Well, we're in to the second week at the Montessori school, and so far it's still a huge improvement from the Catholic school. Ds is happy when I pick him up at the end of the day, although he does seem tired. His only real complaint is that the day takes too long and that he has to write ALL DAY long. I asked the teacher today about how he's adjusting, and she says he's doing ok. She said he was not very focused today, and they're keeping an eye on that for a few weeks to see if it continues. Uh-oh.
He has a little more trouble in the afternoons when the teacher is doing small group lessons because she is not available for one-on-one istruction. He keeps asking her for help, even though he knows how to do the work. He's never been accused of being independent. Maybe this will be good for him.
I think one problem is that they have to write EVERYTHING in their notebook, and they do a lot of copy work. It's not all for writing practice; I guess the philosophy is that when they copy information into their book they'll learn it. Ds is so focused on writing letters correctly and neatly(because this is very difficult for him) that he's not paying attention to what he's writing. I don't know if he's learning it or not. He probably is, but the writing is a major challenge. Maybe it's good for him to get all this writing practice. I just don't know.
I know nothing is perfect, but I'm starting to get a little worried. Again, I'm encouraged by the fact that he doesn't seem to show any major stress, but today he didn't want to go to school (first time so far). He also complains about kids making fun of him sometimes or saying mean things. I guess this is normal kid stuff, right? I just can't stand it! Ds would never make fun of anyone. Ds can be very self-conscious, so I know if he's made fun of, he'll obsess over whatever it is that they made fun of. He's so used to just being accepted the way he is, quirks and all. At the small private school (with the older kids) they're all quirky and unique and accepting. Ds says the kids at Montessoir are mostly nice, but not all the time.
He says he likes the Montessori school but he'd like to go back to the small private school I mentioned before as our other alternative. I'm really considering it, and one reason is that it goes through 12th grade. The Montessori school goes to 6th grade, and I think that's a tough time to be making a transition to a middle school. We had a field trip on Friday, and two of the parents were talking about their 5th graders transitioning to middle school and having a hard time deciding where to send them.
It's only been a week, so I'm still keeping our options open and keeping an open mind. I'm going to an open house for the private school on Thursday night. Maybe that will sway me. : ) Thanks for listening. Just wanted to give an update and see if anyone has any other advice or thoughts to offer.
