Kindergarten Program

It’s a question that many Montessori parents of four-year-olds ask themselves at this time of year. It’s a fair question, and it deserves careful consideration. Every family’s circumstances are different, and it all comes down to a question of priorities, not necessarily financial. Every Montessori administrator can cite examples of how families of modest means go to extraordinary lengths to keep their children in Montessori. Here are a few answers to some of the questions parents often ask about Montessori for their kindergarten child.

When a Montessori child transfers into such a program, there is a period of adjustment, and most kindergartens have very different expectations for five-year-olds than Montessori programs. The kindergarten year in Montessori is a critical component of the three-year cycle. It is a year when their earlier experiences are internalized and reinforced. When children leave Montessori before kindergarten, many of their earlier learning experiences may be lost because they are not reinforced or completed understood.

Montessori at every level excels at teaching children to “learn how to learn.” It is a system that is focused on teaching for understanding, using concrete materials to prepare children for future abstract academic skills. It is these sensorial impressions that become the foundation for a lifetime of understanding.

It is true that five-year-olds in Montessori classes often help younger children with their work, actually teaching lessons or correcting errors. Research shows that when children teach or coach one another, both children benefit. Usually the “teacher” learns as much, and sometimes more, then the person being taught.

By the end of the kindergarten year, Montessori students will often have developed academic skills that may be beyond those of children enrolled in most American kindergarten programs; however, parents should remember that academic progress is not our ultimate goal.

Our real hope is that children will have an incredible sense of self-confidence, enthusiasm for learning, and feelings of being closely bonded to their teaches and classmates. We want them to enjoy school and feel good about themselves as students.

Once these children have developed these internal skills, they normally can adapt to all sorts of new situations. When the time comes for them to go off to their new school, they will take with them not only a vibrant curiosity but also an excitement about making new friends and learning new things. The kindergarten year is an important element to this process.

The above article contains excerpts from Tomorrow’s Child Winter 2000/01 issue, Volume 9, Number 2