anyone else have a child starting Montessori preschool this month?

[calynde]

My ds, who will be 4 in Nov, is starting Montessori preschool next week. We are both nervous, excited, anxious, and above all emotional (OK, me more than him!). I thought it would be fun to share with other mamas who are also embarking on this milestone of early childhood!

Anyone?

[Cutie Patootie]

We are still thinking about it. My ds just turned 3 and will start Montessori in September if I can handle letting him go. I am so afraid to let him go...I know he will love it, and he really seems to need that organized "working" now. I just don't know if I can do it. :

[Melda]

My children start M school this month. My DS has been in since 3 and now entering Kindergarten in M school and my DD is offically in the Primary class. She was in a toddler enviroment the last few months of last year only because it would give her the best chance to not have to wait on a list and we didnt. I am excited and nervous for both of them. I love M school it is the best thing that i have came across for my children. My son has went beyond expectations when it comes to the things he knows ... he is one smart cookie that lil boy ...

[JuJu814]

Both my children are starting!

Our ds, age 4.5 and dd, age 2.9 are both starting M. Sept 5 full time 5 days a week. We are so excited. I was all set to homeschool them until I was able to visit the school and see the response of my children. it seems like the perfect fit for us and our family and I'm so excited for the little ones. Our dd, 14 is in a private christian school right now. She came with us to the meeting at the M. school and is also so excited for the kids. She was homeschooled through 7th. I wish I had known about Montessori when she was little!

Julie

[Lillianna]

My dd is starting her 2nd year in the Children's House this month! I am so excited for her, too!
Hi Julie! I have always felt that the Montessori concept of making the environment homelike would be interesting to homeschoolers.
Cutiepatootie and Calynde You can do it! I do think that children can sense your anxiety and this may contribute to separation problems. Try not to convey your unease to the child. I know how you feel, though. I miss my darling daughter all morning when we are not together. Try to get to know some of the other parents. Maybe you and another Montessori Momma could to go get a smoothie together the first day or something.
Hi Melda!

[calynde]

Originally Posted by Lillianna

I do think that children can sense your anxiety and this may contribute to separation problems. Try not to convey your unease to the child.

I know, I'm trying. Part of the anxiety for us comes from the fact that ds is not only embarking on his first "group" experience, but also being faced with a preschool which is conducted in 2 foreign languages (French and Swiss German). So he's got a lot on his plate! : Everyone tells me that kids soak everything up at this age and learn languages in a snap...but he's so sweet and sensitive! We have a lot of hope that the gentle Montessori method will make all these big transitions a bit less overwhelming.

:

[ltr]

Montessori Jitters

My son will be 4 in Nov as well and will be starting at a Montessori school this month. I am a little exicted and nervous at the same time. I love the Montessori way of teaching, and I hope my son will do OK. He has been on the waiting list for 8 months and a spot opened up for him yesterday! This summer I had him a traditional preschool & we bother liked it, but Montessori was my first choice. I don't mean this queston the way it's going to sound, but I know of no other way to ask it - Is Montessori a good fit for children who are extremely outgoing? My sons loves to talk and interact with other children vs. "working" solo.

[calynde]

Originally Posted by ltr

Is Montessori a good fit for children who are extremely outgoing? My sons loves to talk and interact with other children vs. "working" solo.

It must depend partly on the school. All the ones we looked at here had plenty of opportunities for the children to play together (water table, sand, "fantasy" room-this changes quarterly, from a "store", to a "castle", or a "hospital", etc. There are of course also lots of opportunities for working solo. Our preschool also sings together as a group and they often play "circus" (that means something slightly different here in Switzerland)...basically dressing up, dancing, doing puppet shows, and having lots of fun!

It should be great for your son! good luck!

[embers]

My son, Zion is 3.5 and is starting TOMORROW! He is going three 'full days' a week (8am to 6pm); which includes sports and camps in the afternoon. I am a SAH mom, and live only a few blocks away, so he can call and have me come get him at any point if he wants to come how while there... We have been homeschooling exclusivly til now, but my son asked for some preschool... and we found one that seems amazing!

[calynde]

Wow, Embers! Exciting!

Let us know how he likes it.

Mine starts on Monday!

[ltr]

My son is 11/7/02 as well! Anyway, He starts in two weeks and I am feeling good about it as far as him adapting. The great thing is the first week is oreintation for th new kids, so I am sure that will be very helpful for him in the new school environment.

My other concern is that at his first school, the teacher took all the kids to the bathroom at the same time. He was told basically when to go. Here, at the new school, since there is a bathroom in the class, the child decides when to go & they go on their own. He does this at home for the most part, but we do have the occasional time when he's just to busy to stop. I am sure he will have some accidents at least in the beginning. It will just take some getting used to I suppose.

[Flor]

Ds starts in 2 weeks. He will go 4 half days. I am nervous because this is his first time away from family. He got to go the other day for a few hours and meet his teacher while she was setting up the class. I am also worried about the bathroom. He can go whenever, but he will want to tell the adult, and I am afraid he'll be shy. We are working on that for these last few weeks. I'm afraid he'll be nervous about that aspect. The good thing is that he can hold it pretty much all day anyway! He picked out his lunchbox and is eager to start.

[Ceinwen]

My dd (3.5 years) will be starting three full days a week in September. She'll also be attending the before & after school program. So her day will run from approx. 7:30 AM until 5:30 PM. I'm really hoping it won't be too much for her... Looking forward to hearing about everyone's experiences. I'm so excited for her to be going to the Montessori.

[JBaxter]

my 2yr 9month old will start 2 mornings a week on Aug 31st. Dh is taking the day off. I cant believe my "baby" is going to school. I probably wouldnt have sent him but he has some speech issues and I know the peer interaction will be good for him. Every day for the past week he gets out his new shoes ( cool shoes ) and his little tote bag I made him (cool beg).

[ltr]

zoesmummy - I am a student nurse as well! How cool! When do you finish up? I will be done in May!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, we have our new parent orientation this week. My husband & the in-laws are going too. The don't know much about Montessori, except that I am very excited about it! They will take him on the days I can't because of my classes & clinicals. It will work out where I can take/pick up half of the time & they will do it the other half of the time. Luckily, his school is very close to my school and the in-laws house.

[Melda]

Originally Posted by embers

My son, Zion is 3.5 and is starting TOMORROW! He is going three 'full days' a week (8am to 6pm); which includes sports and camps in the afternoon. I am a SAH mom, and live only a few blocks away, so he can call and have me come get him at any point if he wants to come how while there... We have been homeschooling exclusivly til now, but my son asked for some preschool... and we found one that seems amazing!

How cool ... We had a Zion in our M school last year. He was my DS Best Friend but now he is moving on to 1st grade and my DS is in Kindergarten ... its sad that we wont have Zion at the school this year ... he was such a neat and unique child ...

[calynde]

So my son officially started yesterday!!!

I ended up staying for the entire 3 hours. I think he might have been OK with me leaving but I really just needed to see how things are run around there. The other kids were great and so were the *teachers*. I was honestly and truly impressed!

It's a bilingual French and Swiss German school and they were flowing in and out of both languages like it was nothing...and half of the kids are German-speaking and half French-speaking. Many of the kids were dressed up, like pirates or fairies as they went about their activities. My kid was stuck on all the alphabet puzzles and various books about the sea.

We both really loved it! Yeah! He goes back for one more morning this week, and now I feel absolutely fine about leaving him. Mostly. I'm thinking about doing something special for myself while he's there. Like getting a massage or going to yoga or something. Imagine!

[lisap]

nak

dd starts 9/5. she has a "trial run" next monday. she will be 3 at the beg. of oct. i am so nervous, but the school is very loving so i know she will be happy there.

[Terabith]

My 2.5 yr old starts tomorrow! She's in a toddler class of 2 year olds, and she was in it for the last few months of last year. I'm nervous though bc a lot of her friends have moved up to Primary since they're three now, and she'll be one of the oldest. There's a new co-teacher I don't know much about, and there are 17 kids in this class! The room just isn't that big. It just seems a recipee for chaos....I hope she likes it. They want us to drop them off at the front door, have a teacher walk them into the school, and not walk into the school to pick them up either. That seems kinda harsh to me, especially for the kids who haven't been before. It really bothered me when I took her the first day, being asked to just send her into a room she'd never been in before, with people she'd never met, and stay away while she cried pretty much the entire 3 hours. And she's a raging extrovert, very friendly with everyone. I think they should let parents stay, or have a more gradual introduction, or something. But, I'm not a Montessori teacher.....Sigh. I also wish it was longer. It's only a 2.5 hour day, with an hour devoted to work/ snack period. Doesn't seem long enough.

[Melda]

today is the big day .. MY SON STARTS KINDERGARTEN (montessori of course) and my BABY STARTS her first Primary class ... (

Its bittersweet ..