What made you think that she wouldn't thrive in a traditional setting?
I thought that coz she's a very active child. sitting for long hrs n doing as required is not for her. plus she's quite independant so montessori gives her both freedom of choice n movement. it gives u that discipline from within thing. like for me it wasn't that imp that she learns to read at 4 as it is how she develops an interest n urge for learning n MA she has achieved it so far. also as a child i always hated that traditional setting n thus thought my daughter being a reminder of my childhood might not like it as well.
Also, you are right that perhaps this was an unusual set up. The class was really all brown and beige. No color. And I asked the teacher if this is just one part of their classroom but that was it.
My other concern was the you have new arrivals from back home who come in and get their Montessori teacher certificate. They don't know much about life in US and have "strange accents." There's this one Montessori where my Indian friend teaches and she tells me that at least 40% of their teachers are from other countries. I respect diversity but I would be a bit concerned about what my child is listening to in terms of the local perspective, use of the English language...
Please note that I am not trying to put any system down but I really want to know the worth of spending so much money before I make a decision.
Nikisik just because a school calls it Montessori doesn't actually make it a true montessori school. there r lots of schools who use this term but not all follow the true philosophy of Maria Montessori. So to find the real one browse more. Read literature on Maria's philosophy.
the one my daughter goes to is a really big school with outside playarea, gym, library, field trips, pizza luches, welcome breakfasts, music, drama n french classes. they hav even made a vegetable garden for kids last yr.
niks, thats why its SO important that you send your child to an actual montessori and not to a montessori off-shoot.
the only valid program that i know of, through my mum and my cousin, is AMI - http://www.montessori-ami.org/
if your child’s teacher is AMI taught and certified, then she should be practicing Montessori correctly and teaching your child properly. the others like TMI, etc., are all offshoots started by people who attended AMI but in fact follow different curriculum’s and teach their students (i.e. future Montessori teachers) differently.
check the link i’ve posted to find a school.
mehnaz, in an actual montessori setting, someone with an ECE degree would NOT be allowed to practice.
the montessori program itself is very rigorous and thorough.