Hello moms! My daughter, who just turned 4, has been attending a Montessori preschool since mid-August. She really struggled in the beginning because she had a hard time changing out of her shoes and putting on slippers, wheeling her backpack to the classroom, getting her coat on and off, and using the toilet without a potty seat. She is a bright child and has great fine motor skills, but her gross motor skills are a little slow to develop. As soon as I realized that she was struggling with her shoes, slippers, and backpack, I bought her new ones that she could handle better.
It is three months later, and although she has made lots of friends and can now change her clothes and use the toilet by herself, she still hates school. She tells me everyday that she hates school and that she doesn't want to go. She usually ends up crying by the time we are in the car and leaving for school. I'm unimpressed with her teachers, and I just think that the Montessori experience is not lining up with her personality. (She is very introverted and takes some prodding to come out of her shell.)
My game plan is to visit the Sunny Days Preschool, which is run by the Naperville Park District. I'm pretty sure they have spaces open. I'm thinking that their more structured and play-based curriculum will better suit my daughter. If I like it, I will take my daughter for a visit to see if she likes it. If she does, then I will take her out of her Montessori school at the end of the fall term and enroll her in the new preschool after the New Year.
Has anyone else out there switched preschools midstream like this? What was your experience? I don't want my daughter to think that her whining and crying has won out, but it is time to cut our losses. She is so depressed everyday when I take her to school. She's usually in an okay mood by the time I pick her up, but she still says that she doesn't like school. I plan to explain to her the change is so that she can attend a preschool one less day per week so she can also take ballet lessons (she has been begging me for lessons). I want her to see the change as a positive experience that was decided by me and my husband. My only fear is that she will hate her new preschool too. But since it is much cheaper than her current preschool, I won't be thinking angry thoughts when I pay her tuition every month. For any moms whose kids attend Sunny Days, I'd love to hear how your kids like it. Thanks so much!
Lucy, I was a director of Daycare for several years. Right now is a really busy time when many families C. daycares. It really sounds like your daughter would benefit from a C.. There are many wonderful places in the Naperville Area-so go and check them out and find somewhere fun! She may also benefit from a smaller setting, for instance, a home daycare. In this situation, she may find more success with her gross motor skills. If you need resources for home daycares, I can help you with that also. You will know in your heart when you have found a great place. Don't get the first open spot that you can; find a place that she can stay for the next year and a half and feel secure and LOVED!
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J.S.
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Don't judge all Montessori schools. They are certainly not all alike. Most good Montessori schools have a child directed curriculum and should warm, and open to developing the child in an enthusiastic enviornment and his or her own pace. My recommendatio is Montessori Moppet Centre in Naperville. While they are an academic pres-school and not a day-care they have perfected the Montessori philosophy into a engaging program that is definately worth a visit.
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L.L.
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I totally agree with the other who posted that you need to do what is best for your daughter in the long run. This is her first experience with school and you want it to be a good one since this will prepare her for elementary school. I would however go and check out a few more places to make sure you don't run into the same problem again. I went to tour 5 schools before settling on Kensington for my daughter. It immediately felt like the right place. The tuition was not as expensive as other places and the teachers has been wonderful. Good luck with your search.
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L.C.
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I would switch her if its really the school she doesnt like and not school in general. She is so young to go somewhere she hates and be uncomfortable while she is there. Let her go to the one you think is better suited for her and explain why she is switching to her, not because she was whining, but because you think the other school is a better fit or whatever. Im sure you will all feel better knowing she is going somewhere she enjoys and isnt crying everytime. She may actually look forward to school and at this age she should. It should be fun for her, not scarey or dreadful.
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N.P.
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sometimes things aren't a good fit, this type of set up is not a fit with your daughter, so I agree, switch her at that time.
Explain to her that your plan all along was for her to try different preschools so that when she went to kindergarten she'd be ready for any type of teacher. She doesn't have to know the truth, lol.
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E.M.
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Check out The Compass School, too. I visited a Montessori school and felt that the kids had to "work" too hard. I plan to enroll my 2-1/2 yr. old son at The Compass School in the fall or summer of 2010. I took a tour and the staff seemed very upbeat, cheerful and committed. I think the kids learn a lot, but it looks like they are having fun, too. The school is at the corner of Hobson & Naper.
