Kindy vs Montessori?
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Category: Have A Baby?
Forum Name: Kindy and Beyond
Forum Description: So you've survived the sleepless nights and toddler tantrums, now the fun really begins! Talk to other parents of older children here!
URL: https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=41163
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Topic: Kindy vs Montessori?
Posted By: Mattsmum
Subject: Kindy vs Montessori?
Date Posted: 12 December 2011 at 9:25pm
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I have my 3 year old son in kindy, he has been there since June and is happy, but... it is not very structured and he often asks for me to help with his writing and learning sounds/letters and it doesn't look like they do a lot of that there. He is a bright boy with a real thirst to learn. He can point out Dunedin on the NZ weather map. I taught year 8's that couldn't do that.
Does anyone go to Montessori? Has it helped your children learn. Do the like it? I have finally got him a spot at a montessori for next year but am not sure if I should move him. I would love to hear some experiences. Thanks ------------- http://lilypie.com">  http://lilypie.com">
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Replies:
Posted By: crafty1
Date Posted: 16 December 2011 at 7:37pm
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That was one of my concerns about kindy. It just seemed like total mayhem, with only 3 teachers to 40 odd kids and only 2.5 hours, so just tearing around playing really. I believe morning kindy they do a bit more, but i felt that our local preschool had a much better educational focus, as well as the play.
Although play is the main point for that age, i believe that if kids are asking to learn then it is the right time to gently support them in that interest. But you could keep him at kindy and do the learning at home instead if that suits you better. I also looked at a local Montessori and felt that it was a little too rigid in the structure, even for my very routine loving boy. They were only allowed outside for 1 x 1 hour period every 4 hours and some of the rules seemed really pedantic for that age group. Rules for the sake of it really. Montessori do vary a lot between centres though depending how purist they are so it pays to have a few visits and see for yourself. It's a much harder decision than i thought it would be as i am a very laidback mum in most other ways! ------------- http://lilypie.com">  
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Posted By: Kate08
Date Posted: 16 December 2011 at 9:39pm
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I felt the same about my local Montessori. Also there seemed an odd fixation with getting the child to complete an activity. E.g. if they started a puzzle, they had to finish it, even if they'd got bored and wanted to move.
I looked around 3 local daycares and loved one of them. The room was mostly open plan, so kids could be monitored easily, the food is cooked on site everyday, and they have a room for mat time/naps/ 4 year old 'school' sessions. The staff are friendly and super enthusiastic and my daughter loves going. Even when she's sick, she gets really miffed that she can't go! I'd recommend looking around a few and getting a feel for the staff and so on. One daycare I looked at had a great rep, but I hated it as it had lots of different play rooms, which would be impossible to monitor, and I was uncomfortable about that. I agree about the kindy ratio. Ours is 1 teacher to 15. How can there be good foundation skills activities with that crazy ratio?!? |
Posted By: NovemberMum
Date Posted: 17 December 2011 at 9:13am
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my 4 year old;'s kindy is quite good....the afternoono sessions are bit more free play. they only have 20 children
my daughter goes to morning kindy and they have mattime around 9am, where children can share news, another I think around 10:30am and one just before hometime about 12ish. there are 4 teachers in the morning and each child has their own teacher/group and they do different things like writing identifying shapes etc. they do this once a week. the morning children are encouraged to write their name in a book when they come to kindy. some do some dont and also (this includes afternoon children) they have to find their name on the table and put it on the board. Mattsmum I see your child is jus over 3 so I assume he is in afternoon kindy (not sure if all kindys start off in the afternoon) so you may find that once he moves to morning kindy there maybe a bit more structure routine? ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: Mattsmum
Date Posted: 18 December 2011 at 7:43pm
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Thanks for the feedback. I was worried about the rigidness of Montessori too. DS is in morning kindy, he is at a kindy that only does morning sessions, they have a quick mat session before and after morning tea and a story just before they go home. When I was on parent help each mat session lasted less than 5 mins. So not much structured teaching going on. I looked at a few kindys and felt that this was the most structured in our area. He loves it.
The teachers at my husband's school said the montessori kids had a much better start at school and were more capable so that's got us thinking we might go montessori. ------------- http://lilypie.com"> http://lilypie.com">
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