The Montessori Advantage. Evaluating The Impact of a Superior Early Childhood Education
The Montessori Advantage sparks more than strong academics. It builds capable, confident children.
The Montessori advantage shows up in moments that might seem ordinary, until you look closer. A four-year-old comforts a friend who's fallen. Another finishes a puzzle, returns each piece to its place before joining a group project. These are not lessons from a workbook. They’re early signs of something deeper: empathy, independence, and focus.
At The Mint School, the Montessori advantage isn’t an idea on paper. It’s a daily reality. We see it in the rhythm of our classrooms, the calm confidence of our students, and the research that backs what Montessori educators have known for over a century: when you trust children, they rise.
The Montessori Advantage: Learning That Builds for Life
In most classrooms, children are told what to do, when to do it, and how long they have. Montessori flips that script. It offers freedom within structure, and that freedom builds strength. Children choose meaningful work. They repeat it until they gain mastery. They follow their curiosity, not just a schedule. And the results are measurable.
A landmark study published in Science found that by age five, children in Montessori classrooms outperformed their peers in reading, math, social development, and executive functioning, skills like focus, planning, and self-control. (Lillard & Else-Quest, 2006)
Those gains didn’t fade. A follow-up longitudinal study published in Frontiers in Psychology showed that children who stayed in Montessori programs continued to excel academically and showed higher levels of social understanding and emotional well-being. (Lillard et al., 2017)
We see this every day at Mint.
Mint’s Enriched Whole Child Curriculum Lights Up the Brain
What sets Mint apart isn’t just what we teach, it’s how we bring it to life. Our Enriched Whole Child Curriculum stays true to Dr. Maria Montessori’s founding principles: freedom within structure, hands-on discovery, and deep respect for the child. And we build on that foundation with purpose.
At Mint, we pair core subjects like Practical Life, Sensorial, Language, Math, and Culture with an enriched curriculum of early STEM, visual arts, music, logic games, and movement. These aren’t add-ons. They’re woven into the fabric of the day. And it all happens in two languages. Children at Mint learn in English and French. They sing in both. Listen, laugh, and think in both. This kind of bilingual immersion builds more than fluency, it builds cognitive flexibility.
Research by linguist Ellen Bialystok has shown that children exposed to multiple languages from
a young age perform better on tasks requiring attention, memory, and problem-solving. They even show enhanced neurological development and delayed cognitive decline later in life1.
At Mint, these connections happen naturally. A math lesson turns into a music game. A French story sparks a science experiment. These aren’t detours. They’re the heartbeat of a curriculum designed to light up the whole brain.
By Grade Six, the Difference Is Clear
By the time Mint students reach Grade Six, the Montessori advantage isn’t just something we feel. It’s something we can see.
Our students often stand a full academic year ahead of their peers. A 2023 global meta-analysis confirms it: authentic Montessori students show the strongest gains in literacy, numeracy, and executive function by age 12. But numbers only tell part of the story.
The real advantage lives in the child who pauses before speaking and shares a thoughtful idea. In the one who keeps trying when the problem gets hard. In the group that solves conflict with calm, not chaos. That’s not something you can cram for. It’s built slowly, gently, every day.
More Than Prepared. Truly Ready.
Mint doesn’t rush childhood. We honour it. We see these early years for what they are: the most formative time in a person’s life.
Over 90% of brain development happens before age six. What children experience now, how they’re spoken to, what they’re trusted with, and how they feel about learning, will shape them long after they leave our classrooms.
We don’t just prepare children for tests and grades. We prepare them for life. They leave Mint not just school-ready, but world-ready: curious, capable, and kind.
Home, Not Just School
Ask our families, and you’ll hear the same thing: Mint feels like a second home. One mother wrote,
“My daughter’s eyes light up when we walk into the toddler classroom. Her first instinct is to run into the arms of her teachers.”
That sense of safety matters. It gives children the courage to take risks, to lead, to grow. The Montessori advantage doesn’t stop at strong academics. It shapes character, curiosity, and the quiet confidence to navigate the world.
Curious about the Montessori advantage?
Come see it in action. Book a tour at The Mint School and discover how we’re shaping the next generation, one quietly capable child at a time.
Sources: 1. Bialystok, E. & Craik, F., Lifelong Bilingualism Maintains White Matter Integrity in Older Adults, Journal of Neuroscience, 2014.
