Start primary at 2 1/2 or 3 1/2?

[legomom]

Hello. Maybe you could help me with this. Am I right in understanding that the primary program is a 3 year program to prepare for first grade (whether a child stays in a Montessori elementary or goes elsewhere)?

The school we're looking at gives priority admission to 2 1/2 year olds. The age cut off for school s here is Sept. 1st, and my child's birthday is just a little after that. 1st grade would start at age 6 (almost 7) after 3 years of Montessori, right?

I guess he could go for 4 years, but I'd rather not pay for an extra year if he can start later. And I don't think I want him gone for so long at barely 3 years old. The director said that some students stay for a 4th year if they need a little more time. Is kindergarten too easy for students after 3 years of Montessori?

[MattBronsil]

Originally Posted by legomom

Hello. Maybe you could help me with this. Am I right in understanding that the primary program is a 3 year program to prepare for first grade (whether a child stays in a Montessori elementary or goes elsewhere)?

Think of it more as a preparation for life. If you're preparing them for a traditional first grade setting and what those demands are, you might want to consider a preschool/kindergarten with set desks, worksheets, and constant teacher directed activities.

The school we're looking at gives priority admission to 2 1/2 year olds. The age cut off for school s here is Sept. 1st, and my child's birthday is just a little after that. 1st grade would start at age 6 (almost 7) after 3 years of Montessori, right?

The goal is not as much to prepare them for later school as much as it is to help them realize who they are, appreciate themselves and each other, develop concentration and focus, develop life skills, and give them confidence and an identity about themselves that they can grow and develop. Part of that is making sure the students are able to be successful when they leave our program to whatever schooling situation they go into, but we won't sacrifice the child's development in the process.

I guess he could go for 4 years, but I'd rather not pay for an extra year if he can start later. And I don't think I want him gone for so long at barely 3 years old.

This may just be a situation of supply and demand. If the school is full and they have people starting at the younger age, then they may be likely chose those students. Is there a way you can start mid year at all?

The director said that some students stay for a 4th year if they need a little more time. Is kindergarten too easy for students after 3 years of Montessori?

Regular kindergarten? It usually is. The academics usually take a few steps back.

[legomom]

Thank you. I have asked for a consideration of a mid-year admission or to delay for a year.

We have many choices in schools, but I wouldn't pick a traditional desks-in-rows-worksheets version (Doesn't that remind you of offices from 100 years ago? Where they wore those sleeve covers?)

[BCFD]

OMG! Can this post be a sticky? Well said, Matt!!

My oldest dd turned 4 in late Nov. Here in CA, the cutoff date for kindy is 5 by Dec. 2, so she will just eek in under the cutoff (by 2 weeks!). I have considered holding her back until she is 5, turning 6 in kindy, but she would definitely be taking major steps back academically if we did that. For example, she is already reading and starting her at almost 6 in kindy where they are teaching letters and their sounds would be a complete disaster, imo. She started Children's House at 3 1/2 mid-year, so she will only technically have spent 1 1/2 years at her current school before she moves on to a kindy program at a local Montessori K-8 charter school. If we do not get in via random lottery to the Montessori charter, we will keep her at her current Mont school for another year. We are very fortunate in that her current school is from infants to kindy and they are in the process of building a beautiful new school across the street that will be K-8. Regardless, she (and my other children) will attend Montessori school until 8th grade. After that I'm clueless, but I'm thinking the Sudbury school a few miles away would be a natural progression from Montessori. We still have a lot of time to figure that one out.

Good luck!!

[nkm1968]

I think the more time in Montessori preprimary, the better. 80% of brain development is fixed by age 5, so 4 years of preprimary is better than 3 years by 33%, ynwim?? Look at some of the outcome data via the websites at NAMTA et al.

[eepster]

They are probebly doing it b/c so many parents pull their kids out for the kindergarten year and put them in public school. By taking a lot of 2.5 yo they will get a reasonable amount of students to stay the full 3 years.

I sent DS at 2.5 yo, b/c I thought he might be ready for 1st grade at 5.5yo. If he is ready to start the kindergarten year when he is 4.5 he will have gotten a full 3 years of montessori, and hopefully the public schools willhave to take him for 1st grade the following year even though b-day cut off wise he will be K aged. We have a somewhat unusual child though.