https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sat, 18 Apr 2026 20:03:41 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-lo-is-in-montessori-are-there-other-education-based-daycare-options-in-your-area#post-1012023 Tue, 13 Aug 2013 01:13:33 +0000 VanillaBean 1012023@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I have been in the child development field for more than a fifteen years, and have worked as a infant through preschool teacher and have been an administrator of a child care center in both for-profit and non-profit sectors. </p> <p>Choosing a preschool can be confusing and overwhelming for many parents who are not aware of the many different teaching and philosophical preschool programs available. I always advocate parents to research preschool programs thoroughly and bring their child to the tour visit to see how their child would do in the setting. You get a feel for how your child will do base on your visit and ask many questions. </p> <p>Also, I have observed in many places where they have "claimed" to implement a certain theory/philosophy but in fact do not practices it entirely. </p> <p>When I was an administrator, while touring with potential families, I would honestly tell them base on the information they give me about their child if our program would be a good fit for their child. Not the other way around. The child comes first. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-lo-is-in-montessori-are-there-other-education-based-daycare-options-in-your-area#post-1011898 Mon, 12 Aug 2013 22:31:45 +0000 T-Mom 1011898@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@banana: my DH has been begging me to move to San Diego, so maybe some day I will get to experience how lucky you guys are to have all that gorgeous weather! :-) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-lo-is-in-montessori-are-there-other-education-based-daycare-options-in-your-area#post-1011528 Mon, 12 Aug 2013 18:57:39 +0000 regberadaisy 1011528@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@banana: that is absolutely wonderful!<br /> There are many aspects of Waldorf I like as well. Being an architect I love the build aspect of their philosophy. I'm not sure if I want her in something like that 24/7. But will Def explore for summer program when she's of school aged. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-lo-is-in-montessori-are-there-other-education-based-daycare-options-in-your-area#post-1011526 Mon, 12 Aug 2013 18:55:54 +0000 Mrs. Jacks 1011526@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@banana: Good for you for sticking to what was right for your child :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-lo-is-in-montessori-are-there-other-education-based-daycare-options-in-your-area#post-1011493 Mon, 12 Aug 2013 18:41:55 +0000 banana 1011493@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Jacks: Oh good.! I thought people would think I was crazy. No Montessori? What? Everyone loves Montessori! :) I guess I originally felt a little "pressured" (if that's the right word) to send him to a Montessori school because it seems like that's all everyone is talking about in the interwebs (Pinterest. hello.). I actually really love the Montessori method. We incorporate a lot of Montessori in our own home (taken from your posts actually!). But when it came down to finding a school that fit my son, Reggio felt more "right". </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-lo-is-in-montessori-are-there-other-education-based-daycare-options-in-your-area#post-1011442 Mon, 12 Aug 2013 18:25:28 +0000 Mrs. Jacks 1011442@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@banana: I don't think that's against the grain at all! Whatever works for your child, you know? I mean if Montessori was the be all end all, it would be the only school... but different things work for different kids. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-lo-is-in-montessori-are-there-other-education-based-daycare-options-in-your-area#post-1011412 Mon, 12 Aug 2013 18:14:57 +0000 banana 1011412@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@T-Mom: Our moderate SoCal weather makes this indoor/outdoor thing work well. I can't imagine this being too comfortable in states with actual season changes! :happy: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-lo-is-in-montessori-are-there-other-education-based-daycare-options-in-your-area#post-1010945 Mon, 12 Aug 2013 14:44:15 +0000 T-Mom 1010945@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@banana: That sounds awesome! I wish something like that would work where I live, but I'm sure all the kids would get heat stroke! :-) I love that concept though.</p> <p>We do Montessori but other education based options are Primrose and Goddard School. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-lo-is-in-montessori-are-there-other-education-based-daycare-options-in-your-area#post-1010685 Mon, 12 Aug 2013 13:29:31 +0000 banana 1010685@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm probably going against the grain here but we looked at Montessori schools for my son (classic Montessori) and we just didn't think that the Montessori philosophy was right for him. I think we got caught up in the whole trendy thing (and I think @locavore_mama is right that Montessori feels very trendy right now even though it's been around for ages and ages). I think it just really depends on the individual child.</p> <p>We took my son with us when we toured the preschools in our area (15 of them!) and we knew we found the right preschool for him right away. It's a wonderful project-based preschool, which focuses on learning from the environment. So they spend most of their time outdoors, even when it's raining. It's an indoor/outdoor classroom so the doors are always open for them to go play outside. The student/teacher ratio is 1:4 so if a group of children want to go outside, the teacher will always follow them. One thing that we didn't particularly like about the Montessori schools in our area was that they didn't spend a lot of time outdoors (maybe 1.5 hours tops?). Most of their "purposeful work" was done indoors. For us, we wanted something a little more open-ended and less focused on individual work. And outdoor time was really really important to us. My son starts in 2 weeks and we're SUPER excited! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-lo-is-in-montessori-are-there-other-education-based-daycare-options-in-your-area#post-1010568 Mon, 12 Aug 2013 12:59:44 +0000 brownie 1010568@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Options in my town:<br /> 1) in home child care - which is hit or miss<br /> 2) on base CDC - you pay more for the "preschool"<br /> 3) Immanual Daycare - this is religiously affiliated<br /> 4) Community College CDC - mostly for students at the college<br /> 5) Montessori 1 - the one he will go to<br /> 6) Montessori 2 - brand new program<br /> 7) DART program - where is now. This is program is typically for special needs students with normative students<br /> 8) Head Start - we aren't eligible<br /> 9) Special Education preschool - for those referred for special needs </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-lo-is-in-montessori-are-there-other-education-based-daycare-options-in-your-area#post-1010527 Mon, 12 Aug 2013 12:50:45 +0000 MamaG 1010527@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Ah, now it's been mentioned :) We use Primrose. I've read up on Montessori, but never actually toured a facility locally. </p> <p>We love Primrose. I'm amazed at the things LO learns there everyday. </p> <p>@Locavore_Mama: While they don't pray at her school, they do say the pledge to the flag each morning. By 18 months, LO knew to stand facing the flag and where to place her right hand. They talk about different religious holiday (primarily in December). </p> <p>One of my favorite things about Primrose is the whole school is on the same curriculum. So, if this week is "transportation" every class is learning the same topic at an age appropriate level. And the curriculum is all centrally prepared in Georgia so the teachers can "teach" and not spend their time planning. I think it also provides for consistency. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-lo-is-in-montessori-are-there-other-education-based-daycare-options-in-your-area#post-1010497 Mon, 12 Aug 2013 12:44:41 +0000 littlek 1010497@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@mediagirl: We sent B to Primrose. We are currently sending him to Winwood. I don't see much of a difference among Primrose, Goddard, Winwood, Bean Tree, etc.... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-lo-is-in-montessori-are-there-other-education-based-daycare-options-in-your-area#post-1010469 Mon, 12 Aug 2013 12:38:31 +0000 regberadaisy 1010469@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@grizz: so we are about as NON religious as they come. Surprisingly the one center we both really liked and would send LO to in a heartbeat if it weren't for price. Same one I talked about above. Is a offshoot of a local church. But it is not religion based. They do pray at lunch I think but they also teach about other religions which I'm very happy about bc we plan to do the same at home. That's about as religion based as they are. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-lo-is-in-montessori-are-there-other-education-based-daycare-options-in-your-area#post-1010460 Mon, 12 Aug 2013 12:36:09 +0000 mediagirl 1010460@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm not sure I would know an education based daycare from a non education based one other than Montessori. I didn't realize JCC had daycare options because they didn't where I grew up and don't here. </p> <p>We have some schools like Goddard, Bright Horizon and Primrose but I'm not sure what their philosophies are (we can't afford them anyways). :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-lo-is-in-montessori-are-there-other-education-based-daycare-options-in-your-area#post-1010458 Mon, 12 Aug 2013 12:35:45 +0000 Boheme 1010458@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'd say its popular here only among the 'crunchy' set. I love Montessori! Another deciding factor for us is that most other preschools here are religion-based and DH and I aren't comfortable with religious instruction in preschool. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-lo-is-in-montessori-are-there-other-education-based-daycare-options-in-your-area#post-1010453 Mon, 12 Aug 2013 12:34:32 +0000 regberadaisy 1010453@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MamaG: the one I like the best locally is not a popular theory based one. But all the kids I know that came out of there have gone on to get into G&amp;T programs and many to a local high school that you can ONLY test into. Which has been rated top 10 in the nation for the last 5 years by US News!!! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-lo-is-in-montessori-are-there-other-education-based-daycare-options-in-your-area#post-1010441 Mon, 12 Aug 2013 12:32:22 +0000 MamaG 1010441@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>All of our centers seem to claim education basis. I'm not sure they all really are. We are using one that is education based and accredited but is not a name already listed. We love it and it has been great for LO. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-lo-is-in-montessori-are-there-other-education-based-daycare-options-in-your-area#post-1010436 Mon, 12 Aug 2013 12:30:27 +0000 Mrs. Jacks 1010436@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@locavore_mama: Sorry, I should have been clear that I wasn't posting it for you but rather for other people who might be reading the thread. I shouldn't have made it an answer to you directly.</p> <p>I also posted about many of these philosophies in my "Choosing a preschool" blog post for folks who want to learn more about them!<br /> <a href="http://www.hellobee.com/?p=13442" rel="nofollow">http://www.hellobee.com/?p=13442</a> </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-lo-is-in-montessori-are-there-other-education-based-daycare-options-in-your-area#post-1010421 Mon, 12 Aug 2013 12:27:11 +0000 regberadaisy 1010421@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Jacks: I know what all those are. ;) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-lo-is-in-montessori-are-there-other-education-based-daycare-options-in-your-area#post-1010408 Mon, 12 Aug 2013 12:25:09 +0000 Mrs. Jacks 1010408@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@locavore_mama: Reggio Emilia is another Italian learning philosophy that is very child directed and exploratory and JCC is the Jewish Community Center (many, many of them have great preschools associated with them. We are fortunate to have Jewish education up to 8th grade in our town. It's a terrific academic program).</p> <p>It's kind of cool to hear that Montessori is now trendy. Hopefully, it's because people are realizing how the philosophy really works!</p> <p>Here's a list of famous Montessori grads:<br /> <a href="http://www.dailymontessori.com/montessori-questions-answers/famous-montessori-educated-people/" rel="nofollow">http://www.dailymontessori.com/montessori-questions-answers/famous-montessori-educated-people/</a> </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-lo-is-in-montessori-are-there-other-education-based-daycare-options-in-your-area#post-1010392 Mon, 12 Aug 2013 12:20:39 +0000 regberadaisy 1010392@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Jacks: I know Montessori has been around for a long time but I def think it is trendy now.</p> <p>I bet the general population has heard of Montessori but not all the other ones you have listed or even know what JCC stands for. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-lo-is-in-montessori-are-there-other-education-based-daycare-options-in-your-area#post-1010363 Mon, 12 Aug 2013 12:14:16 +0000 Mrs. Jacks 1010363@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We have JCC, Reggio Emilia, Montessori and a private academic preschool with a great reputation. Montessori rose to the top for us. I don't think of it as trendy. I did Montessori in the 1970's! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-lo-is-in-montessori-are-there-other-education-based-daycare-options-in-your-area#post-1010353 Mon, 12 Aug 2013 12:12:19 +0000 regberadaisy 1010353@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Just wondering if most LOs are in Montessori bc there are no other "education" based daycare options in your area? Or because it's the popular one right now?</p> <p>We actually have quite a few education based day cares in our areas. Montessori, Waldorf and others that are loosely based on other theories.</p> <p>I so wish we had a Friends school! That's my favorite. </p>