(no subject)

[primroseburrows]

You know what's insane? The fact that I, of all people, got in the mail today a catalogue called The Joyful Child: Essential Montessori for Birth to Three.

My question is WHY? Maybe it's because of the fact that Montessori Education is frequently and quite erroneously associated with Waldorf Education. They're so different it's like night and day, really. So hmm.

So, I'm looking through this catalogue, and find out that Montessori seems to be big on child-led weaning. Well, this sounds like a great idea, until you look at it closer. Here's the blurb for a booklet called How I Weaned Myself:

"Intelligent preparation for weaning begins very early in the first year of life because it is the child who knows when best to be weaned and we must be prepared to follow his lead. If we provide all the elements--chair, table, spoon, glass--he will make this important step of independence at the right (italics theirs) time. We asked a couple who followed this path to weaning to write this up to share with other parents and they recommended reading it early."

I dunno. This sounds waay too regimented for me, and I read on a Montessouri website that someone was using the traditional "weaning chair and table" (small table-and-chair set) when the child was eight months old. Bleh. Yeah, I know that Waldorf encourages weaning at a year, and I don't agree with that either, but. This sounds almost, I dunno, Mao-esque or something. This Is The Way Things Are and all.

*sigh* I know. The sound I hear is all those people mass-defriending me out of boredom (except patchfire, who will actually read this). I know if I asked "what are your five favourite songs", I'd get lots of comments. *g*


So...what ARE your five favourite songs, guys, and why?

Comments

Montessori

[dancingrain.livejournal.com]

I was Montessori educated, but via the Association Montessori Internationale method (the AMI philosophy, the org founded by Dr. M herself). I don't think a single kid was weaned with that table setup, that I know of. I do remember we had kid-sized tables and chairs, but that was for our comfort, and had nothing to do with weaning.

I was always taught that AMI methods differed from AMS (the American society) but I haven't, as an adult, had enough chance to study it. In any case I don't think the extreme self-guidedness of a Montessori education is a good idea for every child, but it was definitively the best thing for me. Nobody every told any kid what was the "right" time for them to go through a phase. As an example I was the only kid in my kindergarten age class who didn't learn to read and it was fine, I was able to do it specially when the teachers realized, when I was a bit older, that i was showing signs of being ready, and it worked out wonderfully.

I dunno if you're actually interested in talking re Montessori at all but if you are, let's email or something cos any more detail of my experience and I'll start worrying my mom will somehow see this and recognize me. yay google paranoia.

Re: Montessori

[primroseburrows.livejournal.com]

I probably should learn more about the method before condemning it. I just have heard so much about the separation of play and work that I can't understand how Montessori and Waldorf are associated with each other. Waldorf's curriculum is pretty much fully integrated, with the arts present in all aspects. Of course, I'm a little(!) biased re: Waldorf, because mr_t00by has had such success with it.

Don't get me wrong, Waldorf has regimented aspects as well, and I don't always agree with them, but I have trouble with the association between the two methods. If you want to email me, I'm at primroseburrows@yahoo.com.

*hugs* You should come down south and have lunch sometime! I haven't seen you in a while. Maybe sometime before riddlefest_2004??

Oh, and have you heard about sage_salon? If you haven't joined, you should!

Re: Montessori

[dancingrain.livejournal.com]

:D I shall email you. And I would *love* to come down and hang out for a bit sometime. I could take the commuter rail, I think, into Providence, pretty easily & cheaply.

I think maybe the two branches of Montessori must be much more different than I'd thought, because I can't remember any regimentation at all! My impression of my school was that the entire philosophy was that, with a little nudging to makje sure nothing gets left out, we pretty much did our own thing and to us, work *was* play.

I hear great things about Waldorf too and I would love to learn more about that system as well. So yeah, email :D. Gotta go back to being at work now but shall do this weekend!