Montessori

[Guest guest]

How funny you posted this, I just called a Montessori school in my

area. I wanted to do my homework for Callie, she will be going to pre-

school in Sept. 2005. In my neck of the woods, fall 2004 is 100 %

gone, wait list only.

I would be very interested in the respones you get, hopegfully posted

here & not sent to you directly.

Does Jonah get speech therapy? How will that work in pre-school?

thanks

> We are having a hard time deciding what preschool environment would

be the best

> for Jonah (almost 3) this fall. We had him in a preschool where he

was well-loved this

> past spring for socialization, but we're not sure it is the best

place for him now. It is

> a typical privately-owned preschool. about 15 children to 1 teacher

& 1 aide. There

> are also several roaming adults who look out for children who need

hugs or attention.

>

> We are considering Montessori and I wonder if anyone has any input

on how that

> environment is for children with apraxia. I like the materials

that the children have to

> work with and I think Jonah would like it there. The

student:teacher ratio is 25

> students to 2 teachers. But the materials are far more interesting

and there is MUCH

> more space.

>

> If anyone has experience with Montessori one way or the other I

would greatly

> appreciate your comments. Thank you so much!!!

>

>

[Guest guest]

,

I am struggling with the same issue. My 7 yo went to Montessori

Preschool and also Kindergarten. He now attends public school.

Montessori was *great* for my 7 yo (only problems being that he had

to adjust to new expectations once entering public school and he

almost became *too advanced* and it may have caused some behavioral

problems). My son's advanced reading level is at least 3 grade

levels ahead, so it made for some problems when he didn't want to do

the 1st grade reading stuff last year.

I so much want for my 32 mo nonverbal son (Evan) to be able to get

the same benefit from Montessori that my 7 yo did. In Evan's case, I

seriously doubt that he would get too advanced...if anything he might

be brought up to age level. Right now I am unsure as to what to do,

as Evan also has receptive language problems (so therefore probably

not just apraxia). At the Montessori program near us, they want the

2 yo's (which is the class that he would be in) to be able to follow

non-routine 2-step directions. Evan can do that occasionally, but

not so well that I would say he can follow 2-step directions...but we

are working on it. They also have stated that the cannot provide him

with 1:1 the whole time he is there (only 3 hrs/wk), and I cannot say

with any certainty that he could follow all their directions and do

what is expected of him. I would like to have him try, as we'll

never know unless we try; but, I think he ultimately will not work

out there:-( Also, his neurologist stated that he does not feel that

a Montessori program would be an appropriate placement for him. I am

not sure why the neuro feels this way (could be just a general

dislike of Montessori for any child, but I think he thinks that Evan

wouldn't be able to get enough therapy there. Also, you probably

know that the Montessori philosophy does not embrace the idea that a

child needs to play pretend. They use real objects and teach

children about what is real vs. unreal. That may also be why our

neuro doesn't want Evan to go to Montessori, as his initial

impression was that Evan may have PDD-NOS.

I will probably let Evan try to go to Montessori but not be surprised

if it doesn't work out. Like my husband said that Wayne Gretsky once

said " You miss 100% of the shots that you don't take. "

As I said, my son probably has more going on than just apraxia, but a

child with a speech (but not language) problem might very well work

out at a Montessori program. You are right about the

materials...they're great...especially things like sandpaper letters

and multisensory things like that. If your school district will send

the speech therapist to the Montessori school to work with your son

that would be great!

Bottom line...Montessori education works very well for some

children...but not for others. All you can do is try. I hope this

helps a little bit. Feel free to email me privately if you want to

discuss it more.

Laurel, mom to Evan (32 mo, Pierre Robin Sequence, nonverbal) and

(7 yo, mild stutterer, mild sensory issues [in my opinion])

> We are having a hard time deciding what preschool environment would

be the best

> for Jonah (almost 3) this fall. We had him in a preschool where he

was well-loved this

> past spring for socialization, but we're not sure it is the best

place for him now. It is

> a typical privately-owned preschool. about 15 children to 1 teacher

& 1 aide. There

> are also several roaming adults who look out for children who need

hugs or attention.

>

> We are considering Montessori and I wonder if anyone has any input

on how that

> environment is for children with apraxia. I like the materials

that the children have to

> work with and I think Jonah would like it there. The

student:teacher ratio is 25

> students to 2 teachers. But the materials are far more interesting

and there is MUCH

> more space.

>

> If anyone has experience with Montessori one way or the other I

would greatly

> appreciate your comments. Thank you so much!!!

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi,

My son attended a Montessori school for toddler classes starting when he was

just under two years old. By that time, he had an autism diagnosis, but was

very social. He did need extra help, so we sent a habilitation provider

with him (someone who did his home program with him as well.) Montessori

focuses on fostering independent thinking. You are supposed to

independently select your " work " and then put it away and get other work

when you are done. You can have snack, which sits out, when you want, but

you need to get a napkin, sit down and clean up after yourself when you are

done. All schools might not follow this exactly, but the point here is that

it is quite focused on independence. (which is GREAT if your child has that

type of discipline.) Mine, did not. It was like, " snack is out? Cool! "

then grab some goldfish and run. Now I think I'll run wild and check out

all these awesome toys!! ETC.

He later acquired an apraxia diagnosis. I guess it depends on the overall

issues your child has. It was great for him to be around other so-called

" typical " children because modeling is so important to apraxic kids and we

want to expose them to these " typicals " as much as possible, especially for

speech development and social skills. However, in our case, he was always

dependent on having that 1:1 to keep him on track. He gets so much 1:1

therapy as it is, that we finally decided, once pre-school started, to put

him in a mixed classroom that had " peer role models " but that was primarily

a developmental preschool with all the therapies included (speech, ot, pt).

This way it was more of a mix and he didn't have to always have an adult

right on top of him. (he really got dependent on that and would seek one

out instead of interacting with other kids. This is actually still an

issue, but has shown improvement.)

Anyway, we found that modeling was important, but structure was needed to

keep him focused and on task.

Just my experience!

P.S. I have a four month old now, who I hope will be a candidate for

Montessori. I really do feel it is an excellent program as long as you know

you aren't setting your child up to fail. All the children at the school

Collin attended were well-behaved and taught to respect one another. I too,

really enjoyed the materials and the environment. It just wasn't right for

Collin after toddlerhood.

Cheryl Butterworth

Cheryl@...

[Guest guest]

Hi Cheryl -

I didn't actually enroll my son, but when I investigated it, I saw

the same problems you discovered. Ultimately, I enrolled him in a

constructivist setting, which " looks " like a Montessori to the

untrained eye, but is actually much freer in many ways. With

Montessori you have choices over WHAT you do, but not HOW. I didn't

like that because it's entirely contrary to how my son has learned

everything, including speaking. For instance, many kids learn their

ABCs by singing the song, my son learned by identifying them 1st and

learned the song 2 years later - of course he did: he couldn't

speak! The list of things learned " backwards " goes on and on.

Constructivist helps kids figure things out on their own, also

fostering independence. Say the sensory item out for the day is a

sand table. Two kids want to build a castle, but can't because they

don't have buckets. The teacher would ask them what they want it to

look like and then help the child figure out what else in the room

might work (papertowel tubes, etc.). If a child wanted to know whose

tower was bigger, rather than measuring it with a ruler and telling

the child, the teacher would ask how they could figure it out. Could

they use something to measure it? What could they use? A block

maybe? One tower is 2 blocks high, the other is 4. Which tower is

higher?

They do have certain times when they all come together, and they do

have certain rules they have to follow (turn taking, etc) but it's

largely open and child-directed.

I have a great deal of faith in Montessori, and really wanted to send

my children there before I actually got to know them - my children,

that is. It just doesn't work for everyone, but I know lots of

people for whom it was the perfect decision.

Just wanted to comment that we saw the same things - and if anyone

wants a great school in Cincinnati for preschool, let me know!

Marina

[Guest guest]

Hi -

My daughter (now 6.5, dyspraxia, hypotonia, etc.) When we started her

in a montessori at 3, it was mostly because she was not potty trained

(sensory issues made that very difficult) and no other preschools here

would take her until she was. We stayed there for 3 years! 2 years of

pre-school and kindergarten. We would have continued, but that is as

high as the school goes, and there are no more montessoris within an

hour form our home. It was fabulous for her. The montessori model

is " every child at his or her own pace " . So she was allowed to progress

at a rate that was comfortable to her, without a lot of pressure to

succeed at the same rate as everyone else. It also allowed her to work

on the things that may be difficult as long as as he needed to. The

montessori manipulatives were great for tactile learning, too. The

major benefit for us was that her confidence really grew! She was like

a different kid after a few months. She was expected to choose her own

activites, and

clean up after herself, etc. In other settings they would just do

things for her, so as not to slow everyone else down. Never once did

they tell us that she did not belong there. I think it has as much to

do with the teacher, who was very accepting. Overall though I love the

montessori approach.

A couple notes of caution though. One is cost. It tensd to be

expensive, but well worth it in my opinion. Also - If you are planning

to go to a " typical " school, there will be some transition. Montessori

learning does not learn alphabet letter names, only the sounds, so M

was " mmmm " , not " em " . It makes sense, because it aids them in sounding

out words, but the rest of the world does not work that way. This was a

bit of a hurdle for us. Also - we were told at first in public school

that she was " too self directed " . ( " Self directed learners " is a goal

of montessori, so they did their job well!), but public schools do not

like it. We have since switched, and she is now in a parochial school

now and she is doing great!

[ ] montessori

> i have a 3 year old son with apraxia, hes currently enrolled in a

> private preschool but ive read some reports that kids have more

> progress in montessori schools. Does anyone have any first hand

> experience with montessori and special needs kids?

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi

My daughter was in a Montessori integrated class at 3yrs, for 7 -

months. I looked at the non spec ed integrated class for going

forward & after talking to the school director, decided that the

Montessori " way " was not the best for my daughter. The student -

teacher ratio was too high & they felt she would not get the

attention / modeling / speech prompting that she needed & would get in

either a smaller regular class with possibly a seit or a spec ed

environment. Montessori programs usally allow for more self directed

activity & at least in my experience, not enough encouraging

interaction, which my daughter needed. At the time, given the

opportunity, she would choose not to speak if at all possible & it

would have been too easy not to talk there.

I love the Montessori program & really wanted to send my daughter,

sadly for us, it was not right for her. WIth that said, each child is

different.

>

> i have a 3 year old son with apraxia, hes currently enrolled in a

> private preschool but ive read some reports that kids have more

> progress in montessori schools. Does anyone have any first hand

> experience with montessori and special needs kids?

>

[Guest guest]

I would also caution that all Montessori programs are not created

equal. I've tried it twice for my son. Just as with anything else,

many times they say they can handle special needs kids and it's

different when they get there. I would ask them how they would alter

the method for a mainly nonverbal child for example. Some schools

can't get past the " if they can't say it they don't know it " frame of

mind.

One school I visited had no real montessori equipment (or anything

similar) for the younger groups and it was sparse for the 4/5 year

olds. They were montessori in name only..often just the director is

trained in the methods and the rest of the staff are just child care

workers. Be careful!

-- In , " susan3959 "

<susan3959@...> wrote:

>

> Hi

>

> My daughter was in a Montessori integrated class at 3yrs, for 7 -

> months. I looked at the non spec ed integrated class for going

> forward & after talking to the school director, decided that the

> Montessori " way " was not the best for my daughter. The student -

> teacher ratio was too high & they felt she would not get the

> attention / modeling / speech prompting that she needed & would get

in

> either a smaller regular class with possibly a seit or a spec ed

> environment. Montessori programs usally allow for more self

directed

> activity & at least in my experience, not enough encouraging

> interaction, which my daughter needed. At the time, given the

> opportunity, she would choose not to speak if at all possible & it

> would have been too easy not to talk there.

> I love the Montessori program & really wanted to send my daughter,

> sadly for us, it was not right for her. WIth that said, each child

is

> different.

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

> >

> > i have a 3 year old son with apraxia, hes currently enrolled in a

> > private preschool but ive read some reports that kids have more

> > progress in montessori schools. Does anyone have any first hand

> > experience with montessori and special needs kids?

> >

>