It is enrollment time, and parents of four and almost five-year-old Montessori students are trying to decide whether to keep their child at the Montessori school or send them off to the local non-Montessori schools.
Why would you invest thousands of dollars at a Montessori school when your child can attend the local school for free? It is a fair question and deserves a detailed answer. Below are answers to some of the more common questions parents have regarding making this decision.
- What difference will one more year make?
Maria Montessori designed the Montessori curriculum as a three-year cycle. Children start as novices in their first year and become apprentices in their second year, but during the third year, they internalize all that they have learned in the last two years and become experts. Tim Seldin of The Montessori Foundation states, “when children leave Montessori before they have had the time to internalize these early concrete experiences, their early learning often evaporates, because it is neither reinforced nor commonly understood.” By staying at a Montessori school and finishing their Kindergarten year, your child will have the opportunity to reinforce academic concepts like place value, decimal system, mathematical operations, understanding of the human body, the solar system, etc., thus making the knowledge they have acquired, a permanent part of who they are.
2. Is the focus solely on academics?
As important as academic progress is, this is not our ultimate goal. Our goal is to instill in our students the love of learning. Learning becomes fun and engaging when children are given the freedom to explore and be curious within a carefully prepared environment. When a child independently finishes a task, they feel a sense of pride and develop confidence as learners. By age five, “children are beginning to reflect upon the world” (Tomorrow’s Child Magazine, January 2017, p.21). They notice more and ask questions to understand the world around them. By incorporating cultural units and charity projects in the curriculum, our teachers nurture this curiosity and encourage children to become caring citizens of the world.
3. What are the advantages of keeping my five-year-old in a Montessori School?
Aside from the benefits mentioned above, you will find that a Montessori Kindergarten curriculum is much more advanced than what your child will experience in a traditional school. Moving a child during this crucial year may diminish their learning success as they will miss the opportunity to internalize the early concrete experiences learned in a Montessori setting. Each Montessori concept transitions from concrete to abstract, and learning becomes permanent when students can see, feel, and touch each material before making the transition to advance abstract concepts.
4. The final advantage is social adaptability. Many parents worry that if their child does not transition to a traditional school in kindergarten, he will not adjust to the new environment. What a child acquires from a Montessori Environment is the ‘Love of Learning.’ An uninterrupted work cycle, self-correcting materials, and differentiated learning plans that fit each child help facilitate critical thinking and self-regulating skills. These skills help children be creative when learning and navigating social dilemmas while preparing them to adapt and flourish in different educational and social settings.
Also, a Montessori classroom is rooted in the sense of community. Peer helping peers, community services throughout the year, tools for conflict resolution, etc., enable children to become outstanding community members long after they graduate from King’s Wood.
After reading this article, we hope that when the time comes to give your child the gift of a Montessori education, you will give King’s Wood Montessori School sincere consideration.
Feel free to contact us with questions or to speak to a current Kindergarten parent to get their perspective on the program.
