no grandma or auntie can do that with 30 kids. seriously, you have to observe a montessori kindergarten in person to get what is going on there. and do some reading on how it works. the difference to regular kindergartens even with good teachers is massive.

you are underestimating how much effort it is to calm down a large group of kids. motivation alone is not enough for that. it does require training. if it didn't, then we would not require trained teachers to run a kindergarten group. it's not window dressing at all. and the montessori training and method is simply better and more effective than regular methods and training. and it doesn't need a filtered peer group either.