Thursday, September 14, 2006

Montessori School Now or Later

We've been intrigued with the idea of sending our oldest to Montessori School. North Carolina rural schools are generally not very good, though I'm sure there are notable exceptions. Our local schools are exceedingly poor.

With the new baby due any day now I've been eager to have our son start Montessori right away, so he would not blame the change on the new child. However, my wife pointed out that we might do better to wait a few months until after we are settled in with the new child.

She feels adding a 45 minute one way drive to montessori school on top of a newborn baby would be far too much - even with help from Grandma and Grandpa.

I'm beginning to think she's right. Maybe we'll put him in Montessori school in January - if they'll accept him at that time.

What would you do?

Regards,
makingourway

4 comments:

2million said...

Maybe im missing something -but what is Montessori school?

makingourway said...

$2m,

Sorry, I should have explained it.
Montessori is a special type of school, typically for young children (pre-school) but can run through elementary or even high school.

Montessori schools are based on the innovations of an Italian physician (I assume named Montessori).

They emphasize children pursuing self-directed learning with facilitation and assistance by their montessori trained instructors.

A montessori room is divided into quarters, each quarter represents a different skillset: Practical Life, Sensorial, Language, Mathematics. Practical life includes activities such as buttoning, sweeping, pouring, slicing, tying, etc. Sensorial includes activities to stimulate and train hearing, touch, smell, and taste. (from the wikipedia definition)

I recommend reading the middle section of the montessori definition at wikipedia, here's the link.

From practical experience, children recieve highly customized education that results in strong interpersonal skills, rapid learning at a pace comfortable to the child, a strong sense of intellectual curiousity and a very real and very rapid mastery of basic life skills.

Regards,
makingourway

Regards,
makingourway

StealthBucks said...

I'll sum it up. Montesorri rocks. My daughter of less than 4 says. "Pardon me may I please have the brush" Non Montesorri's grunt and wail.... Pony up, it's worth it. She also can read a little, count to 100 and corrects me when I don't know what freakin valley in Africa a pakah monkey lives in. We have our daughter in 3 days a week but WA aint N.C. it costs us big time dollars. College will be cheaper....

StealthBucks said...

Do montesorri. I posted a big loing thing that vaporized. We are huge believers.....