Hello,

been reading with lots of interest this Forum for a while. We are a young couple Russian(she)/Spanish(He) with a 3-yr old daughter moving to Switzerland in the next weeks. One of the critical points is our daughter's education. We are interested in the Montessori system, but see that there are plenty of 'so-called' Montessori kindergarten/schools, and do not know which of them are really legit.

Specificall, since we're setting up a business along with the residence, the canton of Zug might be appropriate, but fail to see the 2 'so-called' Montessori kindergarten there listed in the AMI webpage. Has anyone heard of the MOntessori Kindergarten of Zug or Children's World? They claim to teach the Montessori method, but are they legit? Any help will be very much appreciated.

We plan to establish in the German part, so if anyone has good comments on a Montessori kindergarten within the economic region of Zurich we'll be grateful for that.

Many thanks in advance.

Veronika&Tony.

There are a lot of Montessori schools that don't register with AMI, two reasons. Some don't meet the criteria and others totally object to the financial monopoly that an AMI registration demands.

A serious school will allow you as a parent full observation where you can discern for your self whether the school is true Montessori, purely by observation, approach and the materials used. I would say use your own discretion, an AMI approval is not always the be all and end all but I don't dispute the fact that it's an excellent starting point.

Good luck and I hope the Forum will be a good source for any other questions you have relating to your move.

Oldhand,

thank you for your comment, willtake it into account.

Hi all,

we would also be interested in knowing at what age do primary schools start teaching ENGLISH to the children? What level is it offered? (days a week, etc...) Does it depend a lot on the canton you're based? We plan to rside in the Zurich area, so information from people who has gone through the same process would be very much appreciated.

Veronika&Tony.

"Schooling in Switzerland" in Google, provides this : Schooling in Switzerland , which is a useful guide from ETH in English.

As for primary schools teaching English, I think you are asking for something that doesn't exist. Swissbob, has his kids in public schooling here, so he will be able to give you a rundown.

If this is a definite requirement, there are private scholls that teach bilingually, but you can look at paying 25,000chf per year or more.

+

In canton Zurich, French is the second national language taught at school. English lessons start first.

Canton Schwyz: English is taught as of the third grade in public schools. They use the Super Bus books which are fantastic. French is taught in the fifth grade.

Non-German speaking children are also required to attend German courses.

My kiddies are in Zollikon/Zollikerberg and they get English from the second grade/class. French at 5th grade

We had both of them in Montessori kindergarten, the eldest in both a german (Heidi Meyers's) one and the Sunshine (English) in Zürich.

HI everyone,

thank you very much for your support, we really appreciate it. We are planning to establish in canton Zurich and start with a bilingual kindergarten (daughter is 4) -montessori education preferred- and then move into a good primary school where both languages can continue to be developed.

Again, many thanks for the info.

Veronika&Tony

Hi Veronika & Tony. I'm living in Cham/Zug myself. Several of my friends used to send their little ones to the Montessori in Baar beore their schooling years. As for in Zürich, I heard there's one that has just relocated to Thalwil. It's called Park Side School. They're having an open house on 31.5 from 2-5. their students are aged between 2-7. It's in Kirchbodenstrasse 2a. i happen to know this by chance as i'm holding an Usborne Children Book Sale there.
Hope these info on the 2 schools are of some help.
have a great weekend

My 3 children are at a full montessori school that runs from krippe to gymnasium entrance. There are the official ones and then there are those that simply use the name and not the qualified teachers.

In Zurich there are two bilingual english -german ones - Rietberg and Dìnsle
I believe there is an Italian- German one and a french -german one but I honestly never considered these.
There are also a couple of just kindergartens that are montessori as well such as Witikon.

There is a swiss montessori organisation based in Signau strasse in Zurich. The president is a Herr Schuep.

Lucern and Baar also have quite famous montessori schools but all the information can be sourced from the offices. The schools that are true montessori schools are also now monitored (as of last year apparently) by the swiss authorities - I bumped into an inspector by accident at the school and was told that they are now being more closely monitored.

The true montessori schools are always bilingual as this is a fundamental concept from Maria Montessori herself. It is only the american and the english montessori authorities that have altered this because being bilingual does not really fit the cultures.

I would disagree about the comment on 'true' Montessori being bilingual, and I am not sure where that information comes from?

In my experiences internationally, one of the reasons why Montessori schools are often bilingual in non-English speaking countries is because almost all the Association Montessori Internationale trainers are english-speaking, and it is the 'common' language across the organisation. Most teachers are trained in English, so when sourcing teachers schools often have to take this into account. Also, offering a bilingual programme is a plus for schools who have to compete for high-fee-paying parents where there is not government subsidy...basically it's 'value-adding'...

However, there is training in Japan, Pakistan, India, Mexico, France, Germany, Switzerland and Italy which are not first-language English...

That said, Montessori does have an effective model for teaching in a bilingual way, and my key thing would be to check that your child's teachers are native/very fluent speakers in whatever language you want...particularly for preschool...

My children have had Montessori teachers trained in Sri-Lanka, Malaysia, Germany, Canada, Australia, USA and Italy...

Here's a link for anyone wanting to find a 'good' Montessori school - what to look for -

http://montessori.org.au/schools/choosing.htm

AMI does not accredit schools ...but individual Montessori associations in various countries do - and each one has it's own criteria and it's own way of doing this...in the USA they offer a certificate of 'recognition' and the criteria is here...

http://www.montessori-ami.org/ - look under "AMI/USA - Schools - Standards"

There are plenty of good programmes around - but always go and look yourself, look a few times, sit and observe, breathe in the emotional 'feeling' of the place...it should be clean, organised, peaceful as well as lots of activity, and the staff should be pleasant, available and not 'overbearing'...that said, I've met some Montessori teachers who are fabulous with children and hopeless with parents...

Does anyone here send their children to the Rietberg Montessori Schule in Zürich? I would be particularly interested in hearing impressions on your childs experience in the school (1-6 grade), the bilingual approach and anything else that jumps out at you as being either positive or negative. Thanks!