we recently moved three of our children to a Montessori school (one initially, then the other two six months later). I'm quite astonished, still, at how differ

we recently moved three of our children to a Montessori school (one initially, then the other two six months later). I'm quite astonished, still, at how different it is to traditional schooling. Classes are mixed age, usually spanning about 3 years, and children move to the next cycle when ready, not at a set date. Within a class, there's no mention whatsoever of what grade kids are. I don't think my kids even know. Walk into a classroom, and you'll see the children spread out in groups of 2 or three, each group working quietly on an activity. The walls are lined with bookshelves full of activities; everything (almost) is hands on tactile experience. The older kids help the younger ones to understand things and the teacher, because she is not "teaching" (in the traditional sense) is free to work one-on-one with the children and make sure they really understand what they're doing. Best of all, the kids love it. They really do. My daughter, who was previously hated school with a passion and was getting further and further behind (school didn't care) and was barely reading, is now an avid reader, progressing well in maths and writing and loves school. Edit: few more details for anyone who doesn't have much experience with Montessori stuff, and I had none until only a year ago. Each child has a journal in which the teacher writes a number of activities for that student at the end of each week (the teachers, because they spend a large amount of 1-on-1 time, know exactly where each child is in each subject). During the week, a child needs to complete those activities, but they're free to choose when and how. The remainder of the time is there's to work on/explore what ever they like. There's no time slots, so kids are free to spend as much or as little time as they like on activities. The school actively encourages them to work towards spending the entire afternoon (3 hours straight) focused on a single activity if possible. The kids respond well to this too. Like science? then you've got three hours uninterrupted to work on some experiments with a few friends (group work is very much encouraged). Of course you can stop any time for a break and a snack. Heck, want to spend the entire day working on the one thing? Sure, so long as the teacher's confident you'll complete your journal tasks by the end of the week There's also no exams. none. no tests or quizzes either. Here in Australia all primary school children are required to sit the NAPLAN[0] tests, and this school is no exception. Kids do no preparation and it's barely mentioned except for the days of the exams. Surprisingly (to me) the school ranked very well. I'm extremely envious; I'd have loved the opportunity to enjoy school. If my kids have to spend 13 years of their life at school they may as well enjoy it [0] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NAPLAN http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NAPLAN