It's official, I'm the mother of a Montessori girl. I feel like a real parent now that she has places she has to be at a certain time. She has been LOVING school thus far. Hadley was a little upset at first when we told her she had to go to school Tuesday evening because I believe she associates the word "school" with the day care she went to. She really wasn't a huge fan of that place, but it was what we needed at the time. Now that we are a little more able
(and with a little ((lot)) of help from my family and John's dad) we are able to send Hadley to a great new school. The class has a blog , with videos and pictures of what they do in class. I decided that maybe showing her what to expect might calm her nerves a bit, so I did. She was mesmerized! All she wanted to do was watch the movies for a good 20 minutes. After that, she started yelling at us because we weren't taking her right away, and telling her that she would be going "tomorrow" was not at all good enough.
The teachers probably all think I'm insane now because before her drop off I emailed them to let them know that she tends to cling to me and scream and cry when she gets dropped off. I had class on her first day so John had to take her, and she did awesome! She walked right into class and didn't even notice that John had left.
When we went to pick her up she was just so happy. I could tell that she really enjoyed it, and she didn't have a single complaint when she woke up today and I told her that she was going to school today. In the car she was just gushing about "teacher", and finally asked what "teacher's" name is. I let her know it was Miss Julie and Miss Melody, and now she talks about how she loves Miss Julie and how she's "like you mommy".
On her first day she didn't have a whole lot to say when asked about class. She mentioned playing in the snow (They play out in the snow!! With snow gear of course, something her daycare never did) and how much fun the "park" or play ground was. Hadley mentioned holding the circle, they hold a loop on a rope to help keep them together on the way out, and she also talked about plants.
Today she mentioned the same things and she told me about her cup and her cubby. They keep everything very neat and organized in this class and so to identify her cup and cubby they put her name in cursive (they teach cursive first here), as well as a picture of an animal so they can recognize which is theirs. I asked which animal she had on her cubby and she, to my surprise, was able to tell me after only two days, that her stuff is in "the rabbit one".
Needless to say, so far I am incredibly pleased with this program. Her teachers are wonderful, and email me each day with an update, and sometimes pictures from class. This evening should be one of those days where she sends pictures, and if she does I will post them ASAP.
For those Grandma's and Grandpas who want to see what the teacher had to say, here is the email from her teacher :) Anything in color I am adding
Like I said, Dad dropped off Hadley perfectly (good job dad!)! He was on his
way to the car before she asked when he was going to pick her up and all
I had to say was "after class" and she was ready to explore. That
means the next day or two she'll know exactly how long that will be,
which MIGHT make her a little anxious (it didn't), but don't worry - I try pretty
hard to distract my new students by keeping them plenty busy! I showed
Hadley where her cubby was so she could hang up her coat and put away
her shoes and then helped her put on her "slippers" (as we call them in
class). Those shoes will be perfect because they're easy for Hadley to
get on and off herself!
We showed Hadley where to find a little plate for a
little apple snack, as well as how to get herself a drink with our
little pitcher and her class cup (I love that they are teaching life skills like pouring her own water, and the freedom and independence she will learn). She was fascinated by everything
going on all morning, seeing every kid in class doing something
different and so excited for her turn! She also loved watching our fish
and getting a turn to sprinkle a little food in their tank ;-) I gave a
short lesson with one of our works (works are what they call the toys or activities they do, since each has a purpose and helps them learn, it is their "work") and she was thrilled to get to do
things like the other kids in class and getting to do it all by herself.
During the morning I review numbers and phonograms with
each child, which is the writing you saw on Hadley's hand. One hand
had a cursive "a" because she learned the sounds that letter makes and
then she did a matching activity with some pictures that all begin with
those different sounds (ape, apple, etc...). We write the phonogram on
their hand in cursive because we teach cursive first here at school, one
reason being because after they learn cursive they easily recognize
other text or fonts. The other hand had the number "1" because we work
on recognizing the numerals as well as counting. We play a little
counting game and practice tracing the number with our fingers. We
write on their hands and then they can show another teacher, their
friends in class and their family so they can practice what they learned
each time they show someone and say it. So ask her about them when you
see something on her hand. I learned some new sounds a few letters
make when my little boys first started here because they taught me!
We have Line Time before we head out to recess and
we usually sing songs and do some lessons/games/activities about colors,
shapes, seasons, holidays, and loads more. Right now we suit up for
recess in our snowclothes and the kids are getting really good at
putting on all their own things! Hadley was a little intimidated at
first, but then saw everybody else doing it and joined right in. Recess
is pretty fun with all the snow on the ground! Now I can't remember if
Hadley had a hat or not (she didn't, oops), so I'll check tomorrow but maybe you can bring
one (I did) just in case.
Lunch time is always a favorite for everybody and
Hadley was no different. She was a little distracted by all the good
company she had dining with her ( I could have told her that) ;-) so I think she left quite a bit
uneaten, but that was a great amount of food to send, thank you! Your
pick-up timing was perfect too. Hadley really seemed to enjoy her first
day, but there was quite a bit of new stuff to take in all morning so I
hope she sleeps really well for you tonight ;-)
Thank you for all your help getting her prepared to come to our school, we sure had fun with her today!
Miss Julie
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