Every parent wants to ensure that their child has a great start to their academic journey and proper guidance for their development. Many will spend a great amount of time researching local schools to see which one best aligns with their values and schools that can offer their child the best experience. Making sure that your child is a part of a high-quality program is most important when considering how it will affect their development. As Montessori schools are growing and being publicly funded, many parents are moving away from traditional preschool and are opting to put their children in Montessori programs due to their positive impact on child development versus traditional preschools.
Currently, more than 500,000 children are attending Montessori schools in the US. This number will continue to grow as more public and private programs are built. According to the National Center for Montessori in the Public Sector most of this growth is due to the accessibility and research. The interest in Montessori school has grown to this magnitude because of the undeniable, lifelong benefits of being in one of these programs. A survey was conducted and found that adults who had attended a Montessori school for even two years had a better wellbeing than adults who had not attended a Montessori program at all. Those who attended for an extensive amount of time, had an even higher state of wellbeing among other benefits.
While the official cutoff date varies by state, most states require children to be at least 5-years-old between August and October of the enrollment year. For example, states like Maryland and Texas have cutoff dates in early September, whereas states like Colorado and New Jersey have cutoff dates in October.
While Montessori continues to be praised for its results, there are some people, though few, who find fault. The aspects that some find negative are the student’s freedom, practical life lessons, and individualized care your child will receive.
The major highlight and benefit to a Montessori education is that your child’s education is centered around their interests instead of the teacher’s interests. Do you remember what it was like to sit in history class and learn about the constitution when it didn’t interest you in the least bit? Dare I say you still don’t remember what you learned from that particular lesson. This is why Montessori prioritizes your child’s interest over the teacher’s. Your child will naturally gravitate to math, reading, writing, scientific, and historical objectives. When they begin to show that interest, the teacher will teach them foundational skills and continue to build from there. This also curves a lot of behavior problems that are seen in traditional settings---when children don’t want to engage in an activity, they may misbehave to get out of it. Teachers will take their time to carefully craft the classrooms seasonally to reflect seasons and some holidays. Having these elements within the classroom give the students opportunity to gravitate to these items and learn about them in that way instead of forcing them to memorize information.
“A place for everything and everything in its place” is a part of the philosophy within a Montessori classroom. The room is built for the child to operate as they wish throughout the day without having to seek help as often from their teacher. Some people find fault with this, but isn’t this how life really is? When you are an adult you move about, making decisions, following your own desires, safely and without much interruption from others. Montessori prepares children to live a practical life—engage in their environment safely and place things back where they go so that others can engage at their leisure. This doesn’t mean that they are completely without structure. There is a set time for outdoors, group, lunch, bathroom, and a rest period.
It’s believed that understanding the practicality of life can interfere with a child’s imagination. The Montessori Method doesn’t infringe on the child’s ability to build, dream, and create. It does however offer structure and practicality to help them make sense of their surroundings which will in turn, benefit their imaginative play. Having an understanding of real and fake is important for their safety and understanding consequences for the world they live in.
These are the myths that needed to be debunked, but there are also more benefits to a Montessori education.
Your curious learner will enter the classroom and continue to grow in their problem-solving capabilities as their creativity is challenged and grows. The Montessori teacher serves as a guide in the classroom. They ask questions to prompt the child to take a further look at their work and see what other options they can explore. Discovery is major part of child development and at a Montessori school, your child will be provided plenty of opportunities to explore.
Given the opportunity to explore and problem solve all help to aid in your child’s developing independence. Knowing that they can go get and item, complete a task, assess their own sense of pride all aid into their independence and intrinsic motivation. When your child is self-motivated to complete tasks, the less they are reliant on praises from you or their peers. This helps them to be less likely to be greatly impacted by bullying or peer pressured into doing things they don’t want to do or things they know are wrong.
At Applebee Montessori Academy, we take great pride in knowing that we are fulfilling a great commission in preparing your child for the real world and also to be a great impact within the world. We have carefully prepared classrooms, filled with Montessori materials to ensure your child’s success.
Every detail is important when you are considering your child’s development and the effects the childcare you choose will have on their development. Taking a tour of the school, getting to know the staff, the educators, and seeing the children in their element can help give you a great sense of what your child will experience.
Here are Applebee Montessori, we are constantly assessing how we can help your child discover new things. We take multiple steps to ensure their growth. To assist in your little one’s discovery and development, we’ve recently added a new splash pad to our school.
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