Reasonably priced Montessori? (Fairfax: 2013, daycare, home) - City-Data Forum

Rainrad2002 · 07-20-2011, 10:01 PM

Hello, I have 3 children and cannot fork out the $30,000 + per year tuition. I love the Montessori way of learning and so do my kids, there must be a school somewhere that is more reasonable. Any ideas?

liloulou · 07-21-2011, 09:32 AM

I have just toured a bunch of Montessori places in the Fairfax area and nope they are all $$$. The least expensive one I found was about $15K a year for one child. Maybe in other areas of Nova there is something, but otherwise it's just darn pricey. I too love the Montessori method of teaching, but I personally can't shell out that kind of money in addition to other daycare costs for my other child right now.

tgbwc · 07-21-2011, 10:31 AM

How about The Springs Montessori? It looks to be about $10,500 for full day.

The Springs, A Montessori School – Tuition and Fees

Middlin · 07-21-2011, 01:39 PM

I have a friend that sent her twins to Montessori for 3 three years. Frankly, I just don't see what all the hoopla is about. My son went to preschool and I'm trying to figure where the big benefit to Montessori was. The class sizes were not small which is what I would have expected at a minimum. My son is almost 10 and her kids are 11 and it certainly doesn't seem to have affected their success or lack thereof compared to my son. Honestly, if you can even come close to affording the tuition, I would sock away the difference towards their college education. You can teach them all the touchy feeling, wear soft soled shoes at home thing yourself.

HFAutistic · 07-21-2011, 11:20 PM

Hi Rainrad2002,

I've been an Educational Advocate for many a year and normally when I see parents asking for information on Montessori Schools, the first question I ask is does your child/ren have a Learning Disorder? In general Montessori Schools work best for very specific types of learners, and does not necessarily work for traditional/normal learners whom make up the vast majority of school aged children.

The Montessori Methodology of teaching favors Multiple Intelligence over traditional route Auditory/Sequential learning. In so doing, it tends to work best for those individuals whom are Kinesthetic/Tactile, Visual/Spatial, and/or Nonverbal/Quantitative learners. These particular learning styles usually coincide with Learning Disorders such as ADD, ADHD, Dyslexia, Hyperlexia, Aphasia, Synesthesia, and Autism Spectrum Disorders. Likewise, if an individual falls into the Intuitive Temperament types of Rational and/or Idealist (MBTI: NT and NF) they are often times misdiagnosed as such anyway.

If that is relevant to you and your children, then yes, Montessori is the way to go. If it is not relevant then you are probably better off going with Public Education or other Private Education alternatives. The thing is, Private Education including Montessori is going to cost you a good amount of money. The price range you quoted for a Montessori School is pretty much the same in and around the D.C. Metropolitan area, including NOVA and MD overall. I personally live in Prince William County, which is a fair deal cheaper than Fairfax County. All of the Montessori Schools in my area and further south are within the same tuition range for full time students.

Hope this helps.

hilsmom · 07-21-2011, 11:53 PM

at least in my general area, montessori and reasonable price do NOT go together. Even the in-home montessori programs charge 2X what everyone else does.

Carlingtonian · 07-22-2011, 10:03 AM

I had a wonderful plate of Montessori at Pines of Paramus--fresh schifoso pasta with Culo sauce, topped with wonderful American cheese, fresh dried herbs--MWAH! Delicious. And only $28.99.

Sorry--it's Friday, and I couldn't resist.

HFAutistic · 07-22-2011, 01:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carlingtonian

I had a wonderful plate of Montessori at Pines of Paramus--fresh schifoso pasta with Culo sauce, topped with wonderful American cheese, fresh dried herbs--MWAH! Delicious. And only $28.99. Sorry--it's Friday, and I couldn't resist.

I can relate to this...
It has been a LOOOOONNNNNGGG week! A nice Stiff Drink would go nicely with that as well

Carlingtonian · 07-22-2011, 05:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HFAutistic

I can relate to this...
It has been a LOOOOONNNNNGGG week! A nice Stiff Drink would go nicely with that as well

Thank you, sir! (It's all I can do to resist replying to that thread asking where one can get a good facial in Loudoun. So...tempting...must....resist.........)

EuroExpat · 07-22-2011, 06:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carlingtonian

Thank you, sir! (It's all I can do to resist replying to that thread asking where one can get a good facial in Loudoun. So...tempting...must....resist.........)

You just made me choke on my cookie.