- By Tela

When Britton turned two, I had a difficult time determining which pre-school program to enroll her in. Most programs start at age 3 or when a child is potty trained. However I started my search earlier this year before Britton was potty trained so that I could get her enrolled before her little sister was born. I wanted her to be settled into a school routine before another major life change. I first went to the internet to see which programs were available to her based on her age and potty training status. Basically my only options were daycare facilities that offered part time toddler “pre-schooling”.

I scheduled appointments to preview 3 different centers. Before my visits, I looked up inspection reports by going my state’s website for Department of Human Resources – Office of Regulatory Services. None of the 3 centers that were on my list had great reports, and one of them was just terrible. They were written up for not washing hands between diaper changes, providing snacks that had zero nutritional value and a worker accidentally slamming a child’s hand in a door while the inspector was watching! Needless to say, I didn’t even bother to visit that particular center. So I was down to 2 other centers. The first one I visited was Primrose and it was okay. The children seemed to have fun, the staff was friendly and they had a decent schedule (at least on paper) that included learning time, outside play and snacks. My major issue with this center was that there didn’t seem to be much control over the room. There were 7 children in the class with one instructor, who was blowing bubbles for the children to chase. The children were having fun but I questioned the quality of the learning environment. I then visited my second center…couldn’t get out of there fast enough. During my tour I passed a room of children during nap time who all looked very sad and unhappy. I was then brought to the room my daughter would be in and it was crazy. The kids were running around wild, with remnants of snack time all over their faces and “Barney” playing on the TV in the corner! Television in a Preschool?!? I don’t think so!

So I went home, feeling very defeated. I got back online and started researching local Montessori schools. I had heard that a Montessori education was more catered to the individual child. I found one in my local area that had a Toddler program, starting at age 20 months and that supported potty training. During my visit I was so impressed by the classroom environment. There were 8 children to 1 lead teacher and 1 aid. The day started with circle time, where the teacher led a discussion about the days of the week and the weather. When circle time ended, each child was encouraged to start their work. Each child was allowed to choose their activity, anything from art projects to toys that developed cognition to care & cleaning of the classroom. It was a disciplined environment but the children enjoyed their work. They had opportunity for socialization but were also encouraged to respect each other’s independence.

Britton has been at Montessori school for 3 months now and I’m amazed at her development in such a short time. Her social skills are improved and her ability to focus is much more heightened. I highly recommend this as an option! Click on Comparison of Montessori to Traditional Education for more information.

More on this subject will be coming soon, especially with regard to public education.

Thank You for Reading!

Tela

Tags: Education, montessori, school