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Introducing Three Early Childhood Education Approaches

As parents of 1- and 2-year-olds, you embark on an exciting early childhood education journey. This guide will explore three popular and innovative approaches: Montessori, Reggio Emilia, and Waldorf. Each method offers a unique perspective on young children's learning and development, emphasizing child-centered, experiential learning. By understanding these approaches, you'll be better equipped to choose an educational path that aligns with your family's values and your child's needs. All three approaches offer advantages you probably won't find elsewhere. Indeed, you will find that other early childhood education approaches have adopted bits and pieces of these. But if you want the real thing, explore Montessori, Reggio Emilia, and Waldorf before committing.

Disclaimer: my eldest daughter attended a Waldorf school. All these years later, I remember how happy she was in an environment where she could explore to her heart's content. Music, math, language arts - all the subjects were interwoven in the most satisfying way for her young inquisitive mind.

So, whether you're considering preschool options or want to incorporate these philosophies into your home life, this guide will provide valuable insights into nurturing your toddler's growth and development.

Chapter 1: The Montessori Method
The Montessori approach, developed by Dr. Maria Montessori in the early 20th century, focuses on fostering independence, self-directed learning, and respect for a child's natural development.

Widespread Adoption
There are over 8,000 Montessori schools in the U.S., making it a widely available option for parents. Most belong to

One of our parental prerogatives is to worry about our children. That's because your child never came with an instruction manual. As a result, you have had to learn so many things about parenting simply by being a parent. No matter, worry is part of the parental landscape. If you are considering sending your child off to a private school, your worries will be pretty specific. Probably along the lines of the following questions.

Many parents find the concept of sending a child to boarding school upsetting; a child's adolescence is such a distinctively affective period that entrusting it to others seems wrong. Yet boarding schools prosper, successors to institutions dating to medieval times. Source: Forbes.com

Will my child be safe?

Private schools take your child's safety very seriously. Contractually a boarding school functions in loco parentis, which is a legal way of stating that the school acts in the place of the parent when it comes to supervision of its students, your child included.

Here is an overview of Westchester Country Day School, High Point, North Carolina.

In many respects, your child is safer at school, where she cannot drive or go to somebody's house and get into who-knows-what after school while you are at work. Private schools do not permit drugs, drinking, and smoking. Zero tolerance is the rule. Does it prevent teens from pushing the limits and experimenting? That's

In this imaginary conversation based on actual questions I have answered over the years, a parent who is thinking about sending her four-year-old to a private school asks me various questions.

Why would I want to send my child to a private school?

We had several requirements when looking at private schools for our daughters. Small class size was a major requirement. The other was academic content. Our eldest daughter was one of the first students in a newly-opened parochial school. Her class had 12 students, which afforded her plenty of individual attention. The entire school population was less than 100 students.

We also were concerned about what she would be taught. She read above her grade level, enjoyed reading, and drawing. There were no video games, tablets, or cellphones to distract her in those days. Her teachers never held her back academically or intellectually. On the contrary, they built a strong foundation that strengthened learning in the primary grades.

What grade? Primary? High school?

Our daughters went to PK private schools. It was a happy experience for them and us because the schools were small and well-run. Then both girls had a few years in public schools in rural Northwestern Connecticut. We quickly discovered that those schools had terrific, experienced teachers with limited academic curricula. Consequently, we decided to send both girls off to boarding school. Their age difference of five years afforded us some relief from paying two tuition bills. And we weren't constantly driving them

What are private schools like anyway? Even if you're starting your private school research, there's a good chance you already have an impression of private schools. Perhaps you have read The Catcher in the Rye or A Separate Peace. Or maybe you saw Dead Poets Society or School Ties. These stories, while entertaining, offer a picture of private schools that is quite different from what you will find today.

Just as universities and colleges in the United States have evolved in the past several decades, private schools have also evolved. But unfortunately, while the perception of private schools is changing, there are still some lingering myths that can make you mistakenly think that you wouldn't fit in at boarding school:

Myth 1: You must be very wealthy to go to a private school.

Approximately a third of all private school students receive financial aid. Financial aid grants can represent a significant portion of tuition, depending on the school and your family's situation. Students now increasingly come from public schools and a wider range of family income levels. In general, boarding schools do their best to make their programs accessible to your family through financial aid grants, loan programs, and merit awards/scholarships. In the past ten years, the emergence of K-12 private school loans has also made boarding school education more accessible.

This video offers a look at the German International School

One of the primary reasons parents send their children to private school is for the individual attention students receive. Private schools can provide that sort of attention because their class sizes are small. Small class sizes work. Small class sizes are one of the main reasons you send your child to private school. With that in mind, let's look at why small class sizes are so important.

1. There's nowhere to hide in a small class.

Imagine your child in a large high school class of 30-35 students. She's not good at math. Most of the students in her class don't understand math and could care less about it. So your daughter hangs out in the back of the room, keeps quiet, and tries to pay attention. The distractions and cutting up around her mitigate against any meaningful learning. Consequently, your daughter falls further and further behind in math. Sadly, public school class sizes increase as school districts struggle with budget deficits. As a result, class sizes of 30-35 students are common.

Contrast that learning environment with 12-14 students seated around a Harkness Table in a boarding school. A Harkness Table is an oval table. The teacher sits at the table with his students. This arrangement places students in a situation where they have no choice but to engage and interact with each other and with their teacher. A Harkness table creates a climate for learning.

This video discusses teaching in large versus small classes.

Implicit in the