What actually is a Montessori nursery

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I need to move my younger son to a new playschool as my eldest has been given a different school to the one we expected. Both children currently attend a traditional village playschool. The playschool closest to the school we've been given is a Montessori. What does this actually mean?! When I google I just get lots of waffle about "educational practices". I'm really trying to work out what it means on a day to day basis and how it will differ from their current playschool. I'm going to look round but not till next week so hoping some mumsnetters can give me some less jargony definitions

I’ve often wondered this. I think that it’s supposed to sound very special and elusive, but think it’s just “child centred”, which is what any pre-school worth its salt should be.

Exclusive, not elusive

And it’s a way to make you pay more money, too.

Haha, I think you might be right. The website says lots about "free flow" and "child centred" which sounds exactly the same as their current playschool!

Montessori originated in about 1900 so all the child centric stuff was probably quite out there then but these days it’s pretty standard for any nursery or pre school. My DD has done non Montessori and Montessori and the only noticeable difference was the Montessori was all wooden toys, no plastic!

At Montessori, they believe that children learn about their world through experiencing it. So they will have real crockery at snack time. They will have real drills/hammers. They don't use plastic play things. They use wooden toys. Children are taught to respect each other's space by putting their play things on a mat, so that people know they're busy with them.

There will be lots of similarities and differences to other settings. Some adhere to the principles more than others. True Montessori don't believe in pretend play so won't have dressing up. Some Montessori preschools go 'lite' and allow dress up.

When I taught reception, the montessori kids coming in had no clue about sitting down together as a group (would wander off to do what they wanted), had little experience of doing an activity when expected to, as it had been optional at nursery, and weren't used to set snack and lunchtimes, as they just ate when they wanted at nursery.

I can see the positives to some of this for young children, but the montessori kids were the ones who found routine and expectations that hardest once they started school.

This may well be just the montessori nursery that was near our school though!

Mine went to one and it doesn’t mean much. They didn’t go because it was Montessori, it was just that it was. Same price as others, same activities - only difference was a ‘room’ where they went and fiddled with things with a Montessori teacher occasionally!

@ElDormato that’s not normal Montessori nurseries as far as I’m aware!

All the things above - real hammers, no plastic, no dress up - absolutely none of that. I’d go and visit it to see it’s probably a bog standard nursery sounding fancy

It's a nursery who follow the teachings of Maria Montessori. A child centred approach to education wold have been radical back in the 1920's when she founded her teacher training association

My children went to a Montessori. It was amazing. Everything is at their level, it teaches independence (they make their own breakfast for example, help prepare snacks for other children from a very young age).

Traditional toys are provided, they learn to write through writing in sand, maths they did by using wooden blocks etc. it was wonderful alongside home life of plastic tat!

Mine went to a ‘real’ Montessori. We had a ‘fake’ one nearby too but it wasn’t anywhere near as good.

My son went to a Montessori. It was superb. Really calm environment, he thrived (and coped very well when he started school). Maybe depends on the particular nursery, as it does across the board.

Our local one seems to really push 'loose parts' basically it's full of choking hazards

My children didn’t go to a Montessori nursery but did many of these things at pre-school, including making own snacks with real knives, and using wooden blocks for counting as well as plenty of messy, tactile play. They also thrived and had no problem settling in at school when the time came.
They also played “dressing up” - no idea what anyone would have against this, especially as it wasn’t tacky Disney outfits but “real” clothes.
I wonder if the appeal for some parents is that because you have to pay for it, your child will be mixing with children from “a certain type of family “ rather than all and sundry at a non M setting??

Mu understanding is you can use the term 'Montessori' without needing any specific regulation. This means nurseries vary hugely in how much of the approach they follow.

My ds went to a Montessori school when he was about 2 1/2. It wasn't a good mix. He liked the "peeling the carrot" activity though it was excruciating watching him being told "you have to place the peeler beside peeled carrot and fold the apron over the back of the chair when you're finished." Every task was very anal.
At circle time a very softly spoken woman was discussing their art work (leaf prints) in great detail. The other kids all sat perfectly quiet and listened. My son ran around the circle yelling. We persevered for another couple of weeks and it was agreed it wasn't a good fit. My dd on the other hand would have loved it.

My daughter went to a forest school which followed the general principle of montessori.

The toys were very open ended - things like wooden blocks, wooden peg people, pots and pans. So the kids used their imagination a lot more. E.g. in the kitchen area they used sticks and whatever they found nearby to make food and pretend what it was rather than being restricted to "this plastic green item is made to look like peas so I'm making peas".

They used real implements like saws, drills and knives and cooked on an open fire from 2.5 years old.

Play was very much child led with the adults there to make sure they didn't hurt themselves, or would join in when asked to by the children.

If you have watched Bluey, she attends a montessori type school.

Gosh lots of responses and it seems mixed experiences with Montessori

@ElDormato the one I'm looking at has set snack and lunch times and has a big focus on their website about getting kids ready for school so hopefully that won't be an issue

@FrancescaContini you have to pay for all the playschools round here and the Montessori is no more expensive than the others so I don't think that's the motivation

I'm a bit sad they might not have dress up, seems like a perfectly valid activity for preschoolers. Will make sure I ask about it when I look round

Thank you so much for all the answers, I feel like I have a better understanding of what to expect now

DS dressed up at his Montessori nursery. It was lovely. Lots of outdoor time and space, lots of learning through his own interests. It turns out he’s autistic but we didn’t know that at the time. He really thrived through all the sensory activities and being able to capitalise on his special interests to inspire learning.

Money for old rope

We got the pre-school funding at Montessori just like we would have done at any other pre-school. All 'types of family' went there. The only difference is that my DD didn't beg me not to take her back at Montessori, like she did at the other pre-school. My other DDs went to a different pre-school and the funding was no different.

It's a fancy name for things that any decent nursery does.
My dc's went to a local outstanding nursery and it turned out they did all the montesorri stuff anyway.