To Monti or not to Monti....

Alright, the search for the perfect pre-preschool is on....So I have been looking high and low for H's new spot. I have been touring and visiting different sites and doing wayyyy to much research! ( Does that surprise you?) LOL

So, reading up on all of the approaches and how they work with different children has been interesting to say the least. I never thought I would want anything but structure upon structure upon more structure for my children in education. Hey, that's the "old" school of thought. Children need to go to school to be educated and sit down and be quiet!! LOL

Heck, that is how I ran my 8th grade science class --
Have a seat, take out your pencil, do your work, study for the test....and pass the class.

I am still a believer in this to a degree, but I think that approach works best much later in a kids education. One thing I saw in my classroom was the lack of passion for learning. And, they were middlescholers, so who knows what they have a passion for??

Watching H, I see how intrigued he is with his environment, he will spend a great amount of time concentrating on an activity until he is satisfied with the outcome! I want to nurture this in him and I want him to continue to love investigation, knowledge and discovery.

We had a pre-interview and tour of a Montessori school and I.Love.It. They were still very nurturing, which makes me feel good, because H will be coming from an environment where he has been one of 2 babies for the majority of his stay.

During the tour, the directress showed us the facility and explained some of the montessori materials to us. I could see that Jonathan was a little concerned about the "flower arranging". But after the teacher expounded on the Tae Kwon Do and mathematics - he started to feel a little more comfortable. LOL

The other side of this is I am a little saddned that I am on this Journey by myself. By that I mean, there aren't a whole lot of African-American parents out there who "do" the Montessori thing. I am interested to know how this non-traditional way of schooling "fits" into our culture.....I did find a school that is more diverse than the majority of those here in Atlanta, but I kind of feel like a loner on this venture. I was also able to talk to a school counselor friend of mine, who sent both of her children to a fantastic Montessori school, and they went through the sixth grade in Montessori and did very well. They are now both attending a Hoity-Toity highschool.

I only have a few girlfriends who have babies and I have talked with most of them about Montessori and they really aren't into it!!! So, I figured I would go out on a limb and look for like-minded parents with the same outlook as me on the montessori thing...so I developed a Yahoo group on the topic!! LOL



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