FEQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT MONTESSORI

Can a 3 to 5 year-old child benefit from a Montessori school?  Yes! The Montessori program enhances what the parents already teach at home.  However, it would be difficult for most parents to provide the complete and well-organized experiences available in a Montessori classroom.  It would also be difficult for most parents to devote the time to meet the child’s individual needs in all the various areas of learning.  Five half-days may seem like too much time for a preschool experience, but the children benefit from the structure and consistency the classroom provides.

Don’t the children in Montessori classroom miss out on social development?  Actually, they are in a more meaningful social situation than they are likely to find elsewhere.  In going about their daily activities in the classroom, they meet and talk with one another, discuss common problems, correct each other’s mistakes, answer questions, borrow and lend, and help each other in many ways.  Moreover, they often spontaneously form into groups to carry out tasks together.  Older children are usually excited to help out their less developed friends.

What is the difference between a Montessori school and a nursery school?  This cannot be given a simple answer because there are so many types of nursery schools (and also variations in Montessori schools).  Some nursery schools are largely devoted to play, some to social development, others are merely babysitting services.  Some do concentrate on the total development of the child.

Don’t the children have too much freedom and no discipline?  Freedom is not undisciplined, unruly, selfish behavior. The child is free to do what is right but not what is wrong or unacceptable.  Three basic rules guide the child’s freedom in a Montessori classroom:  1. He may not be disorderly or unruly; 2. He may not abuse materials; 3. He may not disturb other children.  He is free to move about and to select those materials which interest him (provided he has developed to the point of being ready for  the information), and he is free to use the materials as long as he wishes, but he must return them to their place when he finishes. As he develops control over his own behavior, he refines his need for order and develops self-discipline.

Doesn’t the set way of doing things stifle creativity?  Creativity is a reordering of knowledge and of one’s environment in a different and meaningful way.  In order to do this, a child must have a background of knowledge about his environment, which the sensorial materials in a Montessori classroom provide.  Moreover, the primary intent of the Montessori method is to help the child in the most creative process possible, the shaping of himself for adulthood.

Why is a Montessori classroom non-competitive?  Each child works at his own level of ability, interest, and pace so competition is not relevant.  No two children’s needs arise at the same time for the same length of time.

Isn’t Montessori only for “bright” children?  No.  Because the Montessori approach is concerned with the development of each child as an individual, most children will benefit. 

I have heard that children often repeat the same activity over and over again.  Why?  The child derives pleasure from repetition because it answers one of the basic inner needs of man:  the desire to gain mastery over his movements, to refine and perfect them.  Once a child believes he has mastered an activity he no longer feels the need for repetition.

Will my child have a difficult time adjusting to a regular school after attending a Montessori school?  Generally speaking, when a child has developed all aspects of his personality, he has fewer problems adjusting than a child without a Montessori background. Form our experience (and those of other Montessori schools), most children adapt well.  There is, of course, always a brief period of transition as is normal when going from Kindergarten to first grade or from one school to another.