Montessori Education - Castle Rock,CO

Hi! We actually toured that exact same school. We put in our letter of intent in August and we were accepted for this up-coming school year (2012-2013) for kindergarten so it was not so hard getting in. It is a lottery there though! So you could put in your intent now and somebody else could do it 6 months from now and they could get in and not you. We decided not to go the montessori route, but it seems like a good school, although when we toured it the student teacher ratio seemed like it was higher than 1:10. Also, it really did seem like a good school and I really struggled with the decision to go there or not, but their test scores are not nearly as good as the other charters in Douglas County, so definitely look around and do your research and take tours! Good luck!

I would research the Montessori method and see what you think. I was interested in a Montessori preschool and we ended up at a school with a different approach. But this school worked wonders with my son--he can be a real handful and they worked with him through a lot of difficult behavior the first year. By the end of pre-K he was where he needed to be to do well in K this year. My daughter is a totally different personality but seems to enjoy this school too. Montessori is a good method and I have a few friends who have their kids at Montessori school and are happy there. But it isn't they only teaching effective method out there. See if you think it works well with your child's personality and your parenting style. Also, I know I am constantly looking stuff and explaining things to my kids outside of school so I it isn't like self-directed learning is restricted to school.

You will have to do a walk thru of the facility, personally I am not a fan of the Montessori system, I understand that for some kids it has it's benefits but my son needs the more traditional school experience with a sprinkling of self direction. Also, what I have noticed is that each is differnt, what I saw in the ones I visited may not be what you see - same for charter schools.

If you put your daughter's name on the waiting list, you could always take it off again if you change your mind, right?

The Montessori system is an educational philosophy stressing independent work. It can be good. I have nieces who greatly benefited from that type of education.

That said, any type of school is only as good as its teachers and its administrators. As you wait until your daughter is old enough, you will want to keep track and see how good the faculty is.

I love Montessori - the philosophy is awesome, but every teacher, school and family's experience can be quite varied. To have a public Montessori school is very rare and sounds awesome. My understanding is that children who thrive in the 3-6 age class, will most likely have a great time in the elementary as well. This is due partially to the emergent curriculum that happens between the primary and elementary, but also relates to if the child and family are resonating with the Montessori approach. I would ask the elementary program about their thoughts and recommendations on this. If your 2 year old will probably be in preschool by age 3 anyway, this could be a great way to get a feel for Montessori. Here's some good additional info on the essence of Montessori by the way: http://mariamontessori.com/mm/