lower elementary

[Rose-Roget]

Ds was accepted, finally, to the public school Montessori program and will start lower elementary tomorrow. I'm thrilled! I know that there are some compromises that need to be made to meet standards and that they have to adapt to a lot of non-Montessori kids entering the program at random times for a variety of reasons, but we Montessori is such a good fit for my spirited ds. and we can't afford private any longer.

We met his teacher last night. She seemed nice enough, I think. Ds liked her, which is great! I noticed she had tables with assigned seats, which I thought was a little strange, but maybe not in lower el. Then she said that she does a mix of Montessori and traditional. It wasn't really a time to get into a real discussion about philosophy and such, so I just made a comment that we are very Montessori minded and left it at that.

I hope to volunteer in the classroom a bit, and I'll be listening to what ds says about school. I know that there is not too much I can do about it, but what would be the most important things to look for in a lower el. class? When I toured the school 2 years ago, it was for primary and those classrooms looked great. I guess I will have to take what I can get, but that comment bothered me. Most important will be whether or not ds succeeds in the class, I guess, but I'd hate for it to not work out and to transfer teachers...again.

[Drummer's Wife]

I have kids in lower elementary public Montessori, too. They have assigned seating, but they are free to move about the room and sit in other places to do work. It's just that they keep their own belongings in their assigned desk, and sit there often to write, read, do math, etc. They also have other tables, and areas on the floor where they can use a rug to work on.

Anyhow, I guess I would just observe and see what your overal feeling is. My kids' class this past year was chaotic and loud at times, which is not at all typical of other Montessori schools (including another public one my oldest attended). I think, in part, it was just the dynamics of the particular children, along with it being the first year the Montessori program began at their school, which meant most of the kids were from the 'regular' classrooms, plus it was the teacher's first year. I decided it wasn't enough of a reason to pull them out, or anything, and there were times when it was quieter, calmer, and more peaceful - plus my kids LOVED it, and learned so much. I would prefer a more 'true' Montessori environment that wasn't part of the public school system, but we don't have that in our city, and couldn't afford the tuition, anyhow.

If you and your child like the teacher, and your child enjoys school and learning, I would take that as a good sign.

Hope his first day goes well!

[mattemma04]

I have kids in upper and lower el in a private M, and the lower can get pretty crazy. My biggest issue was the misbehavior of some of the kids,and how it affected my son. The teachers did what they could,but I came close to pulling over it.

I would take it day by day and see how things go for your child.If your child does not like the way the teacher handles the class and teaches I am sure he will let you know. Some days are good and some bad,but if the bad far out-number the good it is time to consider other options.

[Rose-Roget]

Okay, so I AM trying to keep an open mind. Lower El. people, what do the first days of school look like? Ds's barely had a work time built in to the schedule, and the ones that were "weren't the kind of work I was thinking of" (said ds). It was paper work - as far as I can tell, like writing prompts, word searches, and find the hidden picture type work. I know they are trying to learn the rules and get things running. What does a typical first week look like in Montessori lower el?

[OnTheBrink]

My daughter is moving to upper el this year. Very exciting transition! Her three years in LE were awesome! No assigned seating.
In the beginning, she says they did stuff together to get to know one another. Storytelling, building a fort in the yard, science, etc.

[MattBronsil]

Originally Posted by Rose-Roget

Okay, so I AM trying to keep an open mind. Lower El. people, what do the first days of school look like? Ds's barely had a work time built in to the schedule, and the ones that were "weren't the kind of work I was thinking of" (said ds). It was paper work - as far as I can tell, like writing prompts, word searches, and find the hidden picture type work. I know they are trying to learn the rules and get things running. What does a typical first week look like in Montessori lower el?

Should still have a long work period. Many of the materials carry over from 3-6 to 6-9. The first day usually talks about the first Great Lesson.