The Benefits of a Full-Time program: Why Does My Child Have to Attend Five Days a Week?

One of the most frequent questions we get from prospective parents is whether we have a part-time program.  Part-time preschool programs are often attractive to parents who do not need full-time care. Preschool programs come in a wide variety of schedules to meet the needs of more and more households with both parents working outside of the home.  Some school schedules include half-days, Mon-Wed-Friday, Tue-Thursday, etc.  

At White Bear Montessori we have both a full-day preschool program and a half-day preschool program for Toddler and Children's House.  Our half-day program is from 8:30 - 11:30 Monday through Friday.  If you would like a full-day program, your child can stay until 3:30.  We do not have an option for children to stay all day for only two or three days a week.  The next question is usually about why this is, so I'll explain the rationale from Dr. Montessori.

The primary goal of Montessori involves creating a culture of consistency, order, and independence.  Most Montessori school schedules run five days a week because the children have little or no sense of time.  When they are working on a task, they are very excited to come back the next day to work on it some more. When there are gaps between the days they come to school, it is more difficult to maintain a high level of enthusiasm and excitement about their work.  The change in routine from day to day is quite difficult for children at this age. They adapt more quickly when they have the same routine five days in a row.  

If you have any questions, please contact our Head of School by email or call us at 651-429-3710.