Originally Posted by Blackcat31:
One of the biggest concepts in Montessori education is the positives and benefits of mixed age groups.
1. Interaction: The mixed age group environment creates an atmosphere where children learn to help and be helped by other children, because they interact consistently with children whose age and abilities are varied. Children gain an appreciation for their achievement and the accomplishments of others, and are naturally challenged by the achievements of others.
2. Learning from Each Other: Older children learn to be patient and tolerant, and serve as role models and teachers for the younger children. When an older child teaches a younger one, it reinforces previously learned concepts and is actually an aid in complete mastery of concepts. Younger children learn about courtesy, manners, and conflict resolution by watching the older children in the class
I think peer teaching/learning is a wonderful thing that not too many kids get at home any more due to family size being much smaller than in years past.
If you are from a family with a few siblings, stop and think of how much you have learned from them and how much they learned from you while young.
This is true, however, remember that Montessori splits ages into 0-3 and 3-6. I'm not sure of the higher splits. There is definitely some age split though.
Personally, I can't seem to mix kids until they are about 18 months to 2--much closer to the age where they can begin to understand that other people have different thoughts, feels, and wants than they do. Depends somewhat on the age of the older kids and the exact composition of the group.