have one drop off/pickup a day. Financially, K here is half day so after school care would cost only about $100 less a month than the Montessori.

My mom was well aware of Montessori when I grew up. However, she also knew I would NOT do well there. I'd have to say I whole heartedly agree. My sister, on the other hand, did go to Montessori cuz my mom thought her personality type lended itself well to Montessori. And she did. I was sent to more "standard" private schools from pre-K to 4th grade (like public, but with higher standards) and that rote, more structured format fit me much better. Some kids don't need "individual attention" and do a lot better watching their peers and following along with them. I still love learning. I'll read the side of a cereal box cuz I'm curious.

It seems a lot of these non-standard schools are very loathe to even suggest they may not be a right fit for all kids. I'll go further than that in saying that I think the Montessor method (or Waldorff or whatever) can hurt the development of some kids. We're pretty sure Montessori isn't doing DS any favors, but unfortunately, we haven't found a better option that's realistic (lack of choices here for DS' particular issues). Not to say DS is getting nothing out of Montessori, just that it's not the best fit. It may be that public-K is better for him, but for just 1 more year, I don't think it's gonna make much difference (not at just half day). He's got stuff outside to supplement that is showing marked improvement. While the school takes up the majority of a kid's day, it's not the only thing to worry about. Since we're kind of stuck with his school, we (as his parents) just have to look at time outside of school to help make up for the fact that his school isn't allowing him to flourish the most effectively. This means we have to do more with him, we hire tutors and therapists and stuff, etc. Considering the demographics of this board, I know most of you know aren't shocked by that.

On the other hand, DD has a more adaptable and "normal" development curve so I'm sure she can do fine in any type of school. The Montessori way can help her flourish I'm sure.

With what Moonsky has described, and the fact that it does take most kids a full year to even get used to Montessori and about 2 years before you see the big improvements, I think she should NOT do Montessori for her DC2.

[squimp]

If you are planning to go to the public school eventually, I would go to K there. There are lots of factors, including the ones codex mentioned. I'm not sure how all kindergarten classes work, but my DD had 24 kids in hers (k-1 blend) and it was really great. I feel like she got plenty of attention and was very happy and successful. I spent a fair amount of time in the classroom helping and this allowed me to see how well it could work.

I especially agree that it is kid dependent. My DD is very bright but the Montessori preschool did not work for her. She does much better with a lot of structure and clear direction, she likes to work by herself but also in small teams and her M preschool did not allow that.

[smilequeen]

I'll be the dissenter, but I also am reading that you might send your child until 3rd grade, not just for K. I still think that a good Montessori school can be really great for a child even for 1 year, but the benefits of going through 3rd grade are even greater. My kids go to a school that continues past 3rd, but uses a more traditional but still more individualized and Montessori inspired method for 4-6. (small single year classes for instance).

My oldest is shy. I am shy. I just LOVE the way our school works. I think most shy kids are really just introverts. You can't make an introvert into an extrovert. What I love about Montessori (if it's done correctly) is that a child has a choice to work alone or with another person and an introvert needs time alone in order to really flourish during more social times. They work alone, but they also work in groups. They still have specials together. Recess. PE. More time is spent working on social skills than in other environments. The teachers tend to be more in tune with individual needs and reach out to us when there is an issue. They encourage independence which encourages confidence. Kids can work at their own rate, although I'm going to admit that it's easier on them if their rate is above average because kids still get competitive.

I love that my ADHD kid can get a snack when he needs it, not when everyone else gets one. I love that he can choose to do this alone or with a few friends. I love that he can get up, spread out, that his teachers can see when he's off task and give him a reminder. (He has inattentive ADHD, so it's not as obvious...he's not hyper). My shy oldest has a lot of great friends and he gets more comfortable all the time. He has also learned when to ask for some alone time.

So, to me, it's worth a shot, especially if you are contemplating more than 1 year.

Most kids stay at our school through 6th, but I have some friends at a different Montessori and they switch after 3rd more often. A little adaptation, but their social skills are better and their academics are ahead and that gives them room to adapt to the different teaching style. Obviously at our school the kids all adapt together and the teachers do this every year.

[elektra]

My leaning towards Montessori over public K for DS next year is similar in reasoning to codex. It's also about convenience, plus what I hope may be better prep for needing more academic skills than what a play-based program provides, especially when I think many of DS's future elementary school classmates will have had an extra year of pre-k (redshirts).
The Montessori plus aftercare is not much more than what I would pay for DS's aftercare at his 1/2 day k. If the elementary school had full day K it would be different for us.

If DS doesn't seem to be taking to the Montessori school I will put him in public K in 2 years.

[maestramommy]

I think I would consider Montessori K only if your DC had already been in Montessori for preschool. The K year in our town uses the extra half day to transition kids to the format of traditional classroom. If your DC has been in a traditional pre-k all this time I think to go back and forth would be confusing.