She started at our local Montessori School when she was 4 years old and has been there ever since. It goes from age 3 - 6th grade, although most kids leave after 5th grade to make the logical transition to middle school. Well, slowly but surely all of her friends have moved on. This past summer 2 more left and "went public", which I'm pretty sure was the straw that broke the camel's back.
Last spring I was asked to put her on the list at a local charter school and had I done so at that time, she would have gotten in with no problems. BUT, at that time, we were pretty sure we wanted to do 1 more year of Montessori. WELL, the night before the first day of school this year she tells me that she doesn't fit in at school, has no friends there anymore, etc. We chalked it up to drama, but went ahead and put her on the list at the charter school, just in case something came up. (I would say 50% of the students from Montessori go to this school next). When the 5th grader left to go there, she moved up to next on the list. All we needed was 1 more kid to leave in the 4th/5th grade classroom and we were IN! BUT, nothing happened. No one left. AND, she slowly got more and more unhappy at school. Getting her up in the morning became a battle and she even started in with some psycho-somatic complaints to try and get out of going to school. We just kept telling her "soon...there'll be a spot for you soon", but began discussing our other options.
Isn't it crazy that our decision for mid-4th grade ended up including a discussion of college? Well, one of the things we did was look at her future and decided that even if she went to the charter school, we would probably transfer her to our local high school when the time came. The charter school goes through high school, but gets smaller and smaller as the kids get older. Last year they graduated ONE student. We just couldn't see that she would benefit in the long run from such a small environment. We also looked at the programs offerred at our local high school and, barring a catastrophe, it is actually a great school with many programs available, including 2 new "small schools" - an engineering academy, and a media arts and communications academy. She would have access to music and drama and art classes, which she wouldn't have at the charter school. SO - with that in mind, we had to figure out when the best time was for her to transition to a slightly larger environment.
I made some calls to principals and we visited her "home school" (the public school she would go to if we didn't have her in private school). The class sizes are fairly large (30 in each 4th grade and 29 in the 4/5 blend), BUT, surprisingly when we walked through, they weren't crazy! The kids were all working and quiet despite the large numbers. The school itself has a library that is as large as her current school building (HUGE for my little book worm!), a tech lab, music room, gym, etc. Many more bells and whistles than at Montessori. Complicating matters a bit was the fact that the boundary for elementary schools goes right down the middle of our street, so we had another choice we could make. I have worked with the principal at the other school and her 4th grade numbers are a little lower (classes of 25-26) and she said she would gladly take M if we wanted to do an in-district transfer. BUT, we decided to stick with the other school anyway. She already has a BFF there who left Montessori between 1st and 2nd grade, and she could theoretically walk to school, whereas the other school wouldn't have walking be an option.
SO - this morning, at the suggestion of her new principal, she began at her new school. One week of school then Winter Break. This should give her some good social opportunities as well as time to find the bathroom, learn the rules, etc. I mean, let's face it, not a lot of learning happens the week before break :) I took her in on Thursday after school to meet her new teacher and take a tour of the school. She managed to get placed in her BFF's class, and is even sitting right next to her (we'll see how long that lasts!). AND, it turns out there's at least one other kiddo in her class that used to go to Montessori with her.
I know she's going to do great, but what a change for all of us! Homework hasn't been a real part of our Montessori career, but will be now. Hot lunch? Never an option before unless you brought it and heated it yourself (although she has been advised to stay away from hot lunches by her BFF). Even the little things like having to pack her a drink in her lunch now b/c at Montessori they always provided the drinks for them. She has a backpack and binder now - never had those before. A desk! And can wear characters to school (just in time for her to have outgrown a lot of character stuff, but that's OK!).
A big difference for me will be being able to be a class mom. At Montessori they did not allow parent helpers IN the classroom, which was OK, but I always felt like I was missing out when I'd hear my friends talk about their class Mom duties. Now I get to be a class Mom! AND, thanks to my current work situation, I have the time to do that. See, all things happen for a reason! Maybe this is why my position was cut last year - so I could be here to help M transition to public school...
That said, she didn't seem to need much transition time this morning when we dropped her off - after embarrassing her by taking a picture of her outside the school (we have one from each first day), she ran off with a friend from swim team and that was the last we saw of her.
Am I worried? Of course I am! In a larger environment there's so many more unknowns. She's been so sheltered at Montessori. Tuition has a way of "chosing" the student base. Public school takes all. BUT, we live in a diverse world and she is going to need to start breaking out of her bubble soon enough. We have talked to her about making good choices and about dealing with bullies and such, now we just take a leap of faith and hope for the best.
