Looking for a little advice here - Our LO (3.5) has been in a center based daycare since he was 16 months. We loved the school and the teachers but there was a change of management and we had several issues with teacher/student ratios, teacher hours being cut and the consequences for the kids etc. so we decided to take him out and move him to a Montessori. I really like the concept of Montessori but have always wondered if it would be a good fit for our LO. Anyway, fast forward 2 months later and he still hasn't adjusted well - he is crying every morning and saying that he doesn't like his friends. Most others in his class are a little older (5 or almost 5) - initially I thought that this might be a good thing but now I am not so sure. Has anyone had any difficulty transitioning to a Montessori after a daycare center? I have spoken with his teacher and she said that he would do better if he was there 5 days rather than the 3 days he is currently there - which may well be true and is something that I am considering. But I am wondering from Montessori experts - is this typical in a transition from one style to another or are there cases where it just isn't a 'good fit' for certain kids?
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My LO moved to a Montessori program when she was a little under 3.5 years old. She was previously at a daycare centre from 12 months old. My daughter's program had two classes: the preschool class had kids 3-4 years old (if there were any 5 year olds, it was maybe 1 or 2) and the pre-k/k class had kids 5-6 years old.
Was your LO previously only going to the daycare 3x a week? I agree that in order to transition faster, a 5x a week schedule would be a lot better.
Did the director provide any other advice or direction? I don't know if the "right fit" argument applies solely to Montessori though. Is it the environment? The kids? The programming? There were a few boys in my daughter's class whose parents decided not to have them stay for the kindergarten year, but it's because the program discourages rowdy/crazy behaviour and the boys got in trouble quite often.
Moving my daughter to the Montessori program was the best decision i made. When i used to pick her up from daycare, she would just be sitting, sucking her fingers and looking bored. The transition was probably easier because she had one friend who started with her.
(Sorry for the novel!)
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@Freckles: Thank you for your reply! Yes, he was previously going 3 days a week at the old school so the schedule hasn't really changed, but I can see how 5 days would be better transition wise.
That is part of my issue - the director and teachers haven't been overly helpful or responsive I feel - they just say that it's a transition which I get but it's really going on a while so I'm not so sure any more. I wonder if it is an environment issue with so many kids that are older than him - I've noticed some more sassy behaviors coming from him that may be originating from the older kids so that is concerning me too. He also had a friend start around the same time but he still doesn't seem to be settling
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I really like the educational aspects of Montessori but I'm really torn on this - it's hard to put him in when he is so miserable there, which is totally out of character for him as well.
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