Any views on Montessori's?

[Bells1]

Would just be interested to hear of experiences of others whose children attend Montessori Nurseries / Schools. Our son starts 2 short afternoon sessions a week in September and then when he is 2 1/2 will do 3 mornings a week. I have done quite a bit of reading up on the Montessori approach and like a lot of what they try and achieve. However, I have to confess that I am not feeling particularly enthusiastic about our local establishment.

The staff seem to be incredibly dictatorial in their approach and take themselves unbelievably seriously. At a parents evening last week, the headmistress solemnly instructed us that no child under 6 should be let near a computer and that she would also put television in the same category. One of the parents there said that with 3 children, she did sometimes need to resort to a video so she could get on with jobs etc. This was met with the response that they should consider moving in with another family in order to share childcare duties (!!!!). They made lots of other general pronouncements along these lines and I was left feeling a bit cross at what seemed like intrusion into people's parenting choices.

All in all, their programme sounds harmless enough but I can't help having some qualms about the place.

No child under 6 should be near a computer? Why ever not? How dare you teach your children skills!!

My friend had trouble at her nursery - a local school nursery because her son didn't quite get the hang of the mouse at 3 years old and yet all the other children knew how to switch the computer on and everything.

It isn't a sin to let your kids watch tele. In fact, very often children would rather do that, it isn't something you do only if you can't find something else.

I don't have any experience with this particular nursery but it does sound harsh, to say the least.

I agree with you Jbr, children should learn the skills needed in the world today. I feel children grow up too quick nowadays (dont I sound old) but you cant hold them back.
Bells1 - Montessori nurseries - I have never heard of them, what are they all about if anything different from any other.

My son starts at a Montessori Nursery this September. They have a computer they can use. I think that it comes down to how strictly they adhere to the original Montessori structure and how progressive the staff is.

I'd agree with what others have said re the difference between Montessori nurseries - it is down to the head and the staff at each nursery how rigidly they stick to the aims set out by Maria Montessori and her followers. They are all long six feet under, of course, Bells, so how they can claim that Montessori policy is that TV and computers are pernicious interests me!
Isn't it Bugsy who is training to be a Montessori teacher? Maybe she will have some further insights.
Bells, I would say, that no matter what the doctrine of the nursery (and almost all these days subscribe to at least some of the Montessori approach, because it's a good one), if your initial impression was that that head and the staff were barking, then have a hard think about signing up. If you are already having to suppress a smirk at some of their opinions, it does not bode well for building a "meaningful childcare partnership". And they certainly don't seem to listen to the parents.
Friends who have been through some less doctrinaire Montessori establishments are very, very happy with the standard of care their children received.

My 9 1/2 month old son goes to a Montessori nursery and it is just great. I hadn't set out looking for one but just loved the atmosphere there and the fact that they had an educational ethos. What you have described and what Harry experiences seem to be worlds apart. His nursery is centred around respect for the child (and consequent respect for the carers) with each child given the space and time to develop at their own pace. I could ramble for hours but maybe it would be more helpful for you to look at www.montessori.ac.uk which is the official link for montessori place and you can source info on what they should be about. And they do have a computer in the second stage classroom (c 18 months plus depending on the confidence and abilities of the child) based on the idea that children are exposed to it and can explore it if they are curious and when in pre-school and they come to use it it is not an unfamiliar object - they are just extending an existing experience. We plan to go to NZ next year and they are v big on Montessori schools (in fact, I think that there is a montessori.ac.nz site which would give you an idea of how braod it can be and how it extends to all ages). If we have to leave here I would want him to go to another Montessori school. But not from 7+ - that's another story!

Batters, your posting struck a chord as they are are already being very inflexible about how many sessions our son can attend (they want a minimum of 4 weekly, I would be happier with 2 or 3 giventhat the cost will be on top of our existing childcare arrangements). They also got very shirty with me when I asked if I could re-arrange a meeting with them for my husband and I for any other time than 3pm on a Monday - possibly the most inconvenient time for us imaginable.

Marina, spot on about the smirk. When they were delivering the lecture (which BTW included the view that all babies should be breastfed, dummies must not be used and mothers shouldn't be spearated from babies for god knows how long when they are small) I couldn't suppress a giant smirk over the telly directive. This was detected by one of the assistants who subjected me to a long and earnest personal lecture imediately afterwards on the perils to children's development blah blah blah.....

I'm not sure what to do really as the area in which we live is starved of nurseries and it is the only one whose physical environment I liked the look of. Maybe its time to contemplate going further afield.

Oh year, one another anecdote that I must share. Headmistress also told a story about being in a restaurant and watching a 1 year old hitting his dad over the head with a cardboard tube and the father laughing away. She informed us that this was the wrong reaction because the father wasn't taking the child's action seriously and should have been respecting the child's dignity....

Yes, I am training to be a Montessori teacher and I don't like th sound of Bell's prospective nursery either. Montessori should be all about being child orientated and geared toward what the child needs. However, lots of nurseries purport to be Montessori and are not at all. To say that a child should not be let near a computer is ridiculous.
As well as training, I am also looking for my son to go to a Montessori nursery and have been to visit 4 in our area. I have been stunned by the differences in them. Two were fantastic and two were dreadful.
Ideally, in a Montessori nursery you should see children working calmly and with contentment at materials of their own choice. Montessori believed that children should be respected as individuals. Most nurseries will have guideline timetables (to comply with Ofsted requirements) but children should have freedom to do other things if they want to. A true Montessori nursery should not have a rigid timetable as this completely goes against Montessori's ideas.
Montessori teachers are not just taught about her methodology, we are also taught about current best practice in nursery education - the importance of play, child development etc. etc.
With regard to the number of day's attendance, most good nurseries will suggest a minimum of two consecutive mornings a week or ideally three. This should not be anything to do with timetables but to help the child settle. If you only go one morning a week somewhere it is going to take alot longer to settle in than if you are able to attend more often.
I'm sorry this is a bit rambling but I hope it helps.

How can anyone say that children under 6 shouldn't be allowed near a computer? In the past few weeks my son (3.75yrs) and I have found some wonderful things on the Internet, including what a real dinosaur probably sounded like, and film clips (including sound) of the space shuttle taking off. He's learning from it, and although he finds the computer very interesting (including the one at his nursery) he'd still rather run around with his friends. He sees me and his Dad using the computer, so of course he's interested. This attitude sounds like what happened when my husband started school 30 years ago - my MIL got called up to the school and was told off because he had started learning to read. As my MIL said, she couldn't stop him - he really wanted to know what words said.

As I mentioned on another board I am a big GF fan and Harry has been in his routine from 2 weeks (not always easy but definitely worth it). One of the (many) things that put me off the other nurseries I visited was the fact that they had a nursery timetable and everyone had to adhere - at my montessori nursery they spent at least an hour going through everything connected with Harrys' day from the type of nappy cream we used, nappy changing routine, to the preferred brand of formula and having written it all down they stick to it. They maintain that a child will be happiest and most secure if what happens at home, happens at nursery and that's how it is. We get a written note of everything that he has done that day, including times (& content!) of nappy changes, to when he ate and what he played with - this means that we can keep track of any changes and we liaise with his assigned nursery nurse about any changes that we have made to him home routine. All in all one contented little baby. Bliss! (PS the downside is when he randomly wakes in the night and being so unused to it it is an absolute killer)

with reference to the telly business - my 8 year old son spent many many MANY hours watching videos pre-school - some educational, some not - and still can sit in front of pokemon, digimon, simpsons etc for as long as i will let him.

i got his school report yesterday; wonderful in all areas, incredibly high scores in standardised tests (128 - 133), and "a very popular member of the class".

i'm with marina - that head and staff are barking!

hi i have not sent my child to a montessori nursery so i have no first hand knowledge just an oppion i think that a ideal nursery should not have a strict timetable it should be a fun place with the gentle approach to learning it should be the first steps to learning and i think if it a sin to let a three year watch a vodeo well i think i is not the place for my child but in it's deffence they are popular but not for me

Harrysmum, I have never used a Montessori, but would like to point out that my local nursery (private) does everything you said the Montessori does. A full report each day of events/nappies/food/toys/mood. I'm sure any good nursery does all that anyway. As for free play, I think its all pretty standard these days i.e. wet play/dry play/outdoor play and songs/reading. As someone else said most of the good nurseries have already picked up on the Montessori ethos. So the 'normal' nurseries are just as good without being so dictatorial and a lot cheaper! i couldn't believe that the local Montessori expected my pre-schooler to be in School Uniform. That's not very 'free-minded'!

Lil - great - like I said I hadn't gone looking for a Montessori nursery at the time - it just seemed to fit the ideas that I had in my head. Maybe I still hadn't gotten over the shock of the nursery that said "and, of course, in winter they watch television every morning" which put me right off. Interestingly my nursery is £12 per week cheaper than my empoyer's nursery (which at over £500 per year really adds up) and has longer/more flexible opening hours. I guess it's whatever is around in your area at the time (and has places).

Yes, it does all seem to be a bit random!

My sons nursery has a timetable, but it is not a rigid thing, just an idea of the things that they'll be doing throughout the day. I think it is something to do with OFSTED and the early learning goals thing, I think they are expected to produce it. I think the most important thing about any nursery is to feel happy and confident that your child is having fun, and being well cared for. My sons nursery is the best. He absolutely loves going there, and I think he'll be really sad when he leaves to go to big school!

I'm also thinking about a Montessori nursery for my daughter for next year (when she will be 2+). What I'm confused about is that I thought Montessori encouraged a child to do what they are interested in, ie if they want to play in the sand they can. What alot of other people have mentioned is that a Montessori is 'dictatorial' or 'rigid', how can that be if the child is meant to do what they want to do?? Incidentally, can anyone recommend one in North London?
Thanks.

Janus, I've been away and didn't spot your post until today. In our training as Montessori teachers we are told to follow the child's lead as much as possible. A genuine Montessori nursery should not be rigid or dictatorial as this is the complete antithesis of Maria Montessori's methods. Check out www.montessori.ac.uk to see a list of Montessori schools in your area. However, I strongly recommend you view a couple as I was quite surprised by the huge difference in the 4 I visited local to me. Lots of nurseries use Montessori in their title without having a genuine reason to as they think it affords them respectability.

The Junior magazine that has just come out, has a article on Montessoris and other types of schooling.

Where can I get 'Junior', just in the supermarket?? Ta, I'll be looking on the websiye too, thanks.

has anybody has any recent experiences with montessori schools. I live in St. Albans and would be interested in any experiences anybody has of local montessori schools. My daughter is 3 - is it too late for her to start?

Laalaa, there are two Montessori nursery schools in St Albans, Albany ( Hatfield Road) and Fairview( Watling Street) Albany is srtictly Montessori, but (IMO) Fairview is the best as it offers the best of both worlds, structure and flexibility.
I know people who have used both and know which they prefer.

I can thoroughly reccommend Fairview. I used it for the 2 children I looked after, they went from 3 till they started school. It is small, 15 children each session and they stay to lunch in the morning, but can do all day as they get older, It is a purpose built extension to the owner's home. It has small toilets, a cosy room, all purpose room and a large outside play area.

If you want more details let me know.

Thank you alibubbles.I would be very interested in any more details that you may have. A couple of questions in the meantime. I assume that the schools are only open term time - does the child have to go all day every day or can you pick and choose days ( only asking these questions as at the moment my daughter is in a day care nursery four days a week and pretty much anything goes re in and out times). Also what about transition to more structured schooling when they are five - how did the two children your care cope with this? And more importantly I suppose - were the children happy at their schools?
Thanks in advance Laalaa