Quote:
Originally posted by BirthaBlue4
From an early childhood educator and parent, Montessori is a good program for preschool, although beyond that, I don't know if I'd recommend it. My daughter is on the waiting list at the moment for our public school's montessori preschool program, for 3 and 4 year olds, but hopefully she'll make it in. For this age range, the type of learning they experience is good for their developmental stage. But, personally, I don't know if the method of teaching beyond that age is the best. But that's just my personal opinion. 
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BirthaBlue4 or anyone else who agrees with her, why wouldn't you recommend Montessori schooling after preschool? At the age of four, my son reads at the third grade level, is an avid chess player, and knows the entire multiplication chart. We had to petition to get him in kindergarten because the state mandates that all kindergarteners must be five before September 1. Fortunately, we convinced the school district to meet with us and him to judge whether he was ready or not. I refused to send him to preschool again. After meeting with him, they decided that they would not only allow him to start kindergarten, but they also wanted to have teachers who were hired solely to work with accelerated students to work with him. They were a little concerned because they had never worked with a child like him, but they seem really excited about the possibilities. I want to see what they can do with him because I'm concerned about him sitting in a class with kids who are still trying to learn how to count to five, but the bottom line is that we really can't afford to send him to a private school. We considered Montessori schools a couple of years ago but we weren't really sure if they were worth the money. I think we've done a good job so far of teaching him at home, but there is always more that can be done. I just don't want him to regress. That's why I'm trying to get as much info about this as possible.