Montessori Education

I went to see a local Montessori today with the idea of enrolling Brenna once she's 2 and I loved it!!!
They do morning or afteroon sessions and the teachers were so lovely!

Has anyone had any experience with Montessori? What did you think?

Maya went for two years and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it, she has absolutely thrived in the Montessori environment, and has started school more than ready with basic literacy and numeracy, plus I think the idea of making them finish a task they started encourages perseverance. I don't regret sending her there for a single second.
One thing I was disappointed about tho is that they don't teach phonics anymore, which is a key Montessori philosphy, apparently the schools don't like them to as reading in schools is based on word recognition rather than phonetics (as you would well know Anna!).
I've got the gremlins enrolled too, they can start when they're 2 but I'll probably hold them back till 2 1/2 as it is a very structured environment and I personally think 2 is a wee bit young for that kind of structure.

I was amazed that for us Montessori actually worked out cheaper than having her in daycare, I expected it to be hellishly expensive.

We've looked into it for Caitlin and the ones in our area are the same as Day care for 2yrs+, $180.

We're in 2 minds over it now as the daycare she's at is really good and has a lot of what I like about Montessori with a good amount of free play which was what was lacking in some of the M centres we visited.
I've had feedback from some New Entrant teachers that some M students lack in imaginitive play skills and need a level of structure that is not always available at school and therefore has an effect on their learning as they readjust.

From chats I've had with Emma about Maya's M school - I think I'll wait and see where Caitlin is when she is 2.5-3yrs and then make a decision

I am probably going to go that way with Ollie - still thinking though about whether I want him to have more free play and 'run around' time as he is a pretty active wee man!
Like Emma, I love the way the children have focused tasks and learn to perserve and complete things.
From my teaching exp I have found that the children usually come in to school with excellent literacy and numeracy skills but generally by the end of the first year the others have caught up anyway.
It is interesting reading everyones ideas. Good topic Anna!

that 2nd one sounds great:) good luck

Maya's Montessori kept them in til 10am, mostly coz the kids all arrive between 8-9am so they set up a number of indoor activities to help settle them, but after morning tea there was plenty of indoor/outdoor flow and they could choose to be in or out. The centre directors hubby also spent a lot of time with the kids doing carpentry and stuff.
And they did do some imaginative play, stuff like puppet shows etc. I think it all depends on teh individual centre and how strictly they adhere to the Montessori philosophy.

Hannah would love Montessori Aimee, she reminds me a lot of Maya.