Enrolled her to make the official switch!

[teagansmama]

After my last post of debating to keep her in her current program (that only goes to the 3rd primary K year) or move her to this great new Montessori (that she could do her 3rd primary year and up to SIXTH grade!), I set up for Teagan to do the in class "assessment" of sorts - mainly they just want to make sure at this point that she has had prior Montessori and could easily blend in.

She did great. She was there for 2 hours, did reading, movable alphabet, metal insets, some math work AND made a friend immediately. Teagan told me how much she "LOOOOOVVVVEEEESSSS" this new school and really wants to go there. They made her so comfortable and she really liked the larger class size (right now there are only 8 including her at the current M and there is 25 at the new).

So after making all the considerations over the weekend and having Teagan's insight yesterday, I went ahead and enrolled her. They do have a spot for her and are very excited for her to join their program.

She will be "Kindergarten" in September and will go 8:30 to 3:00.

[KBecks]

Glad to hear it and best wishes for the next school year.

We just enrolled our 3 year old for his first year and I'm excited and nervous to see how it goes.

[MattBronsil]

We are discussing class size on a teacher's message board. It is interesting to see people's reactions when I say that a larger class in Montessori tends to work better than a smaller class. People simply cannot comprehend that if they only think about an adult-centered classroom.

It's like telling an avid horse rider about the new car thing that just came out.

[BCFD]

Congrats! Sounds so exciting! We just enrolled DD in a Mont school and her class size is 7 including her. They call it a transitional preschool class. I thought it was great for her to start out in the smaller classroom and then by the fall move to the class with 24 children.

So glad she loves it!

[freistms]

I sat in on a toddler classroom (18 to 36 mos) last week, and I totally agree that it seems like a smaller classroom, or at least a lower student to staff ratio, is really important there. It seemed like the children need more assistance with the work, and more gentle guidance to keep on task, than the older kids (not to mention just needing more physical attention in the way of hugs, love, and diaper changes).

Having observed 3-6 classrooms in several schools, though, it was amazing how much more smoothly the larger classrooms functioned than the small ones. It seemed like, in the smaller classrooms, the kids got hung up on each other, whereas in the larger classrooms, they did a much better job of working (together and apart). Maybe it was just a coincidence, but it was truly amazing to watch.