Montessori Vs Kindergarten: Know The Difference

19th January 2022

Schooling is a major decision made by parents. The dilemma of choosing between Montessori and kindergarten method does in fact makes parents worried. Undoubtedly, Kindergarten and Montessori styles of learning both are very potent when it comes to providing children a structured platform to grow, nonetheless, it is only fair from the parent's perspective to take time and make a decision based on deeper understanding.

Well, to be clear preschool provides the fundamental education where children learn to socialize and develop their functional, cognitive, and linguistic skills. While both methods of education, focus on the same arena, their method of imparting education is varied. For starters,Kindergartens tend to make learning fun and pleasurable for kids, whereas a Montessori Methodtries to cultivate habits of organic learning in them.

What we usually see is that the Kindergarten method of education is widely used by the majority of schools. Whereas, Montessori is a method is forms of instruction that is used to educate – you may or may not be used in schools, primarily used in schools that are governed by the Montessori Method of learning.

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Let’s integrate the core differences of both of these methodologies for you…

Structure of Education

When it comes to the structure, Kindergarten is a more structured education system as the teacher's role is pre-defined and they follow the same technique for all learners, which makes this method of learning passive and more orated to the children because of the structured syllabus.

On the other hand, in the Montessori style of learning, the approach of teachings is more fluid where each learnerisallowed to express themselves. Lessons are more hands-on with real-time experiences and the role of the teacher is to adapt to the child’s learning style to help them learn skills and develop knowledge.

Teacher’s Role

In a Montessori classroom, the role of a teacher is that of a facilitator, meaning Montessori teachers acts as a guide. Children are allowed to choose their interests (from different work station) and explore topics on the basis of that.

In Kindergarten unlike Montessori the teachers are the guiding force of the learning process – they are the center of attention. Teachers are responsible for deciding the methods of teaching as they decide what, how, and when the children will learn about a topic or skills.

Age Group

The kindergarten method is designed for children between the ages of three to five, whereas Montessori educates all children up to the age of six years and after this, it becomes optional whether or not they want to continue learning in the Montessori structure. Another interesting point in Montessori is that children develop skills based on their unique pace of learning so the same classroom can have different age groups of learners.

Learning Pace

In Kindergarten, the children are expected to learn at a similar pace as others, if not they are considered to fall behind from the rest of the group. Thankfully, in the Montessori style of learning, children are given the time and space to learn and work on their skill set to develop their own understanding.

Learning Environment

The kindergarten style of learning has a traditional classroom setup. This method advocates standardized test performance and grading systems to evaluate children’s progress. Montessori classrooms are well researched, thus designed after child behavior observations by keeping the child as the main focus. children are given the attention they need. It provides an immense scope for children to grow a Love for Learning.

Takeaway For Parents

There are various differences between these two styles of learning and clearly, both have their own pros and cons. In conclusion, parents must decide which one is best for their child based on how these methods of learning can contribute to their child's development. As Montessori and kindergarten methods are run through their unique set of core philosophies. Your ideal choice would be to understand which way you feel more aligned to and in which system you want your child to grow in.

Written By : Aditi Rao