Hi everyone,
My dd attended what I thought was a fabulous m school in the fall semester. She will be 4 in Feb. I chose Montessori for her b/c she tends to have a longer attention span and does not like to jump from one activity to nother. I thought M would be great since she could focus and exahaust one activity on her own time.
She started in Sept then we had our 3rd child in Oct and our now moving to Minneapolis, so we have encountered some big changes this year.
I had her review in Dec. and was told "she is much more flexible then when she started" and the teachers went on to tell me that she would often have mini-tantrums and cry when they asked her to do something at the beginning of the year. This was SHOCKING to me b/c my dd is actually a really good listener and rarely has tantrums. I have never seen her cry or stomp her foot when anyone asks her to do anything.
When I asked them what kind of lessons she had or what kind of work she doesn, they told me that she likes to observe and only recently was doing object work. They also told me that she does not participate in music, spanish or signing class. So basically, she would just go to school, sit in a one of the rooms, roll out her carpet and watch the other children participate.
Now, she is a watcher. She does tend to hold back until she is comfortable. But for her to do nothing but watch other children for several hours/day for 4 months is a little worrysome.
She is not enrolled in school this semester b/c we are moving...and she is noticeably happier. Perhaps she is getting more sleep or she has adjusted to the new little brother.
Maybe she wasn't ready? She seemed ready--talked about wanting to go to school all of the time. She was 3 1/2 when she started and it was only a 3 morning/week program.
Now I am looking into schools in Minneapolis and I'm wondering if Montessori is the way to go. Maybe I need a program where the teachers are going to encourage her to do the activities.
Any thoughts? Does this sound normal? Any advice? Did I make a mistake sending her too early? Or is Montessori just not the right school?
My dd attended what I thought was a fabulous m school in the fall semester. She will be 4 in Feb. I chose Montessori for her b/c she tends to have a longer attention span and does not like to jump from one activity to nother. I thought M would be great since she could focus and exahaust one activity on her own time.
She started in Sept then we had our 3rd child in Oct and our now moving to Minneapolis, so we have encountered some big changes this year.
I had her review in Dec. and was told "she is much more flexible then when she started" and the teachers went on to tell me that she would often have mini-tantrums and cry when they asked her to do something at the beginning of the year. This was SHOCKING to me b/c my dd is actually a really good listener and rarely has tantrums. I have never seen her cry or stomp her foot when anyone asks her to do anything.
When I asked them what kind of lessons she had or what kind of work she doesn, they told me that she likes to observe and only recently was doing object work. They also told me that she does not participate in music, spanish or signing class. So basically, she would just go to school, sit in a one of the rooms, roll out her carpet and watch the other children participate.
Now, she is a watcher. She does tend to hold back until she is comfortable. But for her to do nothing but watch other children for several hours/day for 4 months is a little worrysome.
She is not enrolled in school this semester b/c we are moving...and she is noticeably happier. Perhaps she is getting more sleep or she has adjusted to the new little brother.
Maybe she wasn't ready? She seemed ready--talked about wanting to go to school all of the time. She was 3 1/2 when she started and it was only a 3 morning/week program.
Now I am looking into schools in Minneapolis and I'm wondering if Montessori is the way to go. Maybe I need a program where the teachers are going to encourage her to do the activities.
Any thoughts? Does this sound normal? Any advice? Did I make a mistake sending her too early? Or is Montessori just not the right school?
Can you talk with your daughter about what she liked and didn't like and use that for a measuring stick when you tour places in your new location?
