When it comes to helping your child develop a love of learning, they literally can not be too young to start. Babies naturally thrive on absorbing all the information that exists around them that they can. Because Montessori schools focus on developing fine motor skills, positive and orderly playing habits, and coordination, children can begin attending Montessori schools at an earlier age.
When can my child begin a Montessori program?
Many Montessori programs begin with children at the age of 18 months or up to 3 years old. The young students focus on personal choice of deciding which stationary activity to engage while developing concentration and coordination skills. The preschool aged Montessori programs typically go through the morning and end at lunchtime, so the young students can eat lunch and nap at home. Even though a Montessori classroom has so many fun and colorful activities, the work these toddlers accomplish is quite significant and can be carried with them as they continue to develop and build upon these skills.
Working at their own pace
Children learn differently and not always in the same time frame as others. Breaking free of the idea that not everyone has to accomplish the same goals at the same age allows students to truly master a skill with no pressure to measure up next to their peers. Independence is taught by giving these young children the ability to choose what they want to focus on. They may want to work on the same activity every day for most of a semester. Their confidence builds as the activity becomes easier and their mastery of the skill increases. Eventually, when the activity no longer holds a challenge for the child, they may lose interest and choose to move on to another station. Because choice is involved, there is no need to motivate the child because their own interest navigates their education.
Mixed-age classrooms
In Montessori education, a classroom built of students within a three year age span provides a natural order for the students. Younger students can look up to the older students in the class to see examples of how to behave and how the classroom functions. The older students get the added benefit of being a positive helper with those that are younger than they are. While one student works to master a skill, they can see an older student taking that same skill and adding to it.
If you have a young child and you are wanting to enroll them in a Montesssori school in the Bay Area, Fountainhead Montessori School has multiple campuses in the area that offer traditional Montessori programs as well as language immersion classes. Give Fountainhead Montessori School a call to set up an observational appointment at a campus near you.