Montessori?

[geordieminx]

I am considering putting ds into nursery for a couple of afternoons a week once he is 2 (a couple of weeks).

The 2 closest nurseries to us are Montessoris, can anyone give be a brief outline?

Many thanks

DS (26mo) has been going to a Montessori nursery since he turned two.

The interpretation of the Montessori system varies from nursery to nursery, but as far as I can tell, the main difference seems to be that they are quite focused on structured and group activities (alongside free play) and on teaching the children to sit and concentrate on one thing at a time. E.g. there is a big emphasis on everyone joining in tidying up toys etc after free play. They also have various Montessori 'materials' which are used for teaching letters, improving motor skills, etc.

But to be really honest, I don't think in practice there's that much difference between a Montessori and most mainstream nurseries -- certainly not as far as a 2yo would notice. They all have to follow the early years curriculum, after all. The older kids at DS's nursery do seem quite good at sitting down for circle time etc, but I haven't got anything else to compare it against. DS has settled very well there and I'm glad we chose that nursery but couldn't say he would be any less happy at a mainstream nursery.

The nursery manager did say when we enrolled DS that not all 2yos are ready for that environment and I can see that perhaps it's more suited to a child who enjoys puzzles and colouring etc (like DS) rather than one who needs to tear around burning off energy all day although they do spend quite a lot of time outside in nice weather.

HTH -- feel free to ask any more questions...