How do students benefit from a 5 day per week program for 3 to 6 year olds?
Montessori Children’s House of Laramie asks that all children attend preschool five days a week, Monday through Friday. You might be feeling like your child is not ready to be away from home for five days in a row. However, Montessori educators believe that at the
preschool age, children benefit the most from a five-day school week. The ultimate reason this is true is consistency. Children of this age need consistency in their life; they thrive on routine, continuity and regularity. Only by coming to school every day will this need be met.
The Montessori curriculum depends on each child feeling comfortable and independent in the classroom, but it is very difficult for a young child to adapt to his or her new classroom environment if he or she is not there every day. Social cohesion within the classroom community, which is a crucial component of the Montessori environment, is also much harder to achieve if children are not in attendance every day. In order for your child to get the most out of his or her early childhood Montessori experience, five days a week is essential.
Below are a few links, from both parents and educators, that offer more information, advice and insight on this topic.
"Why 5 days in a Montessori Program?" from Montessori Miracles blog
This 5 year old is receiving a lesson in division with hands-on materials in a Montessori environment. Other children commonly observe lessons that they too are ready for.