Long time readers will remember what a terrible time I had with the Montessori --> public school transition. It could have been moving from the Philippines to the USA. It could have been many things. But, as I was rationalizing my frustration with starting school here, I rationalized that it was because of my difficulty adjusting between two very different instructional methods.
The Montessori school Wm attended in the Philippines had a wonderful parent education component. We knew exactly what the school was teaching and why, and were encouraged to reflect the same methodology at home. It made things work so smoothly. Wm could move ahead quickly and independently in areas where he excelled, and the teachers were there to support him in weaker areas (reading, ahem ahem).
The more rigid system here combined with feel like I didn't even speak the same language as his teacher, frustrated me beyond belief. Hi first grade year, I felt like I was struggling to catch up and understand how to work with him and the school. Thus, for Patch, while we could have sent him to a Montessori school up the road, I opted for a more traditional play-based American pre-K curriculum. I'm sure Patch would have excelled just as Wm did in Montessori - but I couldn't go through that transition again.
Luckily for me and Patch, try #2 paid off. He reports that kindergarten so far is boring. He doesn't read yet, so there are definitely things he needs to work on this year. Overall, though, the rhythm of the class is very similar to what he was doing half-day last year. As for me? I'm not stressing out about his transition at all. Piece of cake.
I know - you'll tell me a lot of it is that we're now in our third year in America, and I can now speak the same language as his school. But, given that I believe the difficult transition into first grade was because of the Montessori-public switch, it only logically follows that this easy transition was because we stuck with similar systems.
Now, fingers crossed I don't flip out when we move to Vietnam and enter the international school world...
The Montessori school Wm attended in the Philippines had a wonderful parent education component. We knew exactly what the school was teaching and why, and were encouraged to reflect the same methodology at home. It made things work so smoothly. Wm could move ahead quickly and independently in areas where he excelled, and the teachers were there to support him in weaker areas (reading, ahem ahem).
The more rigid system here combined with feel like I didn't even speak the same language as his teacher, frustrated me beyond belief. Hi first grade year, I felt like I was struggling to catch up and understand how to work with him and the school. Thus, for Patch, while we could have sent him to a Montessori school up the road, I opted for a more traditional play-based American pre-K curriculum. I'm sure Patch would have excelled just as Wm did in Montessori - but I couldn't go through that transition again.
Luckily for me and Patch, try #2 paid off. He reports that kindergarten so far is boring. He doesn't read yet, so there are definitely things he needs to work on this year. Overall, though, the rhythm of the class is very similar to what he was doing half-day last year. As for me? I'm not stressing out about his transition at all. Piece of cake.
I know - you'll tell me a lot of it is that we're now in our third year in America, and I can now speak the same language as his school. But, given that I believe the difficult transition into first grade was because of the Montessori-public switch, it only logically follows that this easy transition was because we stuck with similar systems.
Now, fingers crossed I don't flip out when we move to Vietnam and enter the international school world...
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