3.5 yo having troubles adjusting to M preschool - Page 3

[Brownie~]

Well, this maybe isn't a strategy, but--DS's school is full-day. The 3 yr olds are supposed to nap. DS was balking at the nap, so the teachers stopped sending him upstairs to the napping room. This led to DS wanting to drop his nap on non-school days too, which was wreaking havoc on our routine at home because he was so tired. So, I asked the teachers last week to have him nap again; even if he doesn't sleep, I want him to rest. I think if he is rested he will have a *much* better time focusing in the afternoon. He's napped at home this week, too...i'm wondering if the nap situation hasn't been the cause of a lot of his lack of control, etc. I am very anxious to go to the conference next week and hear from the teachers their thoughts directly about his whole adjustment.

[tatermom]

freestylemama, I just wanted to comment that at our school they explicitly avoid the terms "big kids " and "little kids" and discourage the kids from using those terms if they start to. We do have a preprimary class (2-3 year olds) but even those kids are not allowed to be called "little", and certainly within the primary class of 3-6 year olds the kids are all considered to be peers. Yes, there are lessons that a 3 year old may not have had yet, and there are some materials that are known to be mostly "kindergarten" materials that the 5-6 year olds are using, but the terms little/big are not a part of this. I know that my 3 year old would be highly offended if he were called a "little kid" in his class! He knows that there are materials that he has not had a lesson on, but he is confident that he will have a lesson when he is ready; age/size is not a consideration in judging readiness. Perhaps you could talk to the teachers about their use of those terms?

[TonyaW]

I am considering putting my son in a Montesorri Preschool. I have no previous experience with preschool or teachers. However, when I read your post it just doesn't sound right to me. The teacher sounds punitive to me. My son is strong willed and becomes so whenever we tap into coercion or punitive techniques (like removing privileges or time outs) which happens sometimes whenever I don't know what to do but I am working to change. I have had to physically pick up my son under his arms before to move him when he was struggling and to my knowledge there have never been marks.

If your daughter is resisting this much with the teacher, it sounds like it could be an issue with the teacher if she has done well in other environments. Maybe you can go and observe her class for a day, maybe just pop in.

[freestylemama]

Things have actually been going really well.  I thought I would update.  The only thing that's different is us making a change about limiting time with some of DD's friends who were too aggressive to her.   

[Drummer's Wife]

Originally Posted by freestylemama 

Things have actually been going really well.  I thought I would update.  The only thing that's different is us making a change about limiting time with some of DD's friends who were too aggressive to her.   

Yay! I'm glad it's going better. My DS is finally doing really well (2 1/2 weeks now), and I am sooo relieved. I bet you feel similar to me now.

I love Montessori, and actually think it's a great fit for the majority of kids - I'm sure it can be a difficult transition for many, though, just as any other preschool or daycare can be.