What if your kid is bored at Monti?

[FridaK]

So DD is a 4yr w/ a high vocabulary is learning phonics on her own and goes to the library every week checking out 20 books that she memorizes. Play well w/ others. Says please and thank you. Shares. is theatrical. Loves Natural Scieces, Dinos and Egypt.

This past 3 months we have been blessed to have a family friend *watching* her for 15 a week. She has improved her Spanish.(we are Latinos but speak english in the home... i know shame on us.) She has had to return to her counrty and now we are needing to find a subsitute.

I must work out of the home 15 hrs a wk -it is a family business.

So I looked into the Monti near us and got them to agree to 3x a week.

it would be 18 hrs.

We went to visit it today for 45 mins.

DD follwoed along just fine. it is a 3-4-5 class . heavy onthe 3s.

DD liked it but was not overjoyed about it. If she loves a place she talks about it all the way home.

I know that the teachers can gauge the level of work to her needs. But I'm concerned that she might get bored.

I hate to commit to this action (and money) if we are goign to find she is not challenged.

She has been at home w/ me all this time and we basiclly Unschool/Homeschool.. Homeschool is still a high probality in her future.

But she is desperate for other playmates. And I can't provide them b/c EVERYONE goes to school in our area. And afterwards it is the mad rush to dance, gym, etc classes.

So the question is....


Has your child experiecned bored in Montisorri? And how did you change that?

[flyingspaghettimama]

Well, I guess if your daughter can count to 1000 by 10s, can sew a hem, knows all about grace and courtesy (ie. how to make introductions, how to include friends who feel left out, how to answer the phone, set the table), knows the parts of a sentence by grammar, can multiply, add, and subtract into the thousands, write and illustrate stories (in cursive), knows how to tie shoes, do fractions, can prepare a meal, is experienced in various mediums for art, can make music with various rhythm instruments AND already knows how to help younger children achieve all the same, she would be pretty bored!

This is what most 3-6 classrooms offer. Not all children are interested in all of these things or are inclined towards them, which is cool. She could pick and choose among the options. It's really about the teacher - does she seem experienced and enthusiastic? Is she trained by a recognized montessori association?

To me, it sounds like your daughter would have a lot to share with a classroom ... and have a lot of fun.

[FridaK]

Thank you for your comment -- I hope I misinturpeted the hostile tone I felt from it. I didn't mean to imply that my DD had nothing to gain from Monti nor that she was so accelerated to have mastered all things. Perhaps I didn't explain myself well enough or phrase my question properly.

So I will try again...

My DD has many of the skills you mentioned and she would add alot to the group. She would certainly help the younger stundents and enjoy doing it. But it the same vein I don't want her to be overlooked because of her competency. It happened to me in grade school and I feel I suffered from not being challenged appropriately. I want to be an advocate for my DD and I want to do it in a positive way.
There are many things to recommend this school. I am willing to give it a go..

The question is...

What are the signs that she is being allowed to be bored? And what are some constructive ways to address them?
The teachers (4 for up to 30 kids of which there are only 15 at present) seemed focused on the younger group.

[flyingspaghettimama]

I did not mean for it to sound hostile, just silly. A whole laundry list of what kids work on...if they choose. And that was only part of it!

I would suggest reading more about Montessori and perhaps asking the teacher in very open way how they work with children. The teachers will not be constantly on top of her, making sure she is not bored - it's also the child's responsibility to ask for new lessons and take initiative. At the same time, a good teacher will observe and help a child who seems bored to find new things that they may be interested in. If she were bored, I would just talk to the teacher about it...they should be responsive.

My daughter could be considered "gifted" by a public school (i.e. she's five and reads Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by herself - either silently or out loud); in Montessori I think she is rather average, and the teachers treat her as an individual, not as a label. She is the oldest child in her new classroom, but it doesn't bother me. She adores younger children and delights in helping them learn how to wash a table, learn a letter's sound, and walk on the line to music; while also learning the parts of speech (they have a wicked fun verb game, if you can believe it) and sewing a hem directly from the teacher.

So I would really investigate the school and the teachers: ask what they will do with an older child. A four year old who can read is not so unusual at Montessori though, so they should know how to deal with that and challenge her further. If she likes natural sciences, Montessori is very strong on that aspect.
Here is an example of typical natural science work by ages:
http://www.moteaco.com/albums/casa/casaculture.html

[FridaK]

Thank you! That's more along the lines of what I needed.

The teachers are all certified but only have 3-5 yrs experiecne. They just seem very very young. I don't want to be age-ist (sp) but I think I would feel more confident if the teachers were of a wider age range. KWIM.

Thanks again!


We still haven't made up our minds -- but you might see more of me in this forum.

[raksmama]

Maybe you could find another class or school where there is a more equal mixture of ages.You mentioned there are mostly 3 year olds in her class.
I don't know.... it is just an idea, that maybe if there were more children her age or older she would like it more.