We've decided that my 5-y.o. should repeat kindergarten next year. It was a tough decision, but he has vision, speech, and fine motor issues, and needs a little extra time to catch up. I've read a little about the Montessori approach, and think that might be a bit easier for him. Has anyone tried it? What were your impressions?

Hey! I haven't tried this approach but I've heard many positive things about it. It is a whole different approach to learning, not like a regular public school. It may be worth a try...

In case anyone else is wondering about this issue, I've given it some more thought and research since I posted this question. The good points about Montessori are that it's self-paced, and the children are encouraged to learn in a "hands-on" manner. Montessori schools are more likely to use multisensory methods of teaching that can be very helpful to the children. The children are encouraged to do activities that are appealing to them, which helps motivate them to learn. There are many things about this approach that I find very appealing.

The one drawback, where my own son is concerned, is that there's not much structure. At this point in his life, my son needs more structure and guidance. I'm afraid that he'd just drift around the room aimlessly without it. (He has my genes, after all. :o ) We're going to try public school again, and I've lifted some of the Montessori ideas to use in at-home activities. Wish us luck!

I think that the public school can work with the problems your son is having. They don't sound to bad... A lot of childrens' fine motor skills develop at different times, maybe he just has a delay? He could also attend a separate speech class (pull out). I know that in the schools around here, a speech pathologist actually comes into the class and works with the entire class. And in the classroom, the teacher could simply have the child sit in a specific location, (closer to the front)? These are all accomodations the school can provide. Just a few suggestions to consider. Good Luck! :)

He does have an IEP, and gets pulled out for speech and OT. I think he's improved quite a bit in the last few months. He's just developing at a slower pace, and the vision problems just exacerbated his problems last year. (Fine motor problems + vision issues = lots of frustration with writing!) I think that he'll get more out of K this time around.

I was put into a Montessori school a long time ago. Their approach, from what I can remember, is really great. I was able to get 3-4 grades ahead of the other kids in the elementary school I attended afterward (but they didn't allow grade skipping and stuff). I left for college at 16 and a year has passed.

The best way to improve writing at that age is probably to get the kid to pleasure-read. If a child reads a lot for fun, he/she will naturally pick up language and vocabulary. I don't really know much about actual writing motor-ability though.

I am not sure if I have ADD, but it seems like it. I just grew up with milder ADD symptoms - more inattentiveness than anything else. Montessori may be a good idea for making your kid enjoy learning. However, you may be right about the discipline and structure issues...I still deal with these problems today. They have caused major problems in my first year of college.

It'd be interesting if Montessori schools went up to high school (as far as I know they only do up to kindergarten).

I have a 5 1/2 year-old son who is both ADHD and gifted (IQ just tested at 140). He is in his 2nd year in a 3-6 Montessori classroom. He has done really well in this environment, particularly because of being able to work on things for briefer time periods when he needs to, and because of the multisensory approach.He is also on Adderall, which has helped immensely. The difficulties for him have primarily been 1) some emotional dysregulation (ie- occasionally melting down or freaking out in response to frustration, 2) at times challenging the teacher verbally (typically assoc w/ gifted kids), and 3) some reluctance to initiate new tasks, requiring a bit more teacher intervention than classic Montessori approach dictates. However, he is happy, has friends, and is reading comfortably at about a 2nd grade level.

We are hoping very much to keep him in Montessori for 1st grade and up, but we are currently facing some difficulty with the school administration. My sense in they are concerned he will be "too much work" for the teachers- it's not yet clear if they will invite him to stay in the fall. Keeping him back a year is an option, but would likely lead to more acting out because of boredom academically (2 psychologists have strongly advised against this). However, the public school in our area does not appear to meet his needs at the lower grade levels (academically).

The psychologist who tested him is recommending a "gifted" school, but the couple of schools like this are 40-45 min. away, and I really want him to have friends in the neighborhood. As you can see, I'm currently stressing about this, and anticipating a meeting with the Kinder teacher and the lower elementary director at the Montessori school this Friday to discuss all this further.

My heart and my brain do tell me that the elementary program at Montessori does have enough structure to work well for him (the teacher actually does the weekly lesson plan for each child at the beginning of the year, and each child gets more input and independence as he is able over time...). I'm just hoping they'll decide to let him try it....

Anybody else have any experience with this?????

in australia, Montessori schools go from 3 year olds to 13 year olds.

I have 3 in Montessori school right now. The two oldest just finished 2 year - lower elementary (2nd grade) (so 5 years total in Montessori) and the youngest will be in 3rd year childrens house this fall (kindergarden) (2 completed years) One of the older boys is ADHD. I have alot of impulse control issues with him but ironically his attention span is great and he can be incrediably focused when working. I really feel I would have a mess on my hands if he was in public school. Montessori is self directed but very structured in nature. While the children do 'chose' their own work they have goals to accomplish and specific tasks to master. They have the same teacher for 3 years and I think that also is very helpful.

Our school goes to 6th grade and ideally I will keep all the children there until then. I am thankful everyday that they attend Montessori. :)

Krisp what kind of vision problems does your son have?

I think it depends on the child and how they learn
My son went to a Montessori preschool and now is going into third grade in the local public school.
The boring sameness and structure of his classroom (his teacher is even moving up a grade with the kids) helps him overcome a lot of his anxiety issues, (learning not social) Too many choices fluster him and get him off track,
He is also very difficult to motivate, so allowing him to "learn at his own pace” would be out of the question.
On the other hand I can see how a lot of out of the box kids could thrive!
It is nice to have options isn’t it?

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i was in one when i was a kid