Waldorf? Montessori? Play-based Preschool? Any Experience with These?

I taught in my previous life for 9 years. SO..FYI...the only thing that I heard the kindergarten teachers say was that playbased preschool kids were not ready for kindergarten, they tended to not adapt well to the schedule. I was going to e-mail my local school district and ask the kindergarten teachers which preschools they would recommend. I am not sending my daughter until 4, so I have not really looked into anything yet.
Good luck

I think it is up to the parent to decide what is important to them. Waldorf and Montessori both have very stringent curriculums. Waldorf as most previous people have said lets the child use their imaginations to create the world around them. Montessori is based on practical life skills and educational skills but leaves little time for socialization since Montessori focuses on the "child's work" and at that "Child's level". I worked in a Montessori school for several years. Although I found it an excellent base for the fundamentals, I found it lacked the teaching of social skills which is very important.
I have also taught in Day Care Centers where several different theories were held for about 15 years.
I am a firm believer that there is no absolute right or wrong way of teaching provided it is presented to the child in a positive way. All ways of teaching have pros and cons and you need to decide how you wish your child to learn.
I will be starting my own preschool program in the Fall and use a lot of different styles for this very reason. I teach social skills while helping with other aspects of having a well rounded program designed to meet all of the needs of each child not the group as a whole. I believe in independent learning, letting them explore on their own, and one on one at their level while small group projects and free play promote imagination and creativity.

Hello! I love Waldorf schooling. My 5 year old goes to singing winds in oak park. I am not sure where you are. Chicago Waldorf has a Waldorf 101 class. It really gives you the bases of Waldorf and the importance free play in the early childhood. Email me if you have any questions.(we started waldorf at 15 month with a parent child class)

We looked into the various programs and ended up putting our daughter in a Waldorf pre-school several years ago. We looked at Montessori, but didn't like any of the ones in our area.

Partly it depends on what you're looking for. Waldorf HEAVILY bases on play-based education - there's lots of songs, stories (not read, but 'told' from teacher memory) and interaction amongst the kids. If your goal is a creative kid who interacts with others and can really use their imagination - or if you've got one of those already, then this is the way to go.

Couple of side notes: they don't push reading until a little later than regular programs, but I didn't see that it hurt much. I met many of the older kids and even an alum who was at York High School and they were all reading way above grade level; the ninth grader I met was reading "Reviving Ophelia" and we were able to discuss the book with depth. The school teaches the letters gradually and in such a way that the kids can KNOW the letters - I heard one teacher tell a ten minute long story about the letter K, shaped like a king, etc. Same with numbers and shapes. If you're really just shooting for pre-school, reading shouldn't be that high of a priority as they really get lots of that in kindergarten.

The schools also tend to be dead-on serious about food concerns and issues, and my vegan daughter was accommodated, as well as the kids with nut allergies, wheat, etc.

However, as noted by another, Waldorf is also a culture. There are plenty of pro and anti Waldorf web sites out there to discuss it.

(As a former teacher, I can also say that just by being concerned about pre-school education, you're setting your child up for success early. When they see what you value, they learn to value it as well.)

It basically comes down to your own philosophy of early childhood education and how you want your child to learn. Montessori and Waldorf both follow the idea that kids learn best when they dictate what to focus on. With Waldorf, it means that they won't even teach a child to read who hasn't shown a real interest in it. Waldorf also aims to reduce "noise", using toys that are simple and muted, both in color and sound. For example, kids play dress-up with scarves instead of costumes. Waldorf schools can be part of a pretty hard-core community, so you may want to read more about it. Montessori also lets the child determine what to do, using stations that are set up around the room. They do a lot of work with "real-life" scenarios, like cutting bread and pouring things, and they have great rules about cleaning their environment, dealing with conflict, and experimentation. There are amazing schools, I think you'd want to make sure that one you want is indeed certified Montessori (there is a licensing board, some schools use the term Montessori when they actually shouldn't). Play-based schools (as my kids are in) is ruled by the idea that kids learn best through play, which could be role-playing like house or free rein with play dough. There is usually less structure, although typically there will be circle time every day and repeating activities like show and tell and singing songs. You'll find these associated with churches and park districts, they'll be cheaper for sure. I also think that you should try not to overthink it too much. In the long run, learning ABCs and stuff will be tackled in kindergarten, almost any preschool is going to do the most important preparation, which is learning to be in a group setting and listening to the teacher (everything I read from teachers says that preschool socialization is more important than any of the academic stuff). All that being said, I think different kids thrive in different environments, so as your child grows and shows tendencies, you'll find the best fit for your family.

I feel your confusion!! My son is 2.5 and I have already scoured the Montessori schools in the area. I have a Waldorf school nearby as well but I was taken aback by the fact that the method really doesn't focus on reading until the children are past five. If I am wrong, anyone please correct me! I was reading to my baby brother at four! I would recommend making appointments to go and visit the schools you are interested in to get a first hand account of how things work. Although there are three Montessori schools near us, one really stood out to me and that's where my son will be going.

I prefer the Waldorf school myself. The main idea behind their curriculum is that the learning is coordinated to fit with the child's development. In preschool they are focusing on teaching the children how to learn, and trying to give them some of the building blocks for later on. Stories are told to the children and then some of the play is focused around the story to try and reinforce it. While they aren't teaching the child to read early like some other schools might (they feel that most children aren't ready at the preschool age, so they don't discourage reading but also don't specifically teach it early) they are teaching children to listen and be able to understand and process what they are hearing to the point that they can tell you about it - not just repeat it back at you.

There is also some emphasis on helping the child to "discover" things for themself, like starting painting with primary colors and then having them figure out for themselves that two of the colors mix to make another one. There is a heavy focus on arts and music as well, which I like because there's some of that in both my and my husband's backgrounds so I want to encourage it in my children.

I wouldn't go so far as to say the community of parents are hard-core. The school does ask that the parents be involved with both the school and the children's education. You will find that the school will attract a few of the hard-core natural living types (for lack of a better blanket description), partly because there is some emphasis on the children being aware of and connecting with their natural surroundings. They try to go outside every day. However, you're going to also find a bunch of regular folks there too. When talking with another one of the moms who also happens to have her daughter in my son's playgroup too, she agreed - all things in moderation. While they have a strict policy against media in the school (no character backpacks, shoes, etc), we're not totally disallowing it at home.

The Waldorf school we're going to does tours every so often. I'd call both the one by you and the Montessori school and ask about that so you can get more information. Personally, I fell in love with the Waldorf philosophies when looking online, but when I took the tour of the school with my husband and they gave us a presentation - it confirmed that it was the right school for us. You should try to do that for each of the schools you get the best feelings about and then decide which one seemed like the right place for your child. Since you are starting early, you've got plenty of time to see them all if you like. :-)

montessori schools are the best i have yet to find one that was not good i have had my son in montessori schools seens he was 2 when going in at 2 he did not know his abc or any songs at all when in 3 months he new his abc and over 12 diffen songs and was doing things i did not think that he could at the age and now he is 4 he knows his add and sub and 1 and 0 in multiplication and working on fraction now too so i think montessori school are the best just my 2 cents worth

C. a sham for the summer of a 4 year old