Is having fun the most important thing at nursery? Blue Planet Montessori or Leading Strings (Southgate Area)?

[Roopachoo]

Hi all. Does anyone have any experiences with the above nurseries? I am torn- both are rated 'outstanding' but one seems like a lot of fun, whereas the other seems to promote independence and is quite a bit more 'academic'.

DD seemingly loved Leading Strings. She ran in and got involved- the other kids were really lovely and welcoming and they all looked really happy. There wasn't that chaotic noise level, but the thing that stood out the most was that none of the children looked lost or detached. My only gripe was that the owner was not very articulate on their ethos or how her nursery was run, and expected that the fact that they were rated 'outstanding' in their latest Ofsted report was all that I needed to know. Hmmm .

On the other hand I loved the owner at Blue Planet. She went into such detail about how they worked with the children and all the different methods and materials they used. Seeing the nursery in session was very interesting. Things were expected of the children, they seemed extremely engaged and surprisingly fluent in all sorts of areas such as basic arithmetic and fractions, sounding out and spelling, as well as writing words. I was really impressed with the practical 'life' skills they teach to promote independence. Liked the use of positive discipline and teaching the children to identify feelings and trying to understand the feelings of others.

So whilst in theory I loved all that Blue Planet had to offer, it did not have that really happy vibe that Leading Strings had. DD will only be there 2 mornings a week before she turns 3, so whilst I really want her to get a lot out of the sessions, I wonder if having all out fun is more important at her age (2.5 years)? I do think that a love of learning is something that should be nurtured early in life though... I have no idea what to do!!

[Minimimimi]

Hi roopachoo!

May I ask which one you went for the in end?
I have the same problem with my son at the moment.