Making the Transition
to a New Montessori School

Helping Your Child Prepare for the Start of School in August

The following is a brief (and hardly comprehensive list) of some of the things that you can do to help your child -- and you -- prepare for a successful start at MCS in August. Many of the suggestions can apply to Elementary and Middle School children as well as those in Toddler and Children's House.

• Drive by school off and on during the summer. Point it out and say, "That's where you'll be going to school."

• Take a picture of the school and put it on the refrigerator.

• Sign up for one of the Summer Program sessions. If your child does not participate in one of the Summer Program sessions, come by school together and, after checking in at the office, visit the playground or just walk around campus. Bring a lunch.

• If your child has had little or no group experience, find some kind of group for her/him over the summer that s/he can participate in with you, like a reading hour at the library or an age-appropriate summer recreation program.

• Talk about school with your child ( "What do you think school will be like?"). If you are nervous, talk with another parent. Whatever you can do to approach the start of school with confidence will help your child do the same.

• Before the start of school, establish an evening routine that might include: supper together, a reasonable hour bedtime routine that stresses family activity, reading aloud, and quiet time to snuggle. Minimize or eliminate TV and video games,and start to get up at "school time" and have breakfast together.

For parents who have limited experience having your child go off to school, the start of school can be anxious for you, too! Here are some tips to help you:

• Use the summer to build up trust and satisfy your need for close quality time by increasing one-on-one summer time with your child in joint activities that include lots of eye contact.
• Simultaneously, find opportunities for "mini" separations where your child feels (and is) safe and comes to believe that when you say you will return, you do ( "I'm going upstairs to make the bed now. I'll be down in a few minutes" ).
• Acknowledge and talk about your own feelings, particularly working parents who wish they could be home more, or parents who wish that time would slow down! ("I don't want my baby to grow up quite yet!").
• Having conquered your own anxieties, exude confidence about the transition. If you are hesitant, your child will lose self-confidence.
• Recognize that sometimes even the most social of children is anxious about transitions.
• If you are nervous or have questions, call the school. That will help diminish your own anxiety so that you do not telegraph your fears to your child. You might also want to obtain from the Admissions Office, the name of one or two parents with children at MCS the same age as yours. Talking with other parents can be helpful.

We gratefully acknowledge Prepping for Pre-School by Barbara F. Meltz for many of these ideas.

 

The Work of the Home
at a Montessori School

We encourage families to think of “education” broadly, and to join in a partnership to stimulate independence and a sense of responsibility by setting up a home environment where these traits are encouraged. To that end, especially in the Toddler and Primary programs, we often talk with parents about age-appropriate chores and routines in the home. A Montessori education can be promoted at home by having the child help the family plan for a vacation, reduce the clutter of toys and games, clean up properly, help with cooking, help with pouring or washing, caring for a pet, etc.

In a Montessori school, homework is not regularly assigned until the Adolescent years. Families are encouraged to set aside time for reading, encourage exploration of the natural outdoor environment, pursue crafts or bobbies at home, and participate in local recreational sports if desired. The Montessori school day is stimulating enough not to require much additional work after school. However, Upper Elementary and Adolescent Program students often have reading, writing, math practice or puzzle problems, projects, and research that they choose to do at home, or at least to complete at home. Some students will need to complete work at home in order to meet the deadlines for group projects or other tasks that they have committed to.

A Montessori Reading List:

WORKS BY OR ABOUT MONTESSORI
The Montessori Method, Maria Montessori
From Childhood to Adolescence, Maria Montessori
Montessori - A Modern Approach, Paula Polk Lillard
The Absorbent Mind, Maria Montessori
Montessori Today, Paula Polk Lillard
Maria Montessori - A Biography, Rita Kramer

GENERAL EDUCATION
The End of Education - Redefining the Value of School, Neil Postman
Miseducation - Preschoolers at Risk, David Elkind
Frames of Mind - The Theory of Multiple Intelligences, Howard Gardner
Multiple Intelligences - The Theory in Practice, Howard Gardner
Failure to Connect - How Computers Affect Our Children's Minds, Jane M. Healy, Ph.D.

CHILD AND YOUNG ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT
The Magic Years, Selma H. Fraiberg
Endangered Minds, Jane M. Healy, Ph.D.
The Hurried Child, David Elkind
All Grown Up and No Place to Go, David Elkind