My son is 3 years and 4 months old. He attends a Montessori School all day in a 3-6 year old classroom. He has been enrolled for a couple of months now, and his directress has told us that his cognitive abilities are "extremely impressive." His favorite work is the 100-board and he is also a good reader. He has a wonderful sense of humor and likes to make jokes and make up his own songs. He's a good kid in general, but can be a handful. He doesn't sleep much and can be kind of intense.
Our family is considering moving in order to get into a better school district. Our current school district wouldn't be great for our kids, gifted or not. When we mentioned this to the directress, she said she strongly believed our son would be best served in Montessori or a private school. We feel this statement is extremely premature as our son is only 3.
Do you feel a Montessori environment is an accurate reflection of a child's abilities? We know our son is bright, but to say he is gifted and needs private schools seems over-the-top. Can a Montessori really assess this?
This particular Montessori only goes to Kindergarten, and right now our son is uses the Kindergarten (advanced kindergarten) level materials. We don't know what this means for his future at this particular school. I'm not clear on how flexible their curriculum is, or if they would order materials just for him. I know a lot of work they do is very open ended, but some isn't. There is another Montessori that is K-6 in another town. I imagine this is what she had in mind when she suggested a Montessori may be better for him once he is grade school age.
Any advice? Can a child be identified as gifted at age 3? Does my son sound gifted, "just bright", or is it too early to draw any sort of conclusion?
Thank you for your time!
