What is a Montessori Kindergarten?

The Montessori Kindergarten is named after its founder, the Italian doctor and reform pedagogue Maria Montessori (1870-1952). Their motto, and thus also the theme of the Montessori kindergartens, is: "Help me to do it myself." In a Montessori kindergarten, the child is already seen as a whole person. In addition to this guiding principle, Montessori pedagogy is based on the following principles, according to which the educators in the kindergarten act.

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What is the concept behind this Kindergaten?

The reform pedagogue and founder of the Montessori kindergarten Maria Montessori has developed a kindergarten concept in which the educators are seen less as teachers and more as helpers. A guiding principle of Montessori is the following: "Help me do it myself". The supervisors should help the children to overcome difficulties themselves and to develop their personality independently instead of giving them learning content that the children have to imitate or learn by heart. This means that the educators have a special attitude and basic attitude towards the child. The child is seen as a person with their own desires and needs and the educator observes and helps the child in its development processes.

Furthermore, the Montessori concept is based on the statement that the child is the builder of himself, so he knows best what he wants and what he needs. Accordingly, the child should deal with the materials in kindergarten that are particularly stimulating. Freely pursue the urge to research and development. The adults should not hinder the child by restricting them and demanding obedience. Instead, they should allow the child as many different environmental impressions as possible, i.e. familiarize them with very different materials and thus give each child the opportunity to discover their inclinations, strengths and interests.

In addition, a multi-impression environment is important in a Montessori kindergarten because the children, especially children under three, have an absorbent mind according to Montessori. This means that they record and save impressions of their surroundings. In the kindergarten, the child is provided with special materials for playing and learning. These sensory materials consist of a system of objects that are classified according to certain physical properties, such as body, color, shape, sound, weight, etc. Care is taken to ensure that only one property is hidden in the material so that the child can experience and learn this very intensively and without distraction.

The sensory materials include colored cylinders, a brown staircase, red bars, noise canisters, geometric maps, and much more. Furthermore, there is also the possibility for the children to carry out exercises from practical life, such as carrying water, lighting candles etc. In addition, a Montessori kindergarten also has language and mathematical material for language training and for learning to count and Arithmetic.

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Advantages over another kindergarten

In a Montessori kindergarten, particular value is placed on the individualism of the individual children, significantly more than in a normal kindergarten. For this reason, the children are challenged and encouraged individually and appropriately for them. The children are not only allowed to live out their very own character traits, but also to pursue their personal interests, whereby the child can realize himself.

So there is an unfolding of one's own self. Furthermore, in the Montessori kindergarten, all the senses are used to learn, so that in some cases the children can reach a better pre-school level than children from normal kindergartens. Another advantage of a Montessori kindergarten can be the work with the parents, so the parents can decide through intensive cooperation about the processes in the kindergarten, for example about the food. Thanks to the parents' initiative, the contact between the parents and the educators is very close.

Disadvantages compared to another kindergarten

In a Montessori kindergarten, children are free to choose whether or not to take part in group activities. This leads to less pressure to perform than in normal kindergartens. In this way, some children evade new learning material. The large amount of parental work can not only be seen as an advantage, since the parents can help shape the kindergarten, but can also be a disadvantage for some parents. As a rule, parents often have to get involved, which can take a lot of time; parents who have strenuous and time-consuming work shy away from this in particular.

In addition, the work with the parents can lead to conflicts as the parents always have to come to an agreement. This can always lead to differences, for example when agreeing on the food options for the children. Another disadvantage for parents who are not financially well-placed are the fees, which are often higher than those of a public kindergarten. In addition, some parents complain that the children who go to a Montessori kindergarten often come from all over the region, as there are not so many kindergartens of this type. This is why their children sometimes only find friends who do not live in the same neighborhood, but tend to be further away.

How do I know which form of care is best for my child?

If you compare childcare in a Montessori kindergarten with that of a supposedly normal kindergarten in order to find out which form of care is better suited to your own child, you should look at the individual kindergartens individually and not reject one form or the other across the board. Parents should look at kindergartens of the chosen concept before registering and convince themselves whether or not they want to leave their child in the care of this facility.

When choosing a kindergarten you can pay attention to various criteria, such as the personnel key, such criteria can be an exclusion criterion when choosing the kindergarten, despite the concept preference. Whether a Montessori kindergarten or a normal kindergarten, all children can usually go to any kindergarten. When choosing a Montessori kindergarten, however, parents should be aware that cooperation, i.e. parental work, is required of them. Furthermore, they should really stand behind the concept and find out about Montessori education beforehand. This is also the basic requirement in order to be able to decide which kindergarten in your own eyes is better for your own child.

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