Montessori: is it worth €3000pa extra?

I've a decision to make. I've two kids in crèche. The oldest is a couple of months shy of 3 years old and a place has come up in a well-regarded local montessori. However, on top of the extra monthly fee I'll lose the sibling discount and it would essentially cost slightly over €3,000pa extra of my net income to take the eldest of the two and place her in a montessori. It will also entail extra hassle each morning and evening going to two places rather than one. She's very happy in her current crèche (which is part of a crèche chain) but people are saying that at this age a montessori would be substantially better for her development. Is this true?

Just how much better are montessoris for a child's development? If it's indisputably substantially better I'll pay the extra money and take the extra hassle, but I'm just concerned that it could be all hype and not in reality any better.

Big Bag of Chips

I have 4 children, who never attended a Montessori. They're all doing great. School reports are always excellent. They consistently score between 8 and 10 on their STENs. They could all do with a bit of improvement on their organisational skills and making sure they don't forget things going out the door, but I think that's more down to being kids rather than the lack of Montessori teaching in their lives!

I can't comment on how significantly better their development may be had they had the Montessori experience in their lives, but the option wasn't available to us, and I don't see any huge difference in them and children who may have attended Montessori. You wouldn't pick them out in a playground for example!!

padser

Big Bag of Chips wrote: »

I have 4 children, who never attended a Montessori. They're all doing great. School reports are always excellent. They consistently score between 8 and 10 on their STENs. They could all do with a bit of improvement on their organisational skills and making sure they don't forget things going out the door, but I think that's more down to being kids rather than the lack of Montessori teaching in their lives!

I can't comment on how significantly better their development may be had they had the Montessori experience in their lives, but the option wasn't available to us, and I don't see any huge difference in them and children who may have attended Montessori. You wouldn't pick them out in a playground for example!!

I'm not sure picking them out in the playground is the definition by which most would judge success of Montessori.

@OP, if I were you I'd review long term studies performed on children by reputable research groups. My understanding is that they generally show better achievement outcomes for Montessori vs creche but I'm not fully up to date on it.

I discount internet opinions from people who have seen small numbers of children either attend or not attend Montessori.....those opinions are unlikely to be particularly useful.

Dardania

I don't have the experience of typical creche and Montessori to compare them, however in your position I wouldn't move to Montessori - I would use that extra €3k per year on family holidays, travel, summer courses in areas that interest etc. either now or later - culturally enrich them.

The point of Montessori, to my understanding, is to give a freer, more child centric approach to learning compared to traditional methods. I would be curious if the creche they currently attend isn't child centric and freer? A lot of the modern creches seem to be adopting elements of the Montessori approach...
If your eldest is happy, it implies she's getting on well...why interrupt that, and also shoulder an extra time burden in the mornings and evenings (not ot mention parent teacher meetings at different times for both facilities etc.)

tuisginideach

The Montessori system of education is highly regarded. My own two children attended a local Montessori for 2years / 1 year (with qualified Montessori teachers). I have to admit that while they got on very well in it, I am not convinced that they really are any 'better/better off' - in any way - than their current friends who didn't attend Montessori.

The 'Montessori' in the creche my children attended (not the Montessori they attended) was dubbed the Monte-story as parents felt the 'Montessori qualification/ethos' was a bit of a tall tale.

The doors still get banged, the clothes are still thrown on the floor, the chairs are still dragged not lifted - I wish it was different!

For me the deciding factor would be the journey morning and night!

grogi

Dardania wrote: »

I don't have the experience of typical creche and Montessori to compare them, however in your position I wouldn't move to Montessori - I would use that extra €3k per year on family holidays, travel, summer courses in areas that interest etc. either now or later - culturally enrich them.

^^ This.

What's more, the additional operational hassle means that the OP will have less time and energy for the children. That is extremely important for them.

shesty

I wouldn't move her if your reasoning is that it might give her some sort of head start in life or something.Montessori is great and I have heard it's very good as a preschool method but does it give them an advantage in some way?I wouldn't really think so.If you would simply prefer the Montessori over the school she's in now, then that's a personal decision for you, but it is a lot of extra hassle by the sounds of it, for the sake of a couple of years of preschool. My own little one is in a preschool; I would probably have chosen a Montessori if it was near and handy but there isn't one, and we are very happy with our choice.The ethos of her preschool is perfect for us, and she's loving it.

Big Bag of Chips

padser wrote: »

I discount internet opinions from people who have seen small numbers of children either attend or not attend Montessori.....those opinions are unlikely to be particularly useful.

But that is exactly what she asked for. I'm sure the internet is ful of various studies and reports and stastics, but the poster is asking for personal advice/opinion/experience.

I have 4 children. None of them went to montessori. I don't think their development at age 3-4 was substantially better (to use the direct question asked by the OP) or worse than that of other 3-4 year olds who did go to montessori. Now, at various ages from 12 down, I can see no significant difference in them and their peers who may have gone to montessori.

OP, you and your family life will really be the biggest influence on your child and on their development. As mentioned by others mine didn't go to a montessori, because there wasn't one convenivent to me. Had there been one convenient to me, who knows? And who knows how "substantially better" it might have been for their devleopment?! - I guess we'll never know.

But my point is, speaking from personal experience, mine didn't go, and their development has been pretty much in line with all their peers.

lazygal

I'm biased as a former Montessori teacher. I love the method and if we could have worked out the logistics I would have sent mine to a private primary school that teaches through the method as well as sending them to a Montessori for preschool age.
If you can afford the money without making sacrifices elsewhere and it isn't too much hassle I would chose the Montessori every time. I still ponder changing schools at some point, although their current primary school is great.

Dardania

lazygal wrote: »

I'm biased as a former Montessori teacher. I love the method and if we could have worked out the logistics I would have sent mine to a private primary school that teaches through the method as well as sending them to a Montessori for preschool age.
If you can afford the money without making sacrifices elsewhere and it isn't too much hassle I would chose the Montessori every time. I still ponder changing schools at some point, although their current primary school is great.

That's an interesting point - to get the most from the Montessori approach, would it have to sustain in primary school also?

I think I read in the past that the co-founders of Google attribute their open-mindedness in conceiving Google to their Montessori roots, which were a large feature in their youth

lazygal

Not necessarily, as the curriculum is designed with children being able to do the work that appeals to them along with guidance from the teacher.
I apply a lot of what I learned in my teaching to how I parent-my husband said he noticed this more and more as they got a little older. The Secret of Childhood is a bit old fashioned but good to read as an overview of how she formed her method and why children do things in certain ways.

pwurple

Mine went to /go to montisorri preschool, and both enjoyed it immensely. They love the freedom, and it does give some independence and self confidence. However, it has some downsides. You really need the patience and time to let them do things themselves. I find it exhasperating some mornings when I am running late for a meeting and she is insisting on doing every single button herself... painfully... excruciatingly... slowly.

My friends send theirs to primary montisorri also, but while it suits their daughter, it doesn’t suit their son, so they are moving him. He doesn’t really engage with it, and seems to do better in his extracurricullar stuff where there is more structure.

It worked for us though because it is nearby and convenient. I put location at the top of all lists. We are not, as a family, driving around wasting our time, money and polluting the place unless absolutely necessary.

Pretty much everyone will base their answer to your decision on their own experience. My two kids each did s two year cycle of Montessori. They are now 19 and 20 and recently talked about how much they enjoyed the activities. Magnet play, weights etc all help with numeracy and dexterity


Both scored 600+ in LC. Both studying medicine and are sociable, balanced young adults.

Not all down to.montessori
There was s lot of hard work along the way. but in my opinion it's a great start in life for s child.

happywithlife

I have 3 kids and they attend creche though some of the workers are Montessori trained
For my 2 cents worth I think it may enhance them right here and now but long-term? I just can't see it personally. Most if indeed not all current education models promote the child centred approach and given our educationnal setup I just can't see the benefits making any long term difference, as they will more than likely end up in the same primary system as everyone else anyway. Your own ethos to education is I believe one of the biggest driving forces to a childs educational outcone- if you are already engaged enough to be asking the question of the benefits of one educational model over another that suggests to me you are already giving your children a good head start. Put the 3k toward other activities as suggested (or start that college fund now lol as I firmly believe the cost of third level is only going to increase significantly by the time our children are in college) and use the time saved in the commute to sit down and play with them in the evenings - much more beneficial imho

lazygal

Creche based Montessori services are very different to a stand alone service ime. When I did my work experience our college wouldn't approve many schools in creches because their interpretation of the method wasn't up to standard. You really need to check the qualifications and exactly what they're teaching. Sticking a pink tower in a corner and having plastic insets for design isn't a Montessori school.