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Originally Posted by greeny  My dd will turn 5 in March, and rather than find a traditional Kindergarten program for her, we've decided on a Montessori school, that goes all the way up through 8th grade if we choose to stay there.
She is currently in a public preK program, where she will stay till summer. She will start Montessori in the fall.
My question is: What, if anything, should we do to prepare her for the Montessori classroom, since it is different from the school she's in now? Can I assume that the teachers will gently take care of introducing her to the Montessori way, or should we be talking about it at home already?
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It may also be more a stress for the parent than for the child, where parents expect certain "miracles" and they are presented with the fact that their child is doing work that, on the surface, seems to be far behind what they were learning before. I am not saying you'll expect those miracles. I am just saying expect something different to happen that first year than what you see most Kindergarten Montessori students doing.
Most Kindergarten children come in and are interested right away in the Practical Life area, where the parents observe the classroom and see other children working on the moveable alphabet or the advanced math materials. The parents might even be confused as to why, since their son/daughter might be able to read and write easily, so why are they not chosing the moveable alphabet? Here's where understanding the practical life area is very important.
This is a place for children to develop. Montessori "advanced" materials take concentration. A child in his or her first year is very unlikely to select the moveable alphabet or decimal math materials. They do not have the concentration that is required. They do not have the logical system of organizing the materials. These things come in the practical life area and the sensorial area. So while it may seem like the child is just pouring or scooping or ... whatever...the fact is that they are building up their organization, concentration, and fine motor skills. These will continue on into other, more "academic" areas later. However, it is important to note that these activities have VERY specific meanings to later activities in the classroom.
The practical life activities are actually preparations for writing, reading, and mathmatics. A child cannot progress easily into these areas of a Montessori 3-6 environment without having that foundation.
Children in this system have potentially been there for years before your child and had that foundation already there. So if you observe the class, see she is just moving around the classroom like the younger students and is not focused for as long as the kindergarteners, remember that is because you put her in a good environment and she is excited about what she sees. She hasn't developed that internal level of concentration it takes to build up to those materials.
As you seek out schools, it might be helpful if you mention that idea to the person you are speaking with. Many schools have given up taking children in the Kindergarten year because of the fact that parents do not recognize this fact at all and end up pushing their child into areas before they are ready. Mentioning the fact to them that you know what you're facing, but want to still give your child this opportunity, may ease the director's mind if there are any doubts.
Matt
