Why Montessori?

Here is an excerpt I found, explaining Montessori philosophy of teaching in a nutshell:
Montessori is a method of teaching that is based on the developmental, behavioral tendencies of children. At the turn of the 20th Century Dr. Maria Montessori did something remarkable: she observed children. She worked with children declared mentally deficient, and ineducable, and by observing them carefully, and providing learning experiences geared toward the individual child's needs, she discovered successful ways to teach. She applied these techniques and made further observations in her first "school" in Rome, working with normal, but very poor preschool-aged children. Thus began Montessori's lifelong pursuit of understanding the development of children, and her creation of a developmental approach to education. Maria Montessori defined the goal of education as the development of a complete human being, a person oriented to his environment, and adapted to his time, place and culture. Montessori observed that children are driven to explore, repeat and work toward mastery of new skills. In her lectures and writings she identifies these behaviors, as well as orientation, order, imagination, manipulation, precision, and communication as innate in children. Children are driven to learn. The goal then is obviously to create an environment where the needs of the child at each stage of development dictate the form, content and pace of his education. (Contrast this with the current pressures upon children and teachers in traditional schools to allow state mandated aptitude test scores to drive the form, content and pace of a child's education). The Montessori preschool-kindergarten classroom is prepared with concrete, hands-on materials, organized in areas designed to appeal to the children's developmental interests. Montessori math and language materials are wonderful, and there are also works based on practical life activities, exercises in grace and courtesy, exploration of the senses, geography, and even animals and plants to care for. These materials are presented to the children and then left on the shelf for the children to work with as their interest dictates. Multi-age classrooms are an important aspect of a Montessori education. The children are not grouped by the same age, but rather by developmental plane, usually in three-year age spans. The younger children are inspired by the older ones, and the older ones take pride in helping the younger ones. It is a playful atmosphere in which children are free to choose what to work on, and free to repeat the same activity as much as they like. The children oscillate between periods of intense concentration on work, discussion with others, having a snack, observing what others are doing, and receiving lessons from one of the two full-time teachers. The works themselves are of profound interest to the child, because they provide opportunity for the child to discuss, experiment, organize and master things in his everyday environment. The playful atmosphere is a catalyst for ample learning because it is child-driven. Montessori stressed that a child's interaction with the environment is most productive in terms of the individual's development when it is self-chosen and founded upon individual interest.

Other research reveals that:
-Five-year-old Montessori pupils were better prepared for reading and math
-Montessori children displayed a greater sense of 'justice and fairness', interacted in an 'emotionally positive' way, and were less likely to engage in 'rough play' during break times.
-Not only were five-year-old primary school children better prepared for the "three Rs" at elementary level, they also had higher scores in tests of 'executive function'. This is the ability to adapt to changing and complex problems, and is seen as an indicator of future school and life success.
-Larry Page and Sergey Brin, founders of the popular Internet search engine Google.com, credited their years as Montessori students as a major factor in behind their success. When Barbara Walters asked if the fact that their parents were college professors was a factor behind their success, they said no, that it was their going to Montessori school where they learned to be self-directed and self-starters. They said that Montessori allowed them to learn to think for themselves and gave them freedom to pursue their own interests.

As you can see, both Brad and I are big believers in a strong Montessori foundation. We have friends that are Montessori teachers and our own 5 year old niece Chloe is an example of Montessori success. She loves to learn, is super creative, and is doing 2nd grade math! Having worked with autistic children in a montessori school, done behavior therapy, and now a School Psychologist, has given me a heads up in the importance of teaching to developmental levels versus grade. Young children's minds are like sponges, I love how Montessori taps into their free thinking and excitement about learning. Brad and I want to instill these same values in Taj, we want him to want to learn and love school from the beginning. We want school to come easy to Taj, and tap into his abilities and strengths. But most of all, we want him to have that necessary self-confidence needed to be successful in all facets of life. I feel like its never too early to immerse Taj in this environment. I love their structure of story-time, music, arts, play, exploration, and circle time. The only negative I see is that most children with a Montessori preschool education are overly prepared and advance for public school kindergarten, which can be detrimental for some if they are not continously challenged. I am a big advocate for our public schools, but I hate the state standards and "teaching to the test." Nevertheless, with a solid Montessori background I have faith that Taj would be a successful and self-assured student in public school, as well as responsible and interested in learning. Pair that with the international cultural travel experiences Brad and I plan to provide, along with creative art/ music/ or sports outlets, and I think we have ourselves the best wholesome multi-dimensional education plan there can be. :)