I have had two 2-hour opportunities to observe. First, in the primary classroom. Second, in the early elementary classroom. I do see the difference between the two. They also gave a 4 hour overview of the curriculum and Montessori in general. This school is nationally and internationally accredited.
I was able to observe quite a bit of freedom in the classroom, children researching areas of interest on the computer, others choosing to work in teams on a history timeline, and two boys voluntarily and spontaneously consulting each other on the best ways to do long division. Ds found a buddy, and she helped him a lot. The teacher spent a lot of time with ds one-on-one. The curriculum is differentiatedand and they say it's limitless; the students are not confined to a
particular grade level. This school goes to 6th grade.
We have the option of starting in January, so that's a great point about committing to half a year instead of a full year, Grinity! Ds loves it but then again he loves everything at first. He quickly habituates to new routines, and tires of them very quckly as well. So, it's definitely a risk, both financially for us and personally for ds. I also feel like we've invested so much time, energy, and money into homeschooling; I hate to stop before we've given it a good chance. At this point, we're still getting the hang of everything. What if we end up loving hs just as much as the Montessori school?! Ahhhh! I just want to do the right thing for ds. Decisions, decisions. At least we have options, right?
