Montessori, Waldorf, Reggio Emilio, Play-based: What does it all mean?
As a parent, the educational approaches and influences used in daycare and preschool settings can be overwhelming to say the least. While surfing around to find more information, we found this piece that was a nice, quick guide on different approaches: "Waldorf? Play-based? Montessori? What does it all mean?" The options, the options. A few pretty common approaches include (linking to wikipedia only because it seemed easiest and comprehensive - forgive us; we're no experts ourselves!):
- Montessori: focusing on child-directed learning, practical life, learning through discovery, and use of specific materials to further a child's independence and curiousity.
- Waldorf: emphasizing imagination in early learning, with extensive time in guided free play in a homelike natural environment with natural materials.
- Reggio Emilio: also giving children some control over their own learning, encouraging small group project work and self-expression where teachers and children work collaboratively.
- Play-Based: creating an environment where children can safely explore and experiment and accomplish learning through play.
How to make sense of it all?! What "method" works well with what "kinds" of children? An urbanMama recently emailed, wondering about your thoughts, experiences and perspectives on these different approaches:
I was recently doing some light research on different pre-school education programs and it seems like the three most predominant schools of learning for kids this age are Montessori based, Waldorf based, and play-centered based. I currently have my girls in a Montessori program, and we're very happy with it, but I'm curious about the other two. Does anyone have any insight on these, either through personal or professional work experience? Are there any early childhood education specialists who could weigh in on this? When I try to search for more info online it's hard to separate fact and research from testimonials from pre-schools trying to sell their own programs. Is there a method that seems to be better or worse, or is it, like many things, dependent on the needs of the individual child?