DS4 is currently in the second year of a Montessori preschool program. He's not yet been officially identified as gifted, though I believe that he is.
He's been struggling in the program, stating that the work is too easy, but the teacher says that it's not too easy for him and that he's just not focusing. My perspective is that he doesn't want to do busy work and isn't clicking with the "Montessori process". We have a daily temper tantrum. Just now, he woke up, asked if it was a school day and prompted started crying, saying "I'm never going to go to school."
I started researching ways that I could have him tested for giftedness. So far, I haven't come up with private resources (and from what I gather, those tend to be out of our budget), but a friend mentioned that you could have him tested by the school district if you play up a "worried about cognitive function" angle. So I've done that. Testing is set for March 26.
His teacher has happened to be out all week with a bad back, so I haven't been able to tell her this. Honestly, I'm surprised and a little embarrassed by how fast the ball has gotten rolling because I thought it would take a lot longer. The group scheduled the appointment only an hour after I contacted them. I thought I'd have time to talk to the teacher.
I wrote her a letter detailing my thoughts, but she obviously hasn't gotten it. I talked to the principal because I wanted to give them a heads up that this was happening, and I got a sort of "This is a standard second year slump" speech, though she said that she's fine with me going through with the testing.
They had a parent meeting yesterday about why we should do the third year and I asked "Have you ever had a child who wasn't successful, wasn't a good match?" and I got shock from the teachers, who said "Absolutely not."
I'm getting the standard "Montessori is for everyone because it adjusts to the child's level" but I know that isn't true because I've read about experiences here.
My alternative would be homeschooling. Hubby's not fully on board with that and I'm not even sure that it would work well for us. It would certainly require a lot of work on my part.
I'm just feeling right now that all the teachers at the school must be talking about me as a "problem parent" now. My friend mentioned that other parents are potentially talking behind my back about my "freespiritedness" (I let my kid go to school with a bit of pink in his hair on Valentine's day and I let him choose his own clothes, which leads to questionable choices.). My best mom from the school friend backed the school up on a behavior thing that I disagreed with. And I'm feeling on edge and alone.
I'm going to be pretty embarrassed if his testing proves him to be average or below-average now that I've made such a big deal out of everything.
I just want to make sure that my son is getting what he needs.
