Kindergarden

[mlsantarem]

This is my first time starting a thread. It actually took me some time to figure out how to do this! I love the mothering discussion groups and have reading and learning from everyone. Thank you.
Well my situation is a bit complicated but just would like some feedback. I am living outside the USA and my children go presently to a Montessori School(Brazilian). It wasn´t intially terribly excited about the method but it was the best choice we had in this Amazonian city. Now I am loving it at least for my younger son. He is now 5 and will be 6 in a month. The grades do not actually translate completely but he would be going into something like 1st grade in January. They have multi-age classrooms and children move up grades when appropriate and there appears not to be much stigma in that. Anyway we will be moving to a much larger city and I need my children to go to a bi-lingual (english + portugues) school. I had been doing some home schooling in English and he enjoys it and it is quite fun to see him reading and writing a bit in English. Well the Bi-lingual school is British (can it get anymore complicate!). They say that he is not ready for their grade that is equal to 1st grade for which I totally agree, very heavy. He will be 6 years old in Kindergarden. He is small for his age and behavior is not an issue we just don´t push writing a home, and reading is fun and at his little Mont. school it is more lead by him and what he seem to want to do and is capable of doing. This new school would be much much more academic and driven. I would just like to hear about folks experiences with repeating Kindergarden (which not exactly the same for us with the changing of school and methods of teaching). I am a bit alone here and I just would like to hear about folks experiences with Kindergarden and first grade ´older´kindergardeners. I have a daughter who is two years older and is moving through the system without any problems and she is very excited about starting in this new school it reminds her of Harry Potter....but of course they are individuals with different needs ect...

[TiredX2]

Well here (WA) he would be in Kinder this year (our cutoff is August 31st) so I don't consider him to be that old of a kinder.

That said, I would mostly be concerned with his ego but it sounds like he won't necessarily consider it a demotion, so I would try not to worry.

As for academics... well, we're going through that right now as DD has been homeschooled (unschooled) until tomorrow when she enters a pretty academic 2nd grade.

[Ragana]

My daughter missed our cut-off of Sept. 1 last year, so she just started kindergarten yesterday and will be 6 in Oct. I don't think that's a problem. Given the change in systems, it will probably be easier for him to switch being a bit older.

We don't push writing at home either, but that's what K is for - to learn to read and write. Hopefully it will be the same in the British school. By the way, my daughter just started in her school's Spanish immersion track, so if you're interested in corresponding about bilingual schools, just PM me. Sounds like your son and my daughter are the same age.

[flyingspaghettimama]

Hm. Usually when children graduate from their third year in Montessori, they are "ahead" (FWIW) academically than peers who attended regular Kindergarten. He possibly knows basic geography, phonetic spelling and writing, some basic reading, and math skills incl. adding, subtracting, multiplying into the hundreds or thousands, and perhaps fractions as well. And hopefully knows how to tie shoes and make snack too.

You might ask at his previous school where he was on the continuum for reading, writing, and math before making a decision? Did the British school somehow interview him and determine his level? Sometimes people assume that Montessori kids are somehow academically "behind" when the opposite is true ... anyhow, it's a thought, and what would be the case in my area.

[mlsantarem]

Thanks for the reply. Everyone
Tiredx2 Absolutely agree that Ego/self-esteem is most important. The school year begins in Feb. so cut off and the like is a bit different but still he´s not way off and I would definately prefer him to go into a situation in which he is confident and can manage with not too much effort considering the other aspects of the change of school ect..

Flyingspagettimama. He did have an evaluation by the British School and we had a follow up discussion about the ´results´. The montessori for him has been very much at his pace and he is beginning writing, reading and simple math. If he was to continue at the Montessori school his next class more structured enviroment ´demanding´ work load, which he has the skills necessary (if not they keep them a sort of transitional period at the beginning of the year in the same classroom). International methodologies are mixed with cultural expectations, interpretation ect... amd compared to what I read, hear and (in the case of the British School)see out there his montessori school is not quite as academic for which I am immensely pleased.

I gets complicated a bit with more than one child. In the case of our daughter the school is a great fit but for my son I am not 100% sure but going to the same school is very comforting for the both of them. I still have some time to consider our options.

Again Thanks
mlsantarem