About six months ago I realized that Julia is ready for preschool. She loves to go to story time at the library, enjoys social interactions, is absorbing information at a phenomenal rate, and is beginning to test the rules and boundaries, all indicators of readiness for greater social challenges. So I went and visited a hand full of preschools in my area. Most of them wouldn’t admit a child under three years old and since Julia isn’t quite two yet my choices were somewhat limited to a few Montessori toddler programs with pretty steep price tags.
I’ve worked in Montessori classrooms for years and while I loved the programs I visited, I balked at the price. Then I visited some programs that were not Montessori and I was again reminded why I love the Montessori classroom so much. The chaos, clutter, and lack of clear boundaries that I observed at some of the other schools I visited re-inspired me to continue to use Montessori philosophies to teach Julia at home. The only problem was that I don’t have any other children, so there’s no mixed age classroom and a distinct lack of peer interactions.
So I decided to open a Montessori-Inspired preschool and toddler house here at home two mornings a week. This was my first week of class with just one new student, but I was already impressed by the children’s immediate ability to engage with their work, follow my rules and directions, clean up after themselves, and innovate new and interesting ways to explore the environment. My new school is already a success!
Now Julia is getting the social interaction she’s been craving and she is already more physically adventurous after watching her new friend climb jump and play. Hooray! Plus, now I have an even better excuse to spend my evenings creating learning materials. Yes, I really am that much of a Montessori geek. Three part cards are rocking my world right now. More on that in a future post, but for now I’ll just say it’s wonderful to be back in a Montessori classroom.
Here’s a list of a few of my favorite things about Montessori vs. Traditional preschool environments:
| Montessori | Traditional |
| Peaceful, quiet, and focused on individual exploration; children are engaged in meaningful learning and expanding their interests and attention spans. | Chaotic and loud; children are running around like maniacs with few opportunities for sustained attention. |
| Lots of choices and children are each doing their own thing, which emphasizes awareness of ones own interests, needs, and desires. | The whole group does things together which emphasizes herd mentality and going along with the group. |
| Mixed ages means children can both learn from one another and teach one another. Varied social experiences and celebration of each child’s unique skills and expertise are the norm. | Same ages grouped together means children have little experience navigating social interactions with older and younger children. A child’s only mentor is the teacher. |
| Clear rules, boundaries, and expectations about the use of materials and the need to put activities away so that the next person can use them creates a culture where cleaning up is just a matter of course. Children end up enjoying cleaning and often choose cleaning activities for fun! | Undefined expectations about how to use toys and materials can lead to destructive behaviors as children search for the boundaries. Children are given free reign to create a huge mess and then inconsistently asked to help clean up at the end of the day but never develop a deeper care for their environment. |
So, there you have it. Just a few of the reasons that a Montessori or Montessori-Inspired environment is the only one my daughter will be in. And to those of you out there who choose Waldorf for your kids, I’m curious about how you would include the Waldorf philosophies and practices in my chart. I don’t know much about Waldorf but from what I do know, the philosophies sound interesting and aligned with my heart, but my observations of Waldorf in action have been less than stellar. I would love to be converted to a Waldorf lover (although I think Montessori education will always be my first love). So, please leave me a comment to teach me more about why Waldorf is another great choice for conscious parents!
And have a fantastic week. Love, Shelly
Shelly, I agree with you, your comparison chart is great and simple. Here (Montreal) we have Montessori, altenatives schools and Waldorf too. The montessori and Waldorf are private school with a high cost. The Waldorf philosophy didn’t appeal to us, because they don’t include the technology like computers, and others, and I think children should learn about and with technology amoung other learning media. The alternatives schools are almost like the Montessori but they are public and free, so it’s a good alternative! But overall, I would love to test your part time Montessori school, too bad we are too far… I think if we had free (or reasonalble price) part time Montessori school, I would go for this option. But because it isn’t available, we are going to homeschooled, even unschooled our children.
Shelly, I agree with you, your comparison chart is great and simple. Here (Montreal) we have Montessori, altenatives schools and Waldorf too. The montessori and Waldorf are private school with a high cost. The Waldorf philosophy didn’t appeal to us, because they don’t include the technology like computers, and others, and I think children should learn about and with technology amoung other learning media. The alternatives schools are almost like the Montessori but they are public and free, so it’s a good alternative! But overall, I would love to test your part time Montessori school, too bad we are too far… I think if we had free (or reasonalble price) part time Montessori school, I would go for this option. But because it isn’t available, we are going to homeschooled, even unschooled our children.
Love it, Shelly! Great comparisons and information, as usual!
I love and appreciate Montessori.
Since no one else has I’ll try to give a little Waldorf information.
Waldorf is really a life philosophy, so it’s difficult to summarize briefly, but a Waldorf preschool sees the child as a spiritual being and prioritizes this along with the child’s emotional well being and natural sense of creativity.
With Waldorf, the arts and connecting children to nature is emphasized, and in the younger grades traditional academic study is not provided at all.
A typical art activity would be to use real watercolor paints in whatever way the child wants, but only giving them one or two primary colors to explore at a time. There may be a story the teacher tells about “red” and he or she may change the color every season (the seasons of the year play a big part of Waldorf life.)
As I mentioned, Waldorf emphasizes nature, and most (if not all) of the materials in a classroom are handmade, and from materials that children can connect with the origin of, such as wood, wool, beeswax, etc. Since children have a strong sensory connection to their playthings, the smell of wool or the feel of wood is what will be ingrained in their memory. The energy behind the plaything is also important. It is typical to spend half the time outdoors, if not more, especially in the lower grades. Waldorf discourages screens of any kind for children for various reasons, but a primary one is because (in their and my opinion) they decrease creativity.
In a Waldorf classroom, children typically make their first text books when they are old enough to write. This may be the first time a book appears in the classroom. Children create their own music, there is probably never recorded music. And there are frequently plays and puppet shows put on by the children.
You will find mostly imaginative playthings in a Waldorf classroom, and typical Waldorf dolls have minimal expressions to them, so they can be used in a variety of ways. This is true across the board: a vehicle may be carved from wood and be non-descriptive, so it can be used as a firetruck one day and a train the next. I have, with my kids, the more specific the toy is, the less they use it over time.
One difference between Waldorf and Montesorri that I’ve noticed (and I LOVE BOTH) is that Montesorri tends to have manipulatives that have a “correct” way to use them. A right and wrong, such as a puzzle. Waldorf would reserve these types of materials for older children, and give under 7 year olds primarily open ended toys. The sense of wonder and creativity are cherished and given full reign.
Waldorf also emphasizes a connection to food, and encourages families to eat primarily homemade food. In the Waldorf preschool my child attends they grow nearly all of the food themselves, they prepare it, and enjoy a family-style lunch and snack every day. They collect eggs from the chickens, as well as give the chickens the table scraps. They grow carrots, beets, lettuces, and I don’t even know what else! My son grew his own wheat grass and then felted eggs for his easter basket.
A Waldorf preschool day would probably entail:
some unstructured free play as well as some structured activites (which are optional.) The structured activities are an oral story and/or puppet show, song with movements, an art activity, and the meal preparations and cleanup.
Waldorf teachers are trained to manage the energy of the room, so it’s rarely boisterous or loud.
OK, I’m sure others could correct me on some points or add to this, because it’s just my limited experience. Please do!
Love it, Shelly! Great comparisons and information, as usual!
I love and appreciate Montessori.
Since no one else has I’ll try to give a little Waldorf information.
Waldorf is really a life philosophy, so it’s difficult to summarize briefly, but a Waldorf preschool sees the child as a spiritual being and prioritizes this along with the child’s emotional well being and natural sense of creativity.
With Waldorf, the arts and connecting children to nature is emphasized, and in the younger grades traditional academic study is not provided at all.
A typical art activity would be to use real watercolor paints in whatever way the child wants, but only giving them one or two primary colors to explore at a time. There may be a story the teacher tells about “red” and he or she may change the color every season (the seasons of the year play a big part of Waldorf life.)
As I mentioned, Waldorf emphasizes nature, and most (if not all) of the materials in a classroom are handmade, and from materials that children can connect with the origin of, such as wood, wool, beeswax, etc. Since children have a strong sensory connection to their playthings, the smell of wool or the feel of wood is what will be ingrained in their memory. The energy behind the plaything is also important. It is typical to spend half the time outdoors, if not more, especially in the lower grades. Waldorf discourages screens of any kind for children for various reasons, but a primary one is because (in their and my opinion) they decrease creativity.
In a Waldorf classroom, children typically make their first text books when they are old enough to write. This may be the first time a book appears in the classroom. Children create their own music, there is probably never recorded music. And there are frequently plays and puppet shows put on by the children.
You will find mostly imaginative playthings in a Waldorf classroom, and typical Waldorf dolls have minimal expressions to them, so they can be used in a variety of ways. This is true across the board: a vehicle may be carved from wood and be non-descriptive, so it can be used as a firetruck one day and a train the next. I have, with my kids, the more specific the toy is, the less they use it over time.
One difference between Waldorf and Montesorri that I’ve noticed (and I LOVE BOTH) is that Montesorri tends to have manipulatives that have a “correct” way to use them. A right and wrong, such as a puzzle. Waldorf would reserve these types of materials for older children, and give under 7 year olds primarily open ended toys. The sense of wonder and creativity are cherished and given full reign.
Waldorf also emphasizes a connection to food, and encourages families to eat primarily homemade food. In the Waldorf preschool my child attends they grow nearly all of the food themselves, they prepare it, and enjoy a family-style lunch and snack every day. They collect eggs from the chickens, as well as give the chickens the table scraps. They grow carrots, beets, lettuces, and I don’t even know what else! My son grew his own wheat grass and then felted eggs for his easter basket.
A Waldorf preschool day would probably entail:
some unstructured free play as well as some structured activites (which are optional.) The structured activities are an oral story and/or puppet show, song with movements, an art activity, and the meal preparations and cleanup.
Waldorf teachers are trained to manage the energy of the room, so it’s rarely boisterous or loud.
OK, I’m sure others could correct me on some points or add to this, because it’s just my limited experience. Please do!