The child has just turned 6. And everyone says it's time to think about school. But how? Where? What choice will actually be right and fruitful?
Ages 6 to 12 are one of the most powerful periods in a person's life. Maria Montessori called it the period of development of the reasoning mind. And how a child lives through these years will largely determine what kind of student, and what kind of person, they become.
The Natural Energy of Learning
That's how nature works: at age 6, a special inner energy for deep, absorbed, joyful learning awakens in a person. And if that energy is channeled correctly, it works with incredible returns.
We've seen it happen many times: a Montessori pre-school can become a successful start to a child's education. Because it's there that children build the emotional, communication, cognitive, and academic skills they need for future success - in any school.
Stories From Our Graduates
Children who came to our school at age 6 and later moved abroad, to other schools, were ready to learn. They knew how to learn. And their basic academic knowledge and skills formed on time, easily, and naturally.
Math is easy and boring for me now, because things were so much harder and more interesting where I used to study. But that's actually good - now I have the chance to focus on my English. — Varya, moved to Cyprus, now attends an English-speaking school
Or take the boy Grisha, who moved to Russia and breezed through the entrance exams for the math class.
Why Timing Matters
The later children come to us, the harder it is for them to switch into "taking responsibility for their own learning." The more time it takes them to adjust.
And that's time. That very time meant for developing the reasoning mind. Children end up spending energy that nature gave them for powerful intellectual growth on simply adjusting from one system to another instead.