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Originally Posted by elsanne  Now, Waldorf/Montessori. I have much to say on the matter, only because after much reading here on MDC I have made a decision I never ever expected to make! And for Sol, the winner is: Montessori. Surprise! (to me, anyway)
Mama just had another baby. Mama and Sol are developing unhealthy patterns of behavior because Mama cannot deal. Mama thinks Sol would better spend those few hours with stimulating activities instead of crying and whining at Mama's feet.
A quick decision, and the closest school: Montessori. Best for a variety of utilitarian reasons. Upon closer analysis, however, when comparing Sol's life at home and what Montessori is teaching her, it is found to be the best fit pedagogically as well. Even I am starting to put things back in their places as a result.
The next years? I am not sure. I know this school starts with "homework" at around age 4, which I am NOT crazy about, and I just might switch to the Waldorf school around then.
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Elsanne, nice synopsis. I don't know as much about Waldorf - there are none around here anyway. I so so so hear you on the patterns of behavior and needing to swich thing up a bit. I'd be sending my kids to school even if I wasn't working. I probably wouldn't send them all day, but I'd send them. I'm surprised that your school would have homework so soon, though! Our Head of School gave a big talk about homework. The school goes all the way through 8th grade, and I know they don't get homework until at least middle school, if even then. Parents complain about it. So anyway he gave this great talk about how hard the kids work all day, why should they have to do it all again when they get home, and how we shouldn't expect them to work a second shift at the tender age of 6. I was pretty impressed.
It took me a long time to understand the value of the "work" and the "lessons". As you said, it ain't play. The kids enjoy it that much, though! At any rate, my love of Montessori (for preschool certainly) has really come from watching my DD go through the program. She started there when she was just turning 3, and she'll be 5 in January. We had her parent teacher conference this morning, and I'm so pleased.
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Originally Posted by nuggetsmom I think it is so important to visit the schools too because when I looked inot preschools for N I really wanted a Montesorri or Waldorf. Waldorf was expensive and far to that fell out of hte running. Ultimately the Montesorri was not right for N. I don't know why, but it just wasn't at that time. Now it might be different but we are on the path we are on and I am happy enough.
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The most most most important thing is that it's the right place for your child. Childcare and school decisions are ROUGH!!
s to all of us for having to even contemplate it.
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Originally Posted by A&L+1 I am REALLY concerned about leaving her current place because she does love it there and she is so comfortable.
Here’s the rub, she’s going to go through a lot of changes over the next several months and now that I think about it, it pretty inevitable that she’s going to need to leave/take a long break from fulltime care no matter where she’s at. Her current place does part-time, but I think we should also consider other designed-to-be part-time or parent participation places for her until next fall because I think the transition from fulltime to nothing plus a sibling may be too much for all involved.
In the fall, we’ll have to make decisions about fulltime care for both the new baby and Eleanor. We'll look at our options then (yes to Montessori, no to Waldorf is my gut). On top of that though, I am really not okay with a baby under one year being in fulltime care, but I don’t see how we can afford to have one of us be at home…we are both trying not to think about it and hoping that a solution will materialize between now and then. Worst case is that I work an early morning shift and work the weekends so that we minimize the time that we would need care. I really don’t want to never have down time with my family – I need that so much - so it’s not going to be easy to figure this all out.
So, yeah, this is a phenomenally bad time to move Eleanor to another fulltime place. I don’t know what I was thinking  : - but I do know that if I thought I was overwhelmed by the idea of researching other places, I am completely, insanely, in-over-my-head, afraid of the reality of the next 12 months for my family. Now I am so thoroughly overwhelmed I may have to resort to drinking.  |
That's a lot to think about, but kudos for giving everything such careful consideration. I think a lot of times people makes decisions quickly based on what's best for them personally, not necessarily the child or the family.
sounds like there's a lot on the family plate right now. When is the baby due?
It does sound like a lot of transitions. I wouldn't want to switch if there is already another switch planned for the near-ish future. My experience when my second was born was that keeping DD1 at her daycare was VITAL. We went to part time, but she needed that structure, and I needed that space. When the little guy was born in August, we didn't do it that way (couldn't afford it) and I was suddenly HOME, all day every day, with three kids under 5. It was really really hard on everyone. Too much TV was watched by all, and our attitudes towards life and our family members went downhill fast. Fortunately it was only 6 weeks before the girlies went back to school.
I've lost track of my point, and I'm not even
though I am
: . I think what I was trying to say was that with everything coming up, it might be best to keep her where she is for now, and then look at transitioning after the baby or after the babymoon. More
s transitions are so rough. Kids are mighty tough, though!
:... the people that I've met who have their kids in these schools--for the most part, I haven't liked them, or their kids. 
] Anyway...
s 
s!
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And she sings little songs too and told me today -no that is orange and she was right!
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: that's a good one, els... 
: must have recipe so bill can make it for me. 
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), and going to the Sunday service allowed him go early enough to attend the wedding, too. But now it turns out that the Sunday service is not, in fact, a funeral at all and his family is begging him to stay for the actual funeral (Tuesday), so now he won't be home until Wednesday afternoon, instead of the original Monday night. 
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but I'm not showing any of it to DH. It's not his fault - it is what it is - and the last thing he needs right now is me bitching at him about his lame, poorly communicating family (they are notorious for this sort of thing).
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