Montessori vs. Bright Minds Academy

A Balanced Approach to Early Education

We’re often asked whether our program is Montessori-based. While we recognize and value the impactful skills that Montessori education fosters in young children, Bright Minds Academy takes a slightly different approach. We incorporate many of the core elements of Montessori, such as hands-on learning and fostering independence, but within a more structured, organized classroom setting. This allows us to offer a learning environment that balances the freedom of exploration with guided instruction, ensuring that each child thrives in a well-rounded and engaging educational experience.

A Balanced Approach to Early Education

Montessori	Bright Minds Academy
Instruction is adapted to the student's learning style	Instruction is implemented in all learning styles, allowing the students to grasp the concept in their own way.
Taught to respect his environment by helping keep the classroom clean and orderly at our academy.	Weekly "jobs" are given to each student to teach respect and team work in order to keep the classroom clean and orderly.
Uninterrupted blocks of work time, and guided choice of work activity.	Students' free choice of centers allows guided choice of the thematic lesson. Centers are changed and rotated based on lesson plans.
Montessori students learn through sensory-motor activities, working with materials that develop their cognitive powers through sensory-motor activities, working with materials that develop their cognitive powers through direct experience: seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, touching, and movement.	Students are given opportunities to learn through sensory-motor activities. Regular rotation of sensory bins, nature walks, song and dance, and hands on activities allow students to grow as a whole.
Classes are grouped larger, often by 3 years. This can cause some children to loose motivation in learning as they are slowed down by younger peers.	Classes are grouped based on the students' ages on September 1st and they remain with those peers the entire school year. This allows for students to build relationships with their teacher and peers in a setting with consistent routines and schedules.
	Extra-curricular activities that take place during the school day such as Tippi Toes and Teams of Tomorrow. These programs are available for parents to enroll their child and be able to avoid shuffling from place to place after a workday.
	Learning is play-based. There is a growing body of research that shows a link between play and the development of cognitive and social skills that are prerequisites for learning more complex concepts as children get older. For example, play is linked to growth in memory, self-regulation, oral language, and recognizing symbols.

Search