New M school dd regressing in work?

[isaoma]

Okay, I'm not sure if my title is accurate - but here is my question. Dd had been attending M school primary program since she was 2.75 years old. This year (dd just turned 4) she is attending a new school. The new M school is wonderful and it has an elementary program (which is the main reason we switched). Her school had a parents' night this week and I noticed the work she was showing me was no were near the work she had been doing at her old school.

I know that she isn't able to "do" a work until she has had a presentation, but it seems that they are starting her over from the beginning. Should I say something or would it seem like I'm being a pushy mom? I know that she is going through an adjustment phase, but I don't want her to feel bored or unchallenged (she has said that her new school doesn't have as many interesting things as her old school).

Any advice?

[MattBronsil]

There's almost always an adjustment period where the child is selecting old, more familiar works. The teacher might be misunderstanding why that is and assumes this is simply what your daughter needs now, which is a reasonable assumption. I'd ask the teacher what he/she is observing as a starting point and go from there.

[lach]

If she's in a new environment, she might just be seeking comfort in very familiar works. I agree with Matt that talking to the teacher isn't a bad idea, just to make sure that you're both on the same page. But I don't think that it's worrying that she's seeking out easier works right now. Between taking a break over summer, and the new school, it makes sense to me that she'd be clinging to the familiar. I'm sure once she gets more comfortable she'll stretch herself a bit more.

I went to a talk recently about the Montessori philosophy, and one of the things that the speaker brought up was that we always expect kids to be on a straight growth trajectory, but it's normal for them to sometimes regress in certain areas while they advance in others. My DD is younger than yours, but I have definitely noticed this too. Sometimes she just needs to be babied for a short phase. Really, I think that even adults sometimes regress! I know that when I'm in a certain mood, there's nothing better than curling up with a cup of hot chocolate and Little House on Plum Creek (My very favorite book of all time, thank you very much!)

But, as I said above, I do think it's probably worth it to talk to the teacher, to say that you think she's regressing and you're worried that it might set the wrong tone about her abilities.

[MattBronsil]

Before you do anything else, go to google. Type the following words:
Polish duck Montessori Life

An article will be there called something like, "Sometimes you just have to polish a duck." (I can't remember the exact name and on my Blackberry now).

Best
Article
EVER

It addresses some points you made.

[b_light]

Here is the article.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/m...0/ai_n9314410/

it was great. Thank you <3 I needed that for me.

By the way, I googled those words and this thread was the third thing that popped up. :P

[NYMommy2007]

What a great article, thanks for sharing!!

[isaoma]

I talked to dd's guide last Friday. It seems to have worked - dd came home today and was so excited to tell me that she was shown a "new" work and seemed very excited.

Thank you all for your advice and sharing that great article.