Kids Are Our Future

We as parents know that a right preschool for our children is crucial because preschoolers learn a lot and prepare for their future life. Parents want to help preschoolers to start on a lifetime journey of being in love with learning.

From the post of “Review of the Most Popular Preschools”, we know that the Montessori Approach is one of the most popular preschool systems in U.S. Since by now there are over 5,000 schools in the U.S, Montessori schools are also found in North and South American countries, throughout Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. We would like to share more about it with parents who are interesting to find a right preschool for their child.

Montessori’s believes

Montessori believed that children could grow and develop very well if left to do so without too many restrictions but with an orderly environment that promoted their efforts at being independent and critical thinkers. Order, most especially within the child, but also in the child’s environment, is prerequisite to the child becoming an independent, autonomous, and rational individual.

The Montessori approach believes all children are uniquely intelligent, which is related to each person’s “multiple intelligences” these days. This is the belief that intelligence is not fixed at birth and that the human potential is without limit. The validity of this belief has been confirmed by the research of Piaget, Gardner, Goleman, and many others.

Montessori’s teachers

The role of a Montessori teacher is that of an observer whose ultimate goal is to intervene less and less as the child develops. The teacher creates an atmosphere of calm, order and joy in the classroom and is there to help and encourage the children in all their efforts, allowing them to develop self-confidence and inner discipline. With the younger students at each level, the teacher is more active, demonstrating the use of materials and presenting activities based on an assessment of the child’s requirements. Knowing how to observe constructively and when, and how much, to intervene, is one of the most important talents the Montessori teacher acquires during a rigorous course of training at AMI training centers throughout the world.

Montessori’s Curriculum

A Montessori classroom is filled with children of mixed ages engaged in activity. Most classes are large, usually from 25 to 30 kids, with a two- to three-year age span. Some work alone while others work in small groups. The room is warm and inviting, filled with plants, books, art and puzzles. There is likely to be some kind of music playing softly in the background. Children move at their own pace through the classroom, which includes “practical life,” “sensorial,” “language arts” and “mathematics” areas - each with their own materials for children to work with. The teacher’s role in a Montessori classroom is to guide the children. Independence is encouraged, and a love of learning is instilled. Children progress at their own speed without boundaries.

The exercises in Practical Life are the very heart of Montessori education. As young children wash tables, pour liquids, sweep and dust, they are developing the inner aptitudes of calmness, order, concentration, coordination, and fine motor skills. At the same time, through the process of learning to meet their own needs, learning to take care of the classroom environment, and through the experience of helping others, children in Montessori programs begin to develop independence, self-confidence, and self-respect. For example, in many early childhood programs, there seems to be the assumption that five-year-olds are ready for “real work.”

In Montessori preschools, guided by teachers trained to observe and identify children’s unique learning capabilities, children learn in educational partnership with their teachers. Because children’s interests are heard and honored, Montessori students develop confidence and become self–directed. A powerful learning formula emerges as a result of this self–directed, self–initiated orientation to learning. When interested, a child becomes self–motivated. Self–motivation leads to becoming self–disciplined. When self–disciplined, a child engages in a process of mastery learning and fully develops his or her potential. Dr. Maria Montessori called this a “normal” approach to education.

Is the Montessori approach right for your child?

Some Montessori schools only offer early childhood programs; others offer early childhood through elementary or secondary. Most of them are private or independent schools, founded either by an individual teacher or a parent board. There are a growing number of public school programs, and many home schools implement aspects of the Montessori approach.

However, it is not every child fits the Montessori approach very well, because Montessori’s teachers are trained as only facilitators and not the primary focus, some experts say the teacher is too passive in a Montessori environment, and some parents claim that their kids had adjustment problems when moving into a traditional classroom because they were so used to working cooperatively.

For more information, please refer to www.montessori.org.

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Children in Early childhood from birth to age six are sensorial explorers, constructing their intellects by absorbing every aspect of their environment, their language and their culture. As parents, we want to provide our children the best early education as possible as we can.

There are more preschool options than ever before, in fact, alternative preschool philosophies have been around for a lot longer than we think. We have done some research and found out that the following preschools are three of the most popular preschools in the United States. In order to provide your child the best education and start early, we suggest parents use this review as a reference and do your own research to find the right preschool for your child, which lays a strong foundation for your child’s future success.

Montessori Preschools

The Montessori approach was pioneered by Maria Montessori, who was the Italy’s first female physician, specializing in pediatrics and psychiatry. Montessori believed that learning is cumulative. As children develop the ability to take care of their own needs, they learn best from firsthand experience. Montessori urged teachers to conduct naturalistic observations of children in carefully prepared environments. Teachers in a Montessori program are to observe and direct children’s learning, so they are called directresses rather than teachers. In a Montessori classroom, they have practical life experiences such as gardening, buttoning and zipping, and flower arranging. Directresses make sure that each activity builds a foundation for a more complex and difficult activity. Children move freely about the classroom and make their own choices to become human beings able to function independently and hence interdependently.

The children’s innate passion for learning is encouraged by giving them opportunities to engage in spontaneous, purposeful activities with the guidance of a trained adult. Through their work, the children develop concentration and joyful self-discipline. Within a framework of order, the children progress at their own pace according to their individual capabilities.

Waldorf Preschools

The Waldorf approach was pioneered by Rudolf Steiner, an Austrian scientist and educational theorist. The first Independent Waldorf School opened in 1919. Today, there are over 750 Waldorf schools worldwide.

Like Montessori, students in a Waldorf classroom are rarely found sitting at desks. You’re more likely to see them doing “real work”, such as baking bread from wheat they grew themselves, playing the recorder. In addition, art and dance play a large part.

Unlike a Montessori classroom, where the teacher’s role is to guide the child and let the child work independently, Waldorf instruction emphasizes the relationship between the teacher and child. The teacher stays with the same group of children for up to eight years, and a familial bond is created. This is a homelike environment where open ended, creative play is viewed as the work of the young child.

In preschool and kindergarten, Waldorf practically ignores academics and focuses on providing children with opportunities for creative play. Television and computers are discouraged while preschoolers are more likely to play dress-up, cook, paint or sing than learn phonics. In preschool and kindergarten, students are not exposed to academics, for example, reading is not often taught until the second or third grade.

High/Scope Preschools

This is a program, which has been highly successful with Head Start students. The first school is founded in 1970 in Michigan, by Dr. David Weikart. Active learning, complete with hands-on experiences is the driving force behind the High/Scope method. Students are encouraged to choose what materials they would like to use and teachers are in place to guide. The program takes an “intentional learning” approach to education that makes teachers and children active partners. A daily routine is designed to help children understand what happens next, each day starts with a plan-do-review sequence: first, kids plan what they will do for the day, for example, who they will play with, what areas they will visit, which materials they will use, then they have an hour of work time in which to carry out their plans, and finally they discuss what they’ve learned and done. Computers are a key component in the classroom.

The curriculum has five main focuses: approaches to learning; language, literacy, and communication; social and emotional development; physical development, health, and well-being; and arts and sciences. These areas are then broken down into 58 “key developmental indicators” that include singing and role playing. To assess a child’s development, High/Scope uses the Preschool COR (Child Observation Record) as well as their own Preschool Program Quality Assessment (PQA).

Just like the old adage, “there is no such a thing that one size fits all”. None of the three, the Montessori, the Waldorf, or the High/Scope approach is for every child. Each of them has advantages and disadvantages; the most important thing is parents should think what values and believes you want to pass to your child, and what kind of adult you wish you child to be. In addition, parents should think over your child’s own personality, do your research and find the right preschool for your child and help your child excel.

To improve your parenting skills refers to Great Parenting Books.

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