A great Montessori daycare is often the best place to start providing your children with a headstart on education. Finding that school may seem like a daunting task, but we can offer you a few pieces of useful advice to make that search easier and yield optimum results.
Reviews and Testimonials
Choose a few Montessori daycare centers in your area, and then examine each one. Read reviews of the schools, and look for testimonials on the school websites or other review forums. This can illustrate the best facets of the school as well as give you some insight into how the school administration handles problems and questions that may arise.
Verify Accreditation
An authentic Montessori daycare is accredited by the American Montessori Society, often referred to as AMS. Since “Montessori” is not a trademarked name, verifying that a school is accredited may be the only way to know that the school follows the Montessori Method. Other schools may claim to be Montessori, but the real thing will prominently display the documents that back the claim.
Visit the School
A visit to the selected Montessori preschool before enrollment is always a good idea. If you have never been inside a Montessori classroom, the tour may surprise you. Classrooms tend to be quiet and organized, with children intently pursuing individual or group tasks in a surprisingly focused manner. In Montessori, children have the freedom to choose the work they are engaged in and often move from one workstation to another. With only a few exceptions, including things like music and movement activities, the class will be using individual materials rather than everyone learning the same thing at the same time.
Talk to Other Parents
Talking to some of the other parents of your chosen Montessori school will provide you with first-hand testimonials, and in-depth descriptions of what you can expect for your child. Since the Montessori Method works best when it carries over to the home, other parents can also give you some helpful pointers for incorporating it at home. The parental role is huge and includes everything from setting aside space for your child to participating in regular meetings with the teachers at school
Not all Montessori daycares are alike or even adhere to the Montessori Method. To get the best school for your child, taking the time to examine your options carefully is important. The good news is that Montessori stands in clear contrast to other teaching methods, so it will be easy to recognize the best schools with only a little investigation.
