Montessori??? | Imamother

amother

Magenta

Fri, Dec 21 2018, 10:29 am

I’ve recently been exposed to a Montessori preschool. Can you explain the mehalech and what it’s about. Seems so robotic and like the Kids are little soldiers. They’re happy and precious but I don’t get it.

amother

Blonde

Fri, Dec 21 2018, 10:34 am

I have two children in a Montessori preprimary (ages 3-6, which includes "kindergarten"). They love it and are flourishing. I don't claim to be an expert on the teaching philosophy, but if you have more specific questions about our experience, I'd be happy to answer them.

amother

Olive

Fri, Dec 21 2018, 1:02 pm

I am not an expert on Montessori but some of the bullet points of their mehalech:
- let the kids learn at their own pace what they are interested (they are excited to learn what they choose and I see from experience that they are picking up things way ahead of their same age friends)
- a range of kids in each classroom. teaches life skills like leadership, following, how to explain something to a friend...
- physically they have a lot of lessons which teach hidden things like how to hold a pencil correctly, how to pour from a bottle, how to hold a scissor, how to dress and undress themselves etc.

amother

Lime

Fri, Dec 21 2018, 1:50 pm

I think it very much depends on how each school chooses to implement the Montessori philosophy. In theory, I think it sounds wonderful. In practice, I haven't been impressed with how it's being implemented- in the two Montessori preschools in my area.

Hashem_Yaazor

Sun, Dec 23 2018, 5:12 pm

It's about fostering independence and self-confidence in a multi-aged setting through natural life experiences as the driving force behind the learning. So as much as can be done through experiential learning, it will be....but there is choice involved in having the children decide on their own through the framework of what they need to accomplish how they will master a skill -- in what order will they do their work, what activity they will do to practice that.

I don't see the children as robots at all -- they don't follow commands; there is so much self-driven instruction involved.

I don't think it works for every child, though. I have 2 children in a Montessori based program this year, one of whom it was the best fit for and one who could go either way, but I have other children that would not have done well with this method.

trixx

Sun, Dec 23 2018, 8:13 pm

amother wrote:

You're describing a typical classroom where kids are products on an assembly line.
Not at all Montessori - the furthest from it. Do some googling.

Ashrei

Sun, Dec 23 2018, 9:54 pm

I agree that the method may not be for every child. I feel that the Jewish Montessori schools, by their nature, are progressive schools, and therefore a refreshing reprieve from standard Yeshivos, at least for boys. The teachers are just more invested, caring, etc. It's also more expensive tho, I've found, but for these very reasons.

amother

Blonde

Mon, Dec 24 2018, 3:01 pm

amother wrote:

Seems so robotic and like the Kids are little soldiers.

This sounds to me like you observed the kids working quietly and intensely during the work period. As I understand it, Montessori capitalizes on kids' natural desire to work hard at certain kinds of tasks. It's not that they're robots, but that they're really into what they're doing and they're really focused on it.

You've probably seen the same kind of intense concentration outside the classroom too, but it might not have struck you as "robotic" because it was in a context you think of as "play" rather than "work." For example, my 1 year old likes to open a dresser drawer or crawl up to a hamper, and then methodically pull out every item of clothing until the drawer or hamper is empty. He also likes to do the same to cupboards containing canned goods. He is really focused and quiet when he's doing it, but I think he enjoys it (and certainly nobody forces him to do it over and over). I see my older kids focus similarly hard when they build something out of magna tiles or draw at home. It's totally normal and kids can learn a lot in a relatively short period when their concentration is channeled.