Montessori for SN good or bad?

[gracej]

I need your help and comments please...
The city we are living in has only one English speaking crèche, and it is a Montessori nursery. DS really needs contract with other children, I desperately want to put him in a nursery for just a few hours a week.
The big dilemma I have is that, due to him neurological problem, he lacks attention. He doesn?t explore as much as he should for his age. He doesn?t have imaginative play.
I don?t know much about the Montessori system, but I believe they basically let the child ?lead the way?, they don?t really encourage them to explore new things or investigate things that the child has not naturally found. I think DS needs to be pushed a little, otherwise, he would just never improve.
Do any of you have experience with the Montessori system with your children and what do you think of it? Do you think it will help DS?

I think it's not like that, they allow the children to take the lead, they won't allow him to get behind but would not stop him if he wants to go further than the rest of the group. And in many occassions, they will adapt materials or place emphasis on the things that are more likely to help him.

I think the one 2 one nature of Montessori may suit him. My nephew is autistic and while he attended a Montessori school had a much better time than when going to a normal school. Even when he got a place at a special school my sister insisted in he going to the Montessori school at least a few hours twice a week.

Forgot to add, many of the Montessori methodology has been widely integrated in normal childcare services. In the same way, many schools who are not "completely" Montessori, have taken that name. So... have a look, compare it to what he would get in the other nurseries available and choose the one you like best.

Good luck!

Message withdrawn

Wow, I got it all wrong. It sounds fantastic. Really happy I asked you guys.
It's brilliant to get feedback from people that have actually seen how it has worked with other SN children.
I think I'll go and speak to them and get him a place. It will do him a world of good not to be with me all day long. If anyone else has any other comments/experience, greatly appreciated.

DD nearly 4 adores it, 5 sessions so much + feeback, its so much one on one.
I would recommend it espeically for kids with SN as well as NT kids tbh...

I understood that Montessori was originally developed for children with SN, or Maria Montessori worked with children with SN. I also think that the fact they have chosen a specific method is good as they may give the whole thing more thought. BUT, it all depends on how good it is, like any other school.

Montessori was developed within the care system for parentless children, and also children of parents who ahd limited resources (did my Acess presentation on it). it's about encouraging a child to develop confidence and find their own methods to do things, with support but minimal intervention.

Sam went to a Montessori. It's the happiest time he ever had, TBH. He liked the structure and the supportive- but- in- the background style a lot, indeed if they had still run the infant school they used to do, I'd have sold the house (we used to own) to buy him a place.

I think the key with Amontessori is the leader. Ours worked well with the system, but was also a very warm loving person, which was important to make the children feel empwered instead of kept at arms length, if that makes sense.

There is no Montessori here if there were, DS3 would be enrolled immediately.

yep...
dd's school ,opened 4 weeks ago, she has been going for 4 weeks!
DD has some modest issues, mostly sue to poor vision and she is alarmed by running/shouting oi oi rambunctious boys. She has a poor idea of her personal safety as her vision is so bad.
Also at pre school she would be expected to draw around letters and numbers - she has poor pencil control, once again sue to muscle maxity and poor vision.
But at montessori she can use counting rods and beads and express herself in a way that always achieves something for her.
WE now know she is above average numerically and langauge wise, but if you assessed her within a trad nursery school she is delayed by almost a year.
No brainer for us

Would echo all the positive things here. DS2 has been going to a Montessori nursery for over a year, with 1:1 since last Sept. The structured, repetitive nature of the sessions really suits him. Our OT visited him there just before the end of term and was delighted to see him doing fine motor activities - at home he hasn't cooperated with her trying to do this sort of stuff with him at all. A lot of the activities they do are excellent for children with fine motor problems, like DS2 - pouring salt into tiny containers, cooking at least once a week, lots of sorting and matching. They are very gentle with him, but they don't let him drift either. They've even managed to get him interacting with the other children, which I almost never see at home (apart from with DS1, a bit). So yes, another fan

Would echo all the positive things here. DS2 has been going to a Montessori nursery for over a year, with 1:1 since last Sept. The structured, repetitive nature of the sessions really suits him. Our OT visited him there just before the end of term and was delighted to see him doing fine motor activities - at home he hasn't cooperated with her trying to do this sort of stuff with him at all. A lot of the activities they do are excellent for children with fine motor problems, like DS2 - pouring salt into tiny containers, cooking at least once a week, lots of sorting and matching. They are very gentle with him, but they don't let him drift either. They've even managed to get him interacting with the other children, which I almost never see at home (apart from with DS1, a bit). So yes, another fan

My DD just 'graduated' from a Montessori school. All I can say is it worked, and worked really really well for my DD who has Down's syndrome. A lot of that was to do with the amazing caring teachers and the wonderful sweet children and their lovely parents. But she has left there not only counting to 20 in English but also in French, can say all the days of the week and the month, knows every colour, knows all body parts in English and French, when you say Bonjour, she replies with 'Bonjopur, cava?"!! She can put her own coat on, sing thousands of songs in English & French, is happy, confident and all that is mainly down to this amazing school.

For me I felt that chossing a Montessori felt like giving her a little head start in educating her. The workbooks showed me that through play she was learning to hold the pencil correctly and write her letters and recognise the letters and key words. Her concentration greatly improved. I love the way they make them tidy up after themselves when they have finished a certain project/game etc.

It was the best move I made.
Of course if I had gone there and not liked the vibe I wouldn't have chosen it. But not only did I like the way they did things there it just felt so right and no other school made me feel that way, I just knew it was the place for her.

Also, as I understand it Montessori school were originally only for children with special needs.
I think the structure and way of doing things is great for children who need a little extra help.

Good luck, it's a hard thing to have to decide on but when you know, you know.

gracej, I have no experience of Montessori nurseries but I firmly believe that any good nursery will be a rich & rewarding environment for your son. Our nursery has had experience of SN children over the years (a profoundly deaf boy, children with S&L difficulties and twins on the autistic spectrum) and have worked along with other agencies to accommodate their needs. I think that the NT children also benefit from being with SN children too.

Not in our case Bundle
DD was in a very high SN rated ofsted 5 * nursery and it simply did not suit her. The learnign objectives were discrimatory to a child with her problems, she constantly failed to keep up with the activites they set for her, despite SENCO and LEA SN support being involved.
Montessori has given dd a chance to learn and succeed at her own rate.
It is well worth the mini poverty it is sending us into

sorry to hear that piffle. there are "posher" nurseries round our way, which make great claims but I'd imagine are a little less flexible than our cosy, friendly one

I think you can have good and bad montessori/non-montessori nurseries and only experience will tell

Thanks for posting. I feel really excited about sending DS to the Montessori Nursery now! Thomcat?s story sounds so promising.
DS definitely needs a structured approach, it is extremely difficult to get him to concentrate on one task and Montessori sounds like the right route. In fact, I have been thinking about creating a new post titled ?Please, any tips on how to improve DS?s concentration?? It is so difficult playing with him sometimes (get him to do finish one game) that I end up completely exhausted, anyway, that is a different subject.
I have an appointment with the Creche tomorrow, so wish me luck!
Hopefully I will really get a good vibe and like the people.
xxx