My son who turned 5 today has been attending traditional daycare since 8 months and moved to montessori when he was 4. He has been attending montessori for 1 yr now. In terms of reading, he can read Early reader books, Bob books. In terms of Math, he can do 2 digit addition and subtraction and even do carry over addition and borrow subtraction to some extent. He is extremely hyperactive and has limited attention span. He had difficultly following rules and not interrupt while talking in the beginning of montessori, however now he seems to be well behaved and listening in his montessori school. But outside school, in camps or in other places he still shows that hyperactivity. My area has one of the best public schools in the county. Money is not a problem but I am not sure if he "needs" to go to public school so that he learns to listen and follow rules etc..or should he continue in montessori for KG as he is academically advanced. Also, there is a 50% chance that we might move from MD to NJ by Jan-Feb next year. if there is a situation that he has to go to public school there (becoz there is no montessori nearby), will it be a problem for him if he moves from montessori to public school in the middle of school year. Can you please help me?
Additional info based on the first 2 answers:
Yes, i have given multiple issues in thsi question.
1) ADHD - Doc said they will test him when he is 6 if he continues to be like that. As the second person pointed out, he DOES behave well in mont. school now a days..its just that some days he is too hard to control and on some days he is the sweetest boy on earth. So i am not sure if it just a "5 yr old" thing or a real problem. He will get evaluated at 6 as per his pediatrician.
2) Moving schools in the middle of the school year - i am not familiar with american schooling. is this a big issue given he is just in KG. My hubs has to move and i cant be here alone as i have a younger kid as well, so i may have to move with him. In that case, would it be easier to just move to another montessori (hoping i will find a good one near by). or should i avoid moving at any cost?
3) Additional ques: if public school will require him to sit and listen which will be hard for him, will he not have the problem at 1st grade anyway? I cant keep him in montessori beyond KG as I have to move back to my contry in 3 yrs and he HAS to go to a more stricter public school there. So i want to prepare him in the traditional method atleast for a couple of years before i move back. So is it better to give him the sour taste of listening and obeying rules now itself rather than wait till 1st grade?
Answering to Donna S - It is NOT about money. I want to make sure i do what is best for my son. I am ok to go to Public school if it helps him with his hyperactivity and other social skills. I am ok to go to M school if it will help him academically and will not make him feel bored. If it is about money then i would have chosen P. schools coz i know they are one of the best schools in our community.
Being in P or in M school varies based on the kid and to which area you give importance - academic or social skils..however points taken from this thread are - dont make too many moves for the kid, one move is better than 2 moves. and also discipline/obeying etc can be learnt at 1st grade also when he is bit matured mentally however, reinforcing the concepts he learnt in the current M. program is important. So decided to keep him in M. program itself for KG. Thanks for all your inputs and suggestions. I really appreciate it.
Here's my thought. IF you are moving in the spring don't put him through 2 transition/changes in such a short time. Leave him where he is.
IF you don't move then I'd move him so he can start making friends and be with the kids that will be his peers.
My son has attended both Montessori and public schools. If I could have done it financially, I would have kept in him Montessori forever. My own son doesn't have issues with attention, but I have seen SO many kids learn to focus and settle down thanks to a Montessori curriculum.
I remain a supporter of public education in principle, but public schools are so under-resourced and so much more curriculum-driven compared to a Montessori. They'll never be able to be as responsive or as individualized as a Montessori.
And if you have to change schools once (due to your move), then once is much better than twice.
Moving schools is always kind of a crapshoot. I never moved in the middle of a year but I have moved before I would have traditionally left that school (like 6th grade). So I would consider that a different issue.
When you say he's hyperactive - is he simply being 5? If he's doing well where he is, and does well listening and such in school, then he CAN, in the appropriate environment. I would be more concerned if you said he could not. You can teach him patience, listening, etc. at home.
Keep him in Montessori as long as you can.
That's what we did for our son.
Kids who transition from Montessori to public school do very well.
The hardest part about public school is they try to keep the class in lock step with the slowest student in the class - which makes if very frustrating for the advanced/gifted kids and they get bored out of their minds and then they might act out a bit.
Since your son might face several transitions (a move and then a move back to home country), I might consider home schooling if he can't continue in Montessori and then put him in school when you move to your home country.
Sure he'll have to make a transition, but try to keep them to as few as possible.
Switching gears once is much easier than switching them several times.
You say that the school system is great so I would explore its options. There should be a way to tour the school and get an idea of how it is run and what it will offer. I would try to do two tours, one without your son and one with. That should give you some insight if it would be a good fit.
My son did traditional daycare/preschool and started a Montessori 3-6 program (late) when he was 4. We kept him in for the kindergarten year primarily because he LOVED it (we have excellent public schools too) and I am glad we did. He has had no trouble whatsoever transitioning to traditional first grade.I do not think he would have had any issues transitioning mid year either. As far as I can see there is not very much 'building upon' knowledge gained in the first half of the year. I suspect your son (like mine) will be way way ahead in math so any transition will be fine. Reading is so individualized that first grade teachers are dealing with all levels anyway.
I would keep him in the program that allows him to learn the most - that sounds like Montessori right now. There will be plenty of time later to learn 'obedience' which honestly is not a positive value in our family. I find it better for teachers to get the kids up and moving (our first grade public school teacher did this - the kids had spontaneous 'dance parties' in class, as well as recess and gym) than to make them sit. Montessori does this naturally - a good teacher will do this consciously.
I work at a montessori school, and I would keep him in it as long as you can. The school I work at goes up to 6th grade and my kids will be there until then. If your son has a hard time sitting still and listening, he will not have an easier time in public school. He will be told to sit and listen and be quiet and pretty much do what the teacher tells him to do in a certain order and time frame. In the montessori schools, he will be allowed to make his own choices and it's not required for him to sit still all day and follow directions. The thing I love about the class my kids will be in is that they have a list of all the stuff they have to get done in the day. It's up to them what order they want to do it. They could do math and science first and then history later. Everyone can do their work in their own order. If they need help, the teacher will give them one on one help and attention. They have 3 teachers in their class which is great too. In a public school there could be 25 kids and only 1 teacher.
I would really do a lot of research and if you are moving, look really hard to find a montessori school. I would keep him in the montessori school.
Hi, M.:
Is it about money?
If it is, talk with your son about what he thinks about
moving him to another school.
Both of you go shopping together for the school.
Good luck.
D.
yes. Save the money. Public school kindergarten is not the ALL play day of yesteryear.
There was a boy in our son's kindergarten who transitioned from Montessori to public school and did fine. However, if you're happy with Montessori and have no motivation to change, I wouldn't make the move.
The bigger issue here, though, is what you're doing to address your son's symptoms of ADHD? Has he been evaluated by a doctor? Are you seeing the extreme hyperactivity and limited attention span at home, too? He's at the age now when you need to take this seriously. If you're limited in what he can do, that's a red flag worth paying attention to and it's time to do something.
(ETA: A pediatrician should NOT do the evaluation or be advising on this condition. You need it done by a specialist like a child psychiatrist or neuropsychologist. I'm not sure why the wait until six? AAP has approved assessing for ADHD as young as four. A skilled specialist will give you a definitive yes or no. They're experts in identifying this condition or saying, "No, just neurotypical." Also, if your son does have ADHD, I would lean heavily toward public schools. They're in a great position to help kids with special needs as they're required to by law. In our personal experience, private schools are far less tolerant of conditions like ADHD.)
I just want to pipe in and encourage you on one point. The public school sitting and expecting him to be still.
Good teachers and good school systems KNOW that kids are antsy at that age and that extended periods of sitting still just don't work. Tour the school ask them what they do and how they handle fidgety kiddos.
The reality is many teachers are familiar with hyper kids and work to address it in an appropriate way so that the child is successful in school. You may find he isn't ADHD, but a little boy with a lot of energy:) Moving into a new room is challenging for social kids, too.
My oldest got in trouble a lot the first months of K. He was busy making friends and was disrupting class. We discussed when the right times were to meet people, etc. had a few more play times outside of school with friends and by second semester, no more issues. Your son may just want to meet people and learn about his environment before he can settle in:)
good luck.
Any change can incite some reactions...however in this case you are better off investigating what sort of special programs there are in these public schools, because some of them are amazing (of course I say that-that's what I do teehee). You are talking fifty percent chance move. Don't worry about that future and also remember he is little. Think about what's best for you and him right now.
