Frequently Asked Questions

Whereas traditional education treats children essentially the same from ages five to 18, and expects passive, rote learning, the Montessori approach embraces and utilizes the distinct characteristics of children in their different stages of development and requires them to be active learners, engaging with their environments. Montessori teachers present new concepts, often through manipulative materials, to one child at a time – or at the elementary levels – to small groups. For the most part, children schedule their own days, choosing their work with guidance (only when necessary) from the teacher. The classrooms are peaceful, calm and inviting, and the children are taught to treat one another with respect and courtesy. Although we take as our minimal curricular requirements the curricula from local public and private schools for each age level, a Montessori education reaches far beyond these basics, into higher studies and deeper concepts that many would not think possible to teach children. Students are encouraged to develop and explore their own interests and passions, and frequently achieve results that surprise even us.

Throughout the 1920s, Dr. Montessori was increasingly finding that enthusiasts about her lectures and writings were misinterpreting what she was saying about freedom for the child and several other topics. She and her colleagues decided an international organization would clarify Montessori’s ideas as she continued to evolve them through a lifetime of work with children all over the world.

In 1929, Dr. Montessori and her colleagues established such an organization, the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI). Today, AMI continues to protect the integrity of Montessori’s work through its internationally recognized training courses for Montessori teachers and Trainer of Trainers programs. These centers are established throughout the world and conduct national and international conferences on six continents. In addition, a Pedagogical Committee consisting of AMI Trainers reviews annually the official Montessori Materials and Prepared Environments advocated for AMI classrooms. They make modifications to the latter as the need becomes apparent.

If you are looking for a high fidelity Montessori program, it’s important to find a school that is connected to either AMI or AMS (American Montessori Society), which branched off from AMI in 1960.

Forest Bluff School is one of the few AMI-accredited Montessori schools in the Chicago area. Forest Bluff School is also a member of the Association of Illinois Montessori Schools (AIMS). This organization facilitates interaction and connection between Montessori schools, as well as other public and private schools within the state. Specific goals are to support best Montessori practices, excellence in business, finance and ethics, and the monitoring of pertinent state legislation.

The Montessori name is not trademarked, and quality among Montessori schools varies widely. AMI accreditation is the surest sign of a good school with high academic standards. Among AMI schools, Forest Bluff is internationally renowned for its continued excellence, the range of its academic programs, its successful Secondary Level, and the leadership of some of the most respected names in the Montessori community. Teachers and administrators from around the United States and the world visit Forest Bluff for inspiration and observation. 

Although teacher training varies from school to school, teachers at AMI-accredited Montessori schools, like Forest Bluff, are required to have completed a full year of AMI training and practice teaching in addition to their bachelor’s degrees. This training is specific to each age level, and covers not only the academic disciplines and presentations but also the developmental tendencies and needs of children at that age. Most AMI trained teachers also receive a Master’s of Education in addition to their Montessori diploma. 

We offer a comprehensive education from birth through early adolescence, with guidance and continuing education for parents with children at all age levels. Programs include our Parent and Child Series, Young Children’s Community, Primary Level, Lower Elementary Level, Upper Elementary Level, Secondary Level and the Continuing Education Series for parents, including morning discussions and evening lectures throughout the year.

No. Montessori educates children without reference to a religious denomination. As a result, our classrooms are extremely diverse, with representation from all peoples, cultures, and religions.

Multi-age classrooms afford us the luxury of adapting the curriculum to the individual child. Each child can work at his or her own pace while remaining in the community with his or her peers. In addition, the multi-age format allows all older children to be the leaders of the classroom community even those children who may be shy or quiet.

The different arrangement of a Montessori classroom mirrors the Montessori method's differences from traditional education. Rather than putting the teacher at the focal point of the class, with children dependent on her for information and activity, the classroom shows a literally child-centered approach. Children work at tables or on floor mats where they can spread out their materials, and the teacher circulates about the room, giving lessons or resolving issues as they arise.

Montessori children are free to choose within limits, and have only as much freedom as they can handle with appropriate responsibility. The classroom teacher and assistant ensure that children do not interfere with each other, and that each child is progressing at her appropriate pace in all subjects.

Montessori offers environments with freedoms that require a higher level of responsibility, self-control, and grace and courtesy than many other school settings. Most children develop these qualities gradually in response to the Montessori structure and guidance of three-year-age-ranged classmates and the trained teacher. Although Forest Bluff is often a good fit for children who have come from other educational settings, there are times when Montessori does not give a particular child what they need. In determining whether or not Forest Bluff is the best fit for a child, our mutual focus as parents and educators must be on which educational setting will most help a child to succeed. Being realistic about the limitations of any one environment is part of this collective conversation. 

Montessori classrooms emphasize competition with oneself: self-monitoring, self-correction, and a variety of other executive skills aimed at continuous improvement. Students typically become comfortable with their strengths and learn how to address their weaknesses. In older classes, students commonly participate in competitive activities with clear “winners” (auditions for limited opera roles, the annual spelling bee, etc.) in which students give their best performances while simultaneously encouraging peers to do the same. It is a healthy competition in which all contenders are content that they did their best in an environment with clear and consistent rules.

Our graduates report great success in transitioning to high school, and continually earn top honors, grades and leadership positions in their high school and college years. Our students have successfully matriculated locally at Beacon Academy, Lake Forest Academy, Lake Forest High School, Loyola Academy, New Trier High School, and Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart; and across the country at boarding schools such as Andover, Deerfield, Exeter, St. Paul’s, Thacher, and Westminster.

Our alumni consistently say that study skills and time management they learned at Forest Bluff, as well as the depth of their academic understanding, facilitated a smooth transition and helped them to keep up with rigorous school work. Because our students are not tested and graded, they carry no built-up anxieties with them to their high school exams, and actually look forward to showing what they know. And because they have not been overwhelmed with homework from the age of six, they approach their at-home assignments with fresh energy and interest. Most importantly, the love of learning cultivated and protected at Forest Bluff lasts through high school and college, and leads our students to choose challenging AP, International Baccalaureate, and honors level courses far beyond the average load.

To hear directly from Forest Bluff Montessori alumni, please see our video: Forming the Educational Foundation for Your Life

We are continually impressed with the happy and fulfilling careers our graduates have chosen. No matter their course in life, they have all chosen work they feel passionate about.

Among our alumni, we count a Rhodes Scholar, a Presidential Scholar, an advertising executive, an accomplished architect, professional artists, an award-winning author, bankers, a CIA agent, computer programmers, cybersecurity experts, doctors, engineers, entrepreneurs, investors, a jewelry designer, lawyers, Montessori teachers, a museum curator, musicians, an opera singer, a Peace Corps leader, a press secretary, actors, a US Air Force Captain, a veterinarian, and more. To learn more, visit our Alumni Reflections page.

While the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) is a widely-debated and controversial topic in many educational circles—and the Montessori community is no exception—Forest Bluff School and AMI/USA recognize the need to identify how the curriculum of a traditional Montessori education aligns with the CCSS, a set of baseline expectations in English Language Arts and Mathematics for publicly-funded schools. Fortunately for Forest Bluff School and its students, AMI accredited Montessori schools have a robust and rigorous curriculum that exceeds the expectations of CCSS. In Montessori: The Science Behind the Genius, Dr. Angeline Stoll Lillard states, “[N]o other single educational curriculum comes close to the Montessori curriculum in terms of its levels of depth, breadth, and interrelationship across time and topic.”

In an effort to illustrate how the Montessori curriculum aligns with CCSS, a group of over fifty AMI professionals—teachers, administrators, trainers, and consultants—created a mapping of a representative AMI elementary curriculum onto the CCSS. The documents are available on the AMI/USA website.

Mathematics:

https://amiusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/CCSS-Math-Geometry_JULY2014.pdf

English Language Arts:

https://amiusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/CCSS-Language-Arts-Literacy-July2014.pdf

It has been well established that children’s minds and their abilities for deep concentration and thought are altered when they spend their energies with technological tools instead of direct involvement with the world around them. For our part, we observe that the children who choose their work readily upon entering the classroom, are more independent and self-directed, make good choices throughout the day, engage positively with their peers, respect the work of others, concentrate well, and are more contented and at peace with themselves, are invariably those children who do not spend their free hours in passive screen entertainment, texting, surfing the Internet, or engaging in video games. Therefore, we consistently encourage our families to avoid such activities for their children of all ages.

Of course, we understand there are times and situations when families may choose to participate in screen time together (e.g., family movie night) or allow children to have independent screen time (e.g., iPad games on a long road trip after other options have been exhausted, etc.); however, we continuously encourage parents to be mindful of the amount and type of screen exposure their children receive. A growing body of research points to several negative impacts of excessive screen time; because “moderation” is a relative term, our consistent message to parents is simply to avoid screens as much as possible and, instead, explore what else their children could be doing that allows them to engage with the world around them.