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My nanny girl went to Montessori school so I saw it forehand for a year and I was impressed! It's a great program and tho I thought it was expensive at the time, the one in my area is $800 with extended daycare included. That is the price of most daycare centers without the preschool portion added in!

It was very structured, but also child led. The teachers are very in tune to each child's individual interests and abilities and tailors the curriculum to that. They teach a lot of independence and problem solving. There were some four and five year olds doing multiplication because they weren't held by age defined curriculum, they could go at their own pace and work on what was interesting to them. And for preschool, that, I think, is key. They don't need homework or being forced to learn yet- but someone to encourage what they love, and their imaginations and abilities. This particular Montessori seemed to capitalize on that. I will definitely be considering them for next year when J starts preschool!

@Mrs. Pen: $800/month?? That's amazing!

@plantains: @swurlygurl: @Freckles: we live just outside what most would consider the suburbs (nearly an hour from downtown), so that is likely why. If you go even 10-15 miles south, I bet the price of Montessori's goes up by a bit.

@Freckles: I think some might say that because it's child led, not teacher led as much as a traditional preschool might be. When I observed my nanny girl, there were times she would finish one project and wish to move on to another. In that sense, it was independent enough to allow her the freedom to roam to different activities. But there is structure in that, they may only have that "free time" for say an hour, but afterwards might be circle time, lunch, clean up etc. I like how they incorporate the kids into every aspect such as food preparation and clean up.

Ditto everything @T-Mom said. DD started at 3.

Montessori educators believe in the 3 year cycle which gives the child enough time to build a stable learning environment in one place.

@Freckles: I have heard that some people are actually kind of freaked out by the "intensity" of the classroom and wonder if the kids are having fun at all! But literally I have to tear my DD away every day (but she does cry when I drop her off sometimes, haha).

@Freckles: wow! very cool.

I know this is an older post, but the day is usually structured around two 3 hour work periods, in which kids can do an activity that they have been given a presentation on. Preschoolers usually have a shortened day, so there's only one work period, but a circle time in the beginning of the class and then possibly snack, and then the work period.

For example, let's say Johnny is really interested in doing the activity with the pink stacking blocks. He isn't supposed to just go over and select the tray, he's supposed to be given a presentation on what the activity is. Once the teacher has done the presentation, he is free to choose that activity and complete it as many times as he wants. There are some activities that have extensions, which also require a presentation.