14 Reasons

You should consider Montessori Kindergarten for your 5 year old

 

Every year Montessori parents whose children are about to move up to kindergarten face a common dilemma: Do they allow their child to remain in a Montessori environment or do they transfer their children to a more traditional kindergarten program.

 

Below is a list of things that should be considered before transferring a child kindergarten year.

 

1. Your child has waited for two years to be one of the five year old leaders of her class. The kindergartners are looked up to as role models for the younger students, and most children eagerly await their opportunity to play this role.

 

2. The third year, the kindergarten year, is the time when many of the earlier lessons come together and become permanent part of the young child’s understanding.

 

3. As a five year old, your child has many opportunities to teach the younger children lessons that he learned when he was their age. Research proves that this experience has powerful benefits for both students.

 

4. The Primary Montessori curriculum is much more sophisticated than that found in most kindergartens.

 

5. Your child already knows most of his/her classmates. They have grown up in a safe, supportive classroom setting.

 

6. Montessori students develop self-discipline and an internal sense of purpose and motivation. If you still have any doubt, spend a morning observing in your child’s class and compare it with a morning in a kindergarten class in the other school you are considering. Sit quietly and take mental notes

 

7. In many Montessori schools, five year olds are beginning to read, kindergartners in traditional schools are only learning to recognize letters and numbers.

 

8. Five year old children have a real sense of running their classroom community.

 

9. In Montessori, your child can continue to progress at her own pace. In traditional kindergarten, she will have to wait while the other children begin to catch up.

 

10. In Montessori, your child has been treated with a deep respect as a unique individual. The school has been equally concerned for his intellectual, social, and emotional development. Unfortunately, this is often not the case in traditional classrooms.

 

11. Montessori schools are warm and supportive communities of students, teachers, and parents. Montessori consciously teaches children to be kind and peaceful.

 

12.  In Montessori schools, learning is not focused on rote drill and memorization. Our goal is to develop students who really understand their schoolwork. Montessori students learn through hands-on experience, investigation, and research. They become actively engaged in their studies.

 

13. A kindergarten child is considered a leader in their Montessori classroom. This is one of the only times in their life where they will be given the opportunity to lead a group of peers.

 

14. The differences may be subtle, but most likely they will be significant. Montessori adults are known for being confident, lifelong learners who understand and appreciate diversity, have a sense of community, and who love to “think outside the box.”

 

 New Thought Montessori Kindergarten Program:

 

New Thought Montessori Kindergartners have the best of both worlds, they are able to complete their third year in the Montessori environment, as well as have some special time in the afternoon to be “kindergartners.”

 

Kindergartners follow the daily schedule and are divided after lunch. While the preschool children are resting, the kindergartners are busy working. New Thought offers an extended kinder program from 1:00-3:00 everyday. The children are introduced to more in depth lessons in math, language, science, and geography. They will have time to work on reading and writing independently, work together in small groups, and have traditional lessons with the teacher. Our kindergarten environment is quiet, peaceful, and engaging.