kristins_mom,
I'm not Montessori trained and neither do I strongly advocate for the Montessori approach. However, my understanding of the Montessori approach is rather different from how you have put it. Perhaps, I'll just share a short summary of what I know ...
The lady u mentioned is Maria Montessori who lived in Italy in 1870. While it's true that she worked with the mentally disabled in her early years, the montessori approach was developed based on her observations of normal children. (From what I know, the Glenn Doman method is the one that originates from the study and treatment of the mentally disabled children). I would say the work with the mentally disabled inspired her to study the potential of "normal" children. In her book "The Absorbent Mind" (translated version), all references were made to perfectly normal children. You can also try
www.michaelolaf.net/1CW312MI.html which offers a brief introduction of the Montessori philosophy & practice.
Many people dismiss the Montessori approach as one that promotes learn as and when you feel like it" mentality. But I see the essence of the Montessori approach as one that encourages the child to be self-directed. Its true that Montessori called for the child to be left on his/her own to learn at her own pace. By allowing this, there are two interesting aspects. Firstly, the child can discover and learn the task at hand without the adults interference (which is a challenge by itself). The self correcting feature of Montessori materials allows the child to discover and experience for himself and aids him/her in achieving the desired results. Secondly, it allows the child develop his/her concentration span. It is extremely difficult for a grown up to induce concentration in a young child. By directing the child to activities that hold his/her interest and attention, (sorry, television, computers and video games don't count.), concentration builds. Quoting from a Montessori teacher,
If you observe children doing purposeful activity independently and with concentration, let them be. Observe, and know that they are headed in the right direction, even though the work might not be what you would choose for them to do.
If we allow our children to listen and follow their inner teacher, whether it is playing miniature golf or cutting strips of paper, we can be assured that the independence and concentration from one activity will be transferred to subsequent activities of interest. "
The success of the Montessori approach lies very much in the teacher. As what Lena has always advised, its crucial to check out each Montessori school. Not all Montessori preschools stay true to the philosophy.
Having said above, I must admit I'm very much the type of mom that try to guide my kids at a so called "comfortable" & "reasonable" pace. More often than not, the pace is not one that would optimize his learning. Rather, it's a pace which I feel he should be able to cope with, which more often than not, frustrates both of us. And it's the Montessori philosophy that helps alleviate this frustration. By trusting him to learn at his own pace, he has shown me results better than I ever expect. However, I'm still not a loyal Montessori follower yet
It's hard to be one in a competitive society like Singapore.
Btw, do kids get distracted as you described? Brandon is definitely different. He would remind his father to bring him to the playground the first thing he woke up from a nap. (we promised that we would bring him to the playground after a nap). And if we don't, he would be very unhappy. He hardly gets distracted from things that he enjoys doing.
