Hi Austin,
What did the 5 year olds at Mr W's montessori spend their time doing?
I haven't ever seen a preschool with appropriate level materials just out available to use. Sometimes things are in a closet or up on top of a cabinet, but DS will not just go up to a teacher and say he is bored and ask what else there is, instead he will use imagination to make do. Stuff needs to be out.
This montessori teacher looks like she may be going to be open to changing materials somewhat. Thank you for your puzzle comment as that makes me realize to address that specifically (they had a 26 piece out but it was one that DS liked 2 years ago). I have a random selection of puzzles that DS hasn't done yet that I can rotate through there if she'll allow it.
We discussed books specifically (I accidently blurted out, "I don't see many books"), she said she would welcome donated books and be glad to make them available. The few books she had out were actually reasonable in level, so in that domain she was clearly following the needs of the two readers in the class rather than the pre-readers. I am hoping it's a strategy she applies to other areas as well.
That Mr. W moved through everything available to him in 4 months concerns me some. I do worry with a small class size and limited materials perhaps DS will be bored in 4 or 6 months. It certainly seems like those 4 or 6 months would be happier ones than at the current place though, so probably worth it even if the fit only lasted that long.
Polly
