Hello,
I just wanted to share that there is a new bilingual English-French Montessori school opening in Rolle and Nyon in September 2011. It is called "Seeds of Knowledge" and it is for ages 3-12. Here is the link: http://www.ch-montessori.ch/

I am sure the parents from Rolle will appreciate it. I know how desperatelly additional pre-school places are needed there. :-)
But the added bonus is that this is a Montessori school.

My two children, 4 and 6, are attending the Montessori School Nyon and we are very, very happy. It is a wonderful child-centered method of teaching and I can't recommend it enough. Contrary to the Swiss public school system, the children are taught to write and learn and do maths already in the "pre-school" age 3-6. They work a lot with this beautiful sensory material which makes the acquisition of abstract concepts later on easier.

I heard of Montessori for the first time when my first-born was a baby. We were visiting friends in Neuchatel who told us of their 4-year old daughter who was attending a Montessori school and when she came home all she wanted to do was to read and write...

I think of Montessori schools as the best-kept secret of parenting. Often parents learn about it only once their children have started a public school. Although it is possible to switch children to Montessori later on, the best benefits are achieved when the children start very early on. Like this they can benefit from a full cycle of sensory activities, which in turn help later on with reading, writing and math skills.

I am hoping that this post will inspire some parents of new-born babies to look up Montessori. If you have any questions about the method, don't hesitate to PM me. I would be happy to share my experiences as a Montessori parent.

Good to know, we're in the area and will be starting a family this year

Hello

Thank you very much.. I just arrived at Switzerland from India.. was searching for bi lingual schools... so this is very good for me to know.

I stay at GLAND... and my elder son 6 yrs goes to public school now..but montessary will be good for him...

YOu say the school will open in 2011 Sep??? but you also say your kids go to school at NYON...was that supposed to be 2010?

I would be very interested to get your experiances
Regards
MDCP

My children attend Ecole Montessori Nyon:
http://www.courte-echelle.ch/
This one is bi-lingual for the section 3-6 years old, but is currently French-only for the age 6-12 (although at the request of the parents it might turn bi-lingual too in the school year 2011/2012).

The new Montessori school openining in August 2011 is called "Seeds of Knowledge" and is situated near Rolle (age 3-6) and in Nyon (age 6-12) and is trully bi-lingual for all age groups. Here is the link:
http://www.ch-montessori.ch/

Does anyone know of any bilingual Montessori school that teaches FROM 12 years upward?
Justine

Montessori adolescent programs are not common. There are a few in the US, including the Hershey Farm School, which is the model for adolescent Montessori Education. Montessori called it Erdkinder and envisioned the children living and working on a farm during that phase of their education. You can read more about it here: http://www.hershey-montessori.org/

I have heard that there is a Montessori program from 12 years upward in Sbrinz (sp?). I would really investigate and find out where the teachers trained and their background before enrolling your child. The name Montessori is in the public domain and lots of schools call themselves Montessori without being true to the philosophy or curriculum. You can get more information from AMI (www.montessori-ami.org) which is the organization Montessori started before her death to ensure the integrity of her work. And another good resource is www.mariamontessori.com

Good luck!

Montessori Vevey offers a programme until the age of 16 and I have heard that they will extend it to 18 (Maturite level) next year:

http://www.montessorivevey.com/home.html

If anybody has any experience with that school, I would love to hear it. I am planning to visit the school later this year because, long-term, I would like my children to be able to continue Montessori-style education until 18.

And I also spoke to Marie, the founder of the new schol in Nyon, about it a lot. In my view, no possibility to continue the schooling in the same school/style beyond the age 12 is the main drawback of the Montessori schooling.
She agrees and would like, if at all possible, to work on extending the program till 18.

Here is the excerpt from a recent interview she gave:

"Talking about their future plans for the school, Marie says, “When the time is right, we would like to consolidate our classrooms in one location – this makes obvious sense and will bring benefits to both students and parents alike. We would also like to incorporate German into our programme and, if possible, extend the students’ pedagogic syllabus to Bacclauréat/Maturité level”.

Here is the whole article:

http://www.knowitall.ch/index.php?op...ies&Itemid=136

I think it is great there is an institution that provides continuous education within the same private system, as reinsertion into the public system and synchronisation could be actually difficult for some kids.

Over all, in pedagogical circles that I got familiar with through out my studies and teaching, it is believed that Montessori goes to certain age due to the fact, kids benefit the most when they are small and reinserting them back into other system makes it easier for them to adapt should they want to continue within the public system or other systems in higher level of studying (unies, special hautes ecoles, etc.), makes them more flexible, at least here, where there really isn't such well worked through Montessori network of kindy-preschool-primary-secondary-high school. It might be too hard for some kids to synchronize what they know from Montessori to expectations (especially academic) in other schools. So, in fact, it seems that the age limit is done for purpose, for kids' benefits. As a professional, I do not see it as a deficit in any way, looking at a bigger picture of what is available here for our kids. And then, there are other restricting limits, financial, acreditation process, cantonal edu policies, etc.

Since I have a child same age and live in the area, I would probably think twice about Vevey commute from Nyon region, the drives or distance kids would have to do. I would also think about the benefits of integrating children within the community, giving them chance for local friends, etc. If you plan to move closer to Vevey, that would be diffrent. It all very much depends on how long one wants to stay in the country, too. As a parent (and knowing other parents with the same mindset), if one does a lot of work at home with kids (teaching), inserts them in the system so they learn the local language super fast, saves dozens of thousands on schooling in private school that might be handy in educational trips and stays out of country, etc. the kids benefit since it makes them ultra versatile, even if the parents do not feel in 100% in control.

Quite often, parental decisions to put children into some special school comes out of not being familiar with what the local system offers or should offer (or, not knowing the local lingo well enough to find out). That should not be a reason, though, we move kids accross the canton daily. I am not saying it is OP's case. And in fact really welcome diversity of what is available here for kids. Just sometimes the reasons things are pushed into some direction might not be what's perceived as unwillingness, being obstructive or inflexible of the system here.

HI all

The URL mentioned don't have any info about the NYON Bilingual school ... can someone provide the details?

Thanks
MDCP

I don't have any direct experience with the Montessori schools, but when I researched schools, I understand it is the school, le Courte Echelle, in Nyon, which uses the Montessori methods, but please examine yourself. www.courte-echelle.ch

The other school referred in this thread is not in Nyon. To the best of my understanding, it is in Tartegin. Not really near Nyon, but in the La Cote area, above Gland and Rolle.

Here is the link for the new bilingual school:
http://www.ch-montessori.ch/

The 3-6 class is in Tartegnin, near Rolle, and the 6-12 section is in Nyon.
Regards, D.

Hi,
Our daughter is almost 3 and we are thinking about having here start at the Montessori Nyon in a couple of weeks (they have a place there..). Then, once 6 y old we would like to send here to a public school.
- Would you think 3 years old is too young?
- How's the interactions between 3 y old and 6 y old from your experience?
- Anybody having experience changing from Montessori to public school in Nyon? Any test to pass? I heard the kid can lose one year during the change...
- Any contact details we could exchange further experience?

Thanks!
D.

I understood that no Montessori school can get the AMI accreditation in Switzerland, so I would be very cautious when enrolling in one as any school can use the Montessori name...The best choice would be to find a public or private school which are using the Montessori method as a background but which would be able to offer a real schooling environment ( reports, texbooks ect), I hope this helps!

Hello there, yes testing are done and unfortunatly if you ask around you the students are usually very late, be very cautious about that!!!

Hi,

My experience with kids in 3-6 M. environment is very good:
- I say my 6 year old transform from a shy 3-year old to a very confident 6-year old. 3 is not too young, in my experience. My younger daughter still needed lot's of cuddles and she did receive them from her teachers throughout her stay. Academically it was very beneficial to complete the full 3-year cycle. My younger one, who had full three years of training was more advanced academically at the age of 6 than my older one who started only at age 4.

- Originally I was worried with her being 6 in the same class with the 3-year olds, but her confidence in the last year grew immenselly when she realised she is a "big" girl now (I saw it with my both kids but it was especicaliy nice to see with my second daughter who is allways the small one in our family)
- For the 3-year olds it is motivating to have bigger kids in class because they get motivated to learn what the bigger kids are doing. This is how they benchmark their own progress as they become extremelly proud when they are able to do do more complex activities that they saw big kids doing. My daughers kept repeating " when I am able to do this well, I will be ready to work on that, just like so-and-so is doing...". When the first 5-year old started reading books in class, within days many other kids were able to do it too, it was like an avalanche of enthusiasm for reading.

- The older kids not only serve as role models but often they are seen as buddies who help teach the younger ones. My 6-year old last year befriended a tiny 3-year old who enjoyed coming to her for a cuddle :-)

- As far as the academic level by the end of 6: most kids who have been there 3 years can read and write before they are 6 as well as add and subtract. Which in the public system would put them in the 2nd grade for many skillls. I know parents from the last year who have put the kids in the 2nd grade directly and some who have chosen not to allthough the school have offered the possibility (the parents were concerned with their emotional development or impact on child confidence in later years). I also know of parents who wanted to advance their kids and put them in the 2nd grade immediatelly based on what the kids knew but the local school was very firm on the birth cut-off dates so they felt that their child was losing a year.

Overall, highly recommed for the age 3-6, it has worked well for most kids I saw in the class, but it has best results if a child starts at 3. When compared to the public system in that age group (Ecole Enfantine), the academic level is definitelly higher, with most kids reading and writing by the age of 6.

Something tells me summertime that you are the owner of this Nyon Montessori school ...not fair information for us real parents...One of my child attended a Montessori and when transferred to a private school had also to do testing ...the results were really low and I was not the only parent going through that....

I think you should get your child assessed professionally. Every child is different. I know my son was pretty immature at 3 and I wouldn't have considered putting him in a "formal" schooling environment at that age and it wouldn't have done him any good.

Conversely, some friends of ours have a daughter of the same age who was incredibly mature at the same age and would probably have flourished. I think there is nothing worse that putting a child in an environment they are not yet emotionally mature enough to cope with.

A good school would be able to honestly assess your child, turning her away if necessary, and not just see you as another fee payer.

Thank you matt68, it gives a different perspective. Did your child attend the Nyon Montessori? I guess i need to "evaluate" this paticular Nyon Montessori school, teachers, etc, find parents of kids who attended. The Montessori system isn't "magical" by itself.

Definitely, she's currently attending a daycare, she seems ok as far as maturity, I got feedback from a teacher too. The thing is that otherwise she would stay at the current daycare for 2 more years (she'll be 3 in december) because of the swiss system taking children for school once they are at least 4. With Montessori she can start now.
I like the continuous structure of the Montessori system for 3-6 class.
After 6 y old, she would most probably go to the standard school system, I don't think it's the best option anymore, at least in the schools I heard of -and unless a Montessori school show me othewise.