S.C.
Hi T.-
So I see that you have had good responses to Montessori, let me say that our experience was not great at all. I think that if a child starts in Montessori or has a "certin" type of personalitly, Montessori is great. My little boy is all boy, he loves going 90 miles an hour, and is very creative. He loves to be in a group or will play quite well by his self. At Montessori, he was constantly in trouble with the school rules and we were getting almost daily phone calls from the teacher. The behavior that my son had at school were not behaviors that he displayed at home or with friends children. We were very concerned and were working with the teacher and the school director for months. I was very upset and concerend that we couldn't get his days under control at the school. After 8 months, and when the teacher and the director pulled me aside, to let me know that the reason my son was having problems at school was because my husband and I didn't model our home life after the Montessori way, I had had enough. I removed my child from Montessori and placed him with our Church's day program. We had a about 2 weeks of a transition and never had another problem at school. He will now be in the second grade at a public school and he is doing just fine. I will also tell you that I've had a few friends and patients that had problems with the Montessori schools too. My best friend is a second grade teacher in the Cy-Fair public schools and she said that the Montessori schools are great if you want to send your child to a private school, but they have a hard time adjusting to public school. My exprience with Montessori still leaves a very hard feeling with my husband and myself that I will never ever recommend Montessori to any one.
I know that we all want to send our children to the best schools, but I don't think Montessori is right for everyone. Good luck.