Montessori Preschool?

Question

is the Montessori approach beneficial to slow toddlers?

Answer 1

Clueless as to why people say there's "no curriculum to follow."  Have they even LOOKED in a Montessori room before?

The whole idea to Montessori is beneficial to all people.  Because it's not a competition.  It's simply about learning and loving to learn.  And, at that age especially, about learning how to take care of yourself.  So yes - it is beneficial to a "Slow" Toddler (though I hate using that term.  Or a "Fast" one (hate using it just as much).  Or a middle speed one (never really used that term before, so haven't had time to hate using it yet).  LOL

Don't listen to people that say there's "no curriculum."  It's like asking a car question and getting the response "there are no engines in a car."  You know they don't know even the basics to be able to answer what you are asking.

Matt

Answer 2

It has it's advantages and disadvantages.

Good: No curriculum to follow, so they are not held accountable for learning anything. The student can learn at his or her own pace.

Bad: No curriculum, so they are not held accountable. Not a lot of structure, which special education students need.

Answer 3

i went there when i was little   i THINK the lowest age was 2 or 3

Answer 4

I'd say montessori is a good school for preschool and kindergardner kids after the first grade its best that you take them to another school. I think montessori is a good school in the way they teach kids too read write and have hands on experience with learning. Preschool and kindergarden is all about hands on  experience. I went to a montessori school up to the second grade. when it came to the second grade i felt and so did my parents that i wasn't learning much. my teacher wouldn't teach me how to do division problems when my friends had already learned how to do division. I think montessorit preschool is good for slow toddlers because they can get hands on experience unlike other schools. Preschool and kindergarden should be done at montessori schools after that i think they should move to a different school. But everyone has their own preferences so its up to what you decide for your child. plus montessori doesn't you homework is not that good because it doesn't show if the child is learning or not well the hw part goes for grades 1 and above. So its your preference but this is my take on what i think from being a student at a montessori school.

Answer 5

Montessori preschool was developed for children ages 3 -6.  That means that there are many different types of materials (not “toys”, and not “educational toys” which means a toy that is designed to indirectly teach a concept while the child plays with it, but materials specifically designed to directly teach concepts.)

In a Montessori preschool the first materials a child is introduced to are “emergent”, meaning that they set the stage for later development.  Learning to categorize shapes and colors helps to develop a child’s visual discrimination. Visual discrimination is needed for identifying the differences in letters and words. Wiping a table left to right, picking the hand up and putting it back on the left side of the table to wipe towards the right side  again, helps to develop the directionality and return sweep that is needed for the reading of English. (sort of the Montessori “wax on, wax off” approach for beginning reading), and so on.

But these initial “emergent” materials only set the stage for reading. Once a child has mastered these materials there are many, many, more, such as the movable alphabet, sound boxes, reading boxes, and so on, that directly teach the child the next concepts that they need to learn.

Why do some many posters state that there is no set curriculum? Simple, they don’t know the big picture. They only see little parts of it, such as the emergent beginning materials, or the fact that one child is learning to wipe a table and the next is reading a book and so they don’t realize that they are both following the same curriculum, but are just in different places in it.

Montessori actually has the most comprehensive curriculum there is. In the preschool ages it integrates language, mathematics, history, science, geography, sensorial and practical life skills. The main difference is that children move to the next level of the curriculum when they are developmentally ready to move, not because it is the 4th day of the 5th month and someone has deemed that all four year old children should be on page 23 that day.

As Mattfromasia states, Montessori education is for everyone since all children get to work at their “maximum plane of development”. (Sorry- I never say “at their own pace” since that gives some people the impression that children who don’t want to work, don’t have to work.)  That means children who need extra help get it, and children who have mastered a concept don’t just sit and become bored while the rest of the class “catches up”. Additionally since they move on once they have mastered a concept they aren’t inundated with “busy work” which is what teachers and programs often do with bright children.

Which brings us to the original poster’s question.

Is the Montessori approach beneficial to slow toddlers?

Absolutely yes.  Montessori education was initially developed for children who were having problems learning.  It was only after these “slow” children progressed so quickly and thoroughly, that the method was introduced to children who were considered “average” and “fast”.   If your child is placed in a good program they will be able to work on whatever concept they need to work on at that moment.  If they need more time with a concept, they will get it.  If they need the concept taught to them in another way, they will get it.  And when your child is ready to move, to another concept, they will be able to.

If you are still wondering how a child will do in a good Montessori school compared to more traditional forms of education, click on the link below. It goes to the most comprehensive longitude research on Montessori Education in comparison to more traditional forms of education. It was published last year by a psychology professor at the University of Virginia, Dr. Angeline Lillard.. Her recent article was so well researched and documented, that it is the only educational article ever to be published in a scientific magazine.

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?article...

Answer 6

All I can tell you is this, Montessouri class rooms have all toys that when played with will result in the fine tuning of some skill of some sort. Such as: fine motor skills, reading (early reading includes doing things from left to right just do it becomes natural), categorizing colors, shapes, and bigger vs smaller, any others. They also teach the children to do things like when they help wash the tables, do wipe them from left to right to facilitate reading. I think if your toddler is behind on somethings like basic abc's 123's, colors and such, they will need something with more set curriculum. Monetessori uses all emergent curriculum, so mostly learning through playing. Learning can be fun, but playing in the house area wont teach a child EVERY thing they need to know. They need to do planned activities to give them structured learning environment. Leanring color through art is a great way to teach color, and mixing colors too. Look for a school that has curriculum planned especially for your child's age group. Then your child's teachers can adjust the curriculum accordingly. If you want a class for your child and they are "slow" as you said, then a regular learning environment should be suitable for him/her.

Answer 7

montessori is a very good method for kids especially for fine motor skills & it makes them independent... you shoudl do solme research on the method yourself to get a little insight on the method & then make an informed decision... here are few sites you can check

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montessori_...

2. http://www.montessori.edu/

3. http://www.montessori-childrens-school.n...

4. http://www.aquinasandmore.com/index.cfm/... (a book that might be useful)