Montessori Schools - Parker,CO

My 5 year old is about to start his 3rd year in a Montessori school and my 3 year old is starting his first year. I love the Montessori method of teaching. Neither of my kids have learning issues, but it the thinking behind Montessori is so intuitive with respect to how kids learn. I have been very happy and very impressed with what my son has learned in school. You definitely need to look into the school and ask around about that school's reputation and make sure they have a teacher there who is able to handle your son's learning issues. Any school can really call itself a Montessori school so you need to make sure the teachers are Montesssori trained and that the school has some sort of Montessori certification and then ask for feedback from people who go there.

Why are you considering Montessori at all if he is already on track at his current school and already has an IEP? Do you feel that he is stressed by the environment at his current school and would do better with a learn at your own pace philosophy? If you have a problem with his current school, then maybe Montessori is the way to go, but if you don't really have a problem, I would save the money!

Sorry, but I don't agree with the way Montessori schools operate. A school should be child BASED, definitely. It should NOT be child DRIVEN.

Children need structure. All children. And Montessori doesn't provide it.

I know many, many children who attend or have attended Montessori, and quite frankly, they are all disrespectful brats.

Do you have any other options nearby, that you could explore before settling on Montessori? You may really like the Waldorf schools - wonderful philosophy, and very child based.

Good luck with your decision.

Not all Montessori schools are created equal. Do your homework on the school you are considering. I love the Montessori philosophy. Unfortunately, many school do not follow it although they have the Montessori name.

Montessori schools lack structure and raise kids to be free for all kids. They are horrible places for any kids older than 2-3 years old. If they are of an age to be learning school readiness things they need to actually be in a classroom setting place where they have a certain time to go sit and do coloring or a certain time for playing toys or eating a meal. I worked in a child care center that had a preschool curriculum for the 3 and 4 year olds. I had the school kids before they left to go to school and almost everyone of them would bring notes home on a daily basis that they were having trouble settling down for several hours after getting to school. It does not work for older kids. They are going to have to learn to sit when told, get up and line up when told, stand here, stand there, etc...and with Montessori they have no exposure to learning to listen to the teacher and complying.
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for example:
A child wants to go eat lunch at 9am, they go get the food out of the fridge, make a sandwich or whatever they are eating, they sit and eat, then at lunch time they are hungry and have nothing.

They don't want to go to circle time so they go play toys instead. The teacher won't even redirect him to join in at a Montessori school.