How Do Montessori Children Transition

Montessori is considered ‘education for life’, this implies all of life’s challenges and includes transitioning from a Montessori school to a traditional high school. A child who has been enrolled with Montessori from the age of three will have had many years of practice in working collaboratively, negotiating, leading, following and learning how to adapt and rely on themselves. This is the perfect preparation and provides maximum potential for your child to develop for their move to traditional schooling. In fact all of the skills a child learns in their time in Montessori will assist them in high school, tertiary education and the workplace.

Montessori is more than the building blocks for later education, Montessori places heavy emphasis on learning for its own sake, developing knowledge and awareness of the world purely because it is incredible, fun and wonderful in and of itself. A child leaving in the middle of the primary years is likely to experience the dissimilarity with what they are used to, whereas young children are incredibly adaptable and children at age twelve are at a natural transition point.  Primary aged children may have difficulty remaining seated in class, working on a lesson or activity with the entire class, using books and paper but not manipulative materials and having assigned no-choice activities.  There may be, generally, fewer opportunities for a child to make choices for him or herself in the new setting. During a child’s final Montessori primary years he or she develops a greater level of abstraction with academic subjects and moves away from using the materials. At the same time he or she will be guided in improving planning and organisational skills, developing familiarity with standardised testing as appropriate, and working to a deadline. These skills will assist with the transition to high school and overall, children who learn, grow and develop within the Montessori programme are incredibly well prepared for the world around them. For more information about the transition, contact Montessori for enquiries.