A Teacher in Training

One way that a Montessori based education is different from a traditional preschool is that children are placed in classrooms with children of varying ages. Children remain with the same teacher or teachers as long as they are in the preschool program. There are many benefits to this way of arranging the classroom. Here are a few of them. 

Consistency in Teaching

When you enroll your child in a Montessori based preschool, that child will have the same teacher every year of the program. There are many advantages to this consistency. 

• Your child's teacher has more time to develop an understanding of your child's individual learning style. 
• Your child's teacher gains a deeper knowledge of your child's strengths and challenges.
• Your child and the teacher have more time to bond. 
• Your child does not have to spend time and energy getting used to a new teacher each year. 
• You have the opportunity to be closer to the teacher. 
• The teacher will have greater insight for you about the ways your child has progressed and developed throughout preschool. 

Competition Free Environment

When children are in a classroom with other children who are older and younger than they are, there is less competition. Mixing the age groups means that children are working on a variety of different skills on many different levels. There is much less emphasis placed on who is best at a certain skill or has mastered or not mastered challenges in reading and math. 

This environment allows kids to truly work at their own pace. A child might be an advanced reader while still having trouble with basic counting and number skills. Children are able to blend into a mixed age classroom and can feel good about their own accomplishments without having to compare themselves to others. 

Less Bullying

Kids who work with children of other age groups each day are less likely to engage in bullying behaviors with kids who are smaller than they are. Children in a multi-age classroom learn to respect each other and to work in cooperation with other children. Through this teamwork, they are also learning to respect each other's strengths, viewpoints and ideas. 

Development of Leadership Skills

Children who are among the oldest in their preschool classrooms will learn to help younger children along. Each year when a new group of younger children join the class, older kids are encouraged to show them the ropes and help them learn what is expected. This not only helps the younger children feel a sense of belonging, but it also gives older kids self-confidence that they will take with them into their schooling years. 

Creation of a Community

The American Montessori Society explains that children in a multi-age Montessori environment experience a recreation of a family structure, allowing them to find a special place within the classroom that will develop as they do. Older children find confidence as mentors and leaders, while younger children gain a feeling of security and confidence. 

When children are confident and feel safe in their learning environment, they are able to take risks, challenge themselves and learn more than they could in a more structured setting. 

A preschool that offers classrooms for multiple age groups provides many advantages to young students that a traditional class cannot offer. The Montessori educational model provides children with consistency in the form of the same teacher and classroom throughout preschool as well as the benefits of being helped along by older children and taking a leadership role with younger children. In this way, a multi-age Montessori classroom provides a preschool experience that will benefit kids throughout their school years and their lives. 

For more information, contact a local preschool like Miniapple International Montessori School.