With everyone stuck indoors as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, your child’s education has likely been on your mind more than usual lately. For parents with kids at home, finding things to occupy them has become something of a national pastime.
Because your child may not be going back to school for a while, now is the perfect opportunity to take advantage of your free time to consider what sort of learning works best for them. If you’ve been considering sending your child to Montessori school but weren’t too sure if it fit their needs, then consider the following information.
While your Kids Village Montessori may be closed for now, our instructors will be back and raring to teach in no time.
Make It a Group Decision
You may be hesitant to listen too much on your child’s input when deciding if Montessori school is right for them, and you wouldn’t be wrong.
Deciding what school is best for your child involves not only listening to their needs, but also to the needs of your family. When making this decision, it’s important to get input from all parents, as well as the child.
That being said, don’t overlook your child’s feelings. Including them in the decision making will help them take ownership of their own education.
About the Montessori Method
When deciding if Montessori school is right for your child, it’s important to understand what a Montessori classroom looks like.
There are a few basic tenets of Montessori that will be the building blocks for your child’s education. You should consider whether these values are in line with what you’re looking for when it comes to your child’s education and whether you feel they will help your child reach their full potential.
The Montessori method:
- Fosters diverse learning styles — This is really the key to Montessori teaching. Different children learn in different ways and at different speeds. Some children have natural aptitudes in subjects that their peers may struggle with and vice versa. By encouraging a child’s individual learning style, we help them reach their full potential.
- Includes ongoing assessments — An important part of fostering different learning styles is providing ongoing assessments that measure your child’s needs and their learning levels. Monitoring how children are developing in different areas helps ensure they are receiving the instruction they need.
- Promotes group learning — This is another key pillar to the Montessori method. Working in groups helps children develop team-working and social skills that they will rely upon for the rest of their lives. Group work also gives kids an opportunity to learn by observing others, a commonly used teaching method. Groups are small and can be adjusted as needed.
- Enhances problem-solving skills — One area where traditional education often falls short is problem-solving. Instead of learning by memorization, we believe in focusing on concepts and big ideas. This macro-approach gives children the opportunity to explore without sacrificing learning.
- Promotes self-determination — Children in Montessori schools are given choices of what to read, write, and learn through negotiations with their instructors. This sort of freedom requires discipline, something our students develop over time.
Consider Your Child’s Specific Needs
The importance of early-childhood education can’t be overstated.
Now that you know a little bit about what Montessori classrooms are like, you can consider how your child might thrive in one of our classrooms. If you believe your children are intelligent in their own way and that they should take ownership of their own education, Montessori school might be right for them and you.