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San Francisco, CA
Big City Montessori School

Parents at this school would recommend this school to other parents.

Review this preschool

neighborhood: Bernal Heights ·  Telephone: (415) 648-5777  · Website: www.bigcitymontessorischo...

• Summary
• General Info
• School Philosophy
  & Day-in-the-Life
• Curriculum &
  Teaching Approach
• Quality of
  Teaching
• Home/School
  Connection
• Discipline,
  Health & Safety
• Ages, Schedule
  & Tuition
• Application &
  Admissions
• Kindergarten
  Placement&Tips

General Approach to Learning

	Play-based
	Play-based with some structure
	Predominantly teacher-led instruction
	Montessori
	Waldorf
	Co-op
	Reggio-Emilia

source:

Director's Comments

We believe education is preparation for life. By fostering cooperation, respect for oneself and others, we empower our children to be confident and self motivated individuals with a lifelong enthusiasm
for learning.
The Sensitive Period
Sensitive periods are times in the child's life when they are driven by nature to acquire a new skill or concept. During this time learning will be easier than any other time in life. Dr. Montessori was the first educator to realize the capacity of young children to learn and to systematically examine how the young child learns best. She believed that all children have a natural desire to learn and given the opportunity will absorb everything in their culture and environment. She identified the most sensitive period for learning as that between 0 to age 6." Extracted from the Big City Montessori Web-Site

Savvy Source's Comments

We believe education is preparation for life. By fostering cooperation, respect for oneself and others, we empower our children to be confident and self motivated individuals with a lifelong enthusiasm
for learning.
The Sensitive Period
Sensitive periods are times in the child's life when they are driven by nature to acquire a new skill or concept. During this time learning will be easier than any other time in life. Dr. Montessori was the first educator to realize the capacity of young children to learn and to systematically examine how the young child learns best. She believed that all children have a natural desire to learn and given the opportunity will absorb everything in their culture and environment. She identified the most sensitive period for learning as that between 0 to age 6." Extracted from the Big City Montessori Web-Site

Social Skills & Work Habits

OVERALL RATING (4.6)
This school has increased my child's:
Ability to listen and follow directions
Ability to sit still for longer periods of time
Ability to be a part of a group of children
Self-sufficiency and independence
Awareness of others’ feelings
Cooperation with other children

source:

Curriculum and Teaching Approach

Director's Comments

"Dr. Maria Montessori believed that no human being is educated by another person. A child must do it himself or it will not get done. A truly educated individual continues learning long after the hours and years he spends in the classroom because he is motivated from within by a natural curiosity and love for knowledge. Dr. Montessori felt, therefore that the goal of early childhood education should not be filled with facts from a preselected course of studies, but rather to cultivate a child's own natural desire to learn." Extracted from the Big City Montessori Web-Site

Parents' Comments

Parent #1
Through Big City my child learned to focus. Their theme is 'I can do it myself' which teaches children independence.

Parent #2
While not an expert on the Montessori method, my children are intellectualy, artisticly and physically stimulated at BCMS. Some children may not like the "bigger" environment, but that is also a maturity issue. My children were in home style childcare for 3 years before attending BCMS and where happy in either environment, big or small. Montessori is great because it gives the child the space to work/play indendently or in groups.

Parent #3
BCMS is Montessori and it does it well.

Parent #4
NA

Parent #5
this is a Montessori School. This is a well balanced school.

Parent #6
The choice of answers to the above set of questions are misleading b/c there is answer for how Montessori works.... read up about Montessori and then you can see how it is a combination of teacher guidance and "free-play" (which is really a misleading term).

Parent #7
Fpr a Montessori school, this is a very structured environment, suited well for some, but not all children. Lots of teacher-led instruction, clear emphasize on writing skills. Even the field trips consist of an outside instructor talking to 100 kids lined up on chairs...