Hi everyone-
I'm hoping some of you Montessori experienced parents or teachers can give me some advice-- please forgive me if this is a bit long. I'm hoping that DS1 will be starting at an M school this fall but we are in the touring schools/ interviewing process right now. A little background on us: DS turns 3 this week, and attends a play-based cooperative nursery school two mornings a week right now (mainly b/c we can't afford M until the fall, though I'd love for him to be in a toddler program right now if it were possible). I've made attempts to set up our home to be Montessori-friendly (though we live in a very small apartment and I haven't been able to do everything I wanted to do) and DS likes to do some things independently, but he is very uninterested in self-care. He does not want to pick out his own clothes, often flat out refuses to attempt to dress himself (which he is capable of), and, the biggest problem, he wants to remain in diapers. The M schools we are looking at for the fall all require the children to be potty trained. DS has been potty trained for pooping for over a year, but he cannot keep underwear dry. I haven't figured out if it's a problem with motivation or a physical development issue but I'm beginning to suspect it's a physical issue since he will pee on himself and our house when he is naked and seems surprised and unable to stop himself, and also is perfectly happy sitting in soaking wet underwear and pants.
When I talk to him about it, he just says that he wants to pee in his diapers and does not want to wear underwear. I am hoping that he just needs more time and that by the fall he will be potty trained, but, obviously I can't guarantee this for the schools we are applying to, and I'm sure this will be an issue in our interviews/evaluation.
My questions are: How do M schools respond to an applicant to the children's house who is not yet potty trained? And, do you have any advice on how to encourage him in self-care, or will this develop in time? How can I help him to become more Montessori-ready? I think many aspects of Montessori will be wonderful for him, which is a large part of why we want him to attend an M school. He's a very introspective kid, very focused on individual tasks, quick to learn, and, lately, always singing to himself or lying around thinking. I think part of the problem is that his mental/emotional forces are applied toward other tasks and not on his physical self right now, if that makes any sense. I think being at a school with high expectations of independence will help him a great deal (his current nursery school does NOT help with this), but how do I help make sure he gets IN to the M school in the first place??
Thanks for any and all help!!
I'm hoping some of you Montessori experienced parents or teachers can give me some advice-- please forgive me if this is a bit long. I'm hoping that DS1 will be starting at an M school this fall but we are in the touring schools/ interviewing process right now. A little background on us: DS turns 3 this week, and attends a play-based cooperative nursery school two mornings a week right now (mainly b/c we can't afford M until the fall, though I'd love for him to be in a toddler program right now if it were possible). I've made attempts to set up our home to be Montessori-friendly (though we live in a very small apartment and I haven't been able to do everything I wanted to do) and DS likes to do some things independently, but he is very uninterested in self-care. He does not want to pick out his own clothes, often flat out refuses to attempt to dress himself (which he is capable of), and, the biggest problem, he wants to remain in diapers. The M schools we are looking at for the fall all require the children to be potty trained. DS has been potty trained for pooping for over a year, but he cannot keep underwear dry. I haven't figured out if it's a problem with motivation or a physical development issue but I'm beginning to suspect it's a physical issue since he will pee on himself and our house when he is naked and seems surprised and unable to stop himself, and also is perfectly happy sitting in soaking wet underwear and pants.
When I talk to him about it, he just says that he wants to pee in his diapers and does not want to wear underwear. I am hoping that he just needs more time and that by the fall he will be potty trained, but, obviously I can't guarantee this for the schools we are applying to, and I'm sure this will be an issue in our interviews/evaluation.My questions are: How do M schools respond to an applicant to the children's house who is not yet potty trained? And, do you have any advice on how to encourage him in self-care, or will this develop in time? How can I help him to become more Montessori-ready? I think many aspects of Montessori will be wonderful for him, which is a large part of why we want him to attend an M school. He's a very introspective kid, very focused on individual tasks, quick to learn, and, lately, always singing to himself or lying around thinking. I think part of the problem is that his mental/emotional forces are applied toward other tasks and not on his physical self right now, if that makes any sense. I think being at a school with high expectations of independence will help him a great deal (his current nursery school does NOT help with this), but how do I help make sure he gets IN to the M school in the first place??
Thanks for any and all help!!
