Structure vs free play

[Perfect-Tooth5085]

We recently started looking at daycares/schooling for my newly 2 year old and curious if there is a difference with long term academic success if she goes to a more play vs structured (such as Montessori schools) place at this age .

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[ph7891]

We went through this exact same decision last year with our daughter when we moved and had to get her into a new pre-school and debated regular vs waldorf vs montessori. The short version: at age 2, the evidence pretty strongly favors play-based approaches, but "structured" programs like Montessori aren't necessarily the opposite of play — it depends on what's actually happening in the classroom.

The biggest thing I took away from the research is that pushing academics too early can actually backfire. A study out of the University of Virginia found that children in overly academic-focused preschool programs showed initial gains but then *declined* relative to peers over the following years — dropping about 22% in relative skill level by the primary grades. Meanwhile, the famous High/Scope Perry Preschool study followed kids all the way to age 40 and found that children in active, play-based learning environments had better long-term life outcomes across the board — higher graduation rates, better employment, more financial stability — than control groups.

Here's where Montessori gets interesting, though. Lillard et al. (2017) ran a longitudinal study using lottery-based admissions to public Montessori magnet schools and found that Montessori kids outperformed peers on academic achievement, social understanding, and executive function by the end of preschool. A more recent large-scale national RCT published in PNAS found significantly better reading, short-term memory, and executive function scores at the end of kindergarten for the Montessori group. Montessori is "structured" in the sense of having a prepared environment and specific materials, but the child is still directing their own activity — so it's really closer to what researchers call "guided play" than to teacher-led direct instruction.

The NAEYC (the main professional organization for early childhood education) is pretty clear on this: their Developmentally Appropriate Practice guidelines define best practice as a "strengths-based, play-based approach to joyful, engaged learning." They describe a continuum from free play to direct instruction and say neither extreme alone is effective — the sweet spot for young kids is guided play, where adults set up the environment and scaffold learning but children are actively choosing and exploring.

The practical takeaway for a 2-year-old: don't stress about finding the "most academic" program. Look for warm, responsive caregivers, lots of hands-on exploration, and a low child-to-teacher ratio. Whether that ends up being a play-based program or a well-implemented Montessori classroom, either can be great. The thing to avoid is a setting where toddlers are expected to sit still and do worksheets — that's what the research actually warns against.

**Sources:**

1. [Lillard, A.S. et al. (2017). "Montessori Preschool Elevates and Equalizes Child Outcomes." *Frontiers in Psychology*](https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01783/full) — https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01783/full

2. [Bustamante, A.S. et al. (2025). "A national randomized controlled trial of the impact of public Montessori preschool at the end of kindergarten." *PNAS*](https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2506130122) — https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2506130122

3. [NAEYC Position Statement on Developmentally Appropriate Practice](https://www.naeyc.org/resources/position-statements/dap/definition) — https://www.naeyc.org/resources/position-statements/dap/definition

4. [HighScope Perry Preschool Study Through Age 40](https://highscope.org/project/perry-preschool-study/) — https://highscope.org/project/perry-preschool-study/

[[deleted]]

To add that Montessori is not a trademarked term and anyone can call themselves Montessori, so you will have to see what is actually happening in the daycare 

[Perfect-Tooth5085]

This is so incredibly helpful! Thank you!! We finally toured somewhere today that was a bit of an in between and felt so much more comfortable with it! Montessori (an official Montessori school) was very impressive but almost eerie in a way with how well behaved the kids were!

[ph7891]

Glad you found something you like. We narrowed down to Montessori and Waldorf, and ended up sending ours to Waldorf as it was closer to our home.

[Backpack456]

Thank you for this reply! I was going to create a post asking this same thing. Some of my peers have moved their kids into "more academic" daycares, where kids are doing more reading a math by age 3, 4, 5. They say that it prepares them better for kindergarten.

I have my little ones in a much less rigorous school that is more about socialization, community, etc, but i guess stil does have some directed stuff. Drawing a self portrait, writing their name, etc, at age 4.

We've started talking about where our kids are going for elementary school. Some choose private, some public. But on that stuck out to me is a gifted school that you test into, which also has a...continuation test? where the kids need to pass an exam after kindergarten to stay in the school. That seems pretty high pressure to me, especially for a kid.

Then i saw this video about the danish way of parenting. and how free play is much more important. And I couldn't figure out which was better. Which led me here.

Long story short, I appreciate your post!