Lee 1st Impressions

[Anonymous]

I believe the first cohort of kids has started at Lee. Anything to report back good/ bad?

[Anonymous]

Very excited about the school. My kid has really enjoyed the first two days of school. Other parents seem very friendly. A diverse parent community which is great. A lot of the kids seem to have previous Montessori experience.

Classrooms look great but there are still a lot of (small) things to do.

[Anonymous]

So glad to hear this!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So glad to hear this!

Is your child starting next week? I think the building will be more finished by then and they'll have ironed out any kinks in their procedures. The kids seem really happy, my child is full of excitement about Lee.

[Anonymous]

Also, if you post on the listserve you might get more people to share their experience.

[Anonymous]

How are the teachers doing in the classroom, setting up the routine and managing conflicts etc? Ours is new and young and without an ed degree (though clearly smart and certified), so I am nervous about her. Good to hear some kids have previous Montessori - that's got to help.

[Anonymous]

was it just the 5 year olds starting this week?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:was it just the 5 year olds starting this week?

1st and K students, plus the older PK4s.

[Anonymous]

I'm interested in seeing how the 5s do when they are in a class of mostly 3 and 4 yos.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How are the teachers doing in the classroom, setting up the routine and managing conflicts etc? Ours is new and young and without an ed degree (though clearly smart and certified), so I am nervous about her. Good to hear some kids have previous Montessori - that's got to help.

They seem very focused on setting a routine. I have no idea about conflicts. My child hasn't told me of any. Kid has been busy doing "work". The teacher seems very competent, but I didn't inquire about her educational background. She certainly appears to be qualified and experienced.

One aspect is that drop off is in the multipurpose room. You don't get to go into the classroom. I think this is part of the routine that they are establishing. So I feel like I haven't really got a good feel for how the classroom works, or spent much time with the teacher yet. Not sure if they'll do that differently with the younger kids.

The enrichment activities haven't started yet, but Spanish started yesterday which my child loved. Also, I was surprised to hear that all the kids napped, including Ks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How are the teachers doing in the classroom, setting up the routine and managing conflicts etc? Ours is new and young and without an ed degree (though clearly smart and certified), so I am nervous about her. Good to hear some kids have previous Montessori - that's got to help.

When you write certified, do you mean AMI certified?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm interested in seeing how the 5s do when they are in a class of mostly 3 and 4 yos.

My newly 4 year old LOVES big kids, and it usually doesn't end well (he follows them around like a puppy till they are mean to him etc.), so I am interested in this as well. Montessori is supposed to solve this with mentoring, but one week doesn't seem much time to instill this value. Do all kids start on the 2nd or is there another phase in for the youngest?

I knew this was coming and it is why they are starting small, but I'm still worried. Montessori classrooms made from scratch in two weeks is a tough beast.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How are the teachers doing in the classroom, setting up the routine and managing conflicts etc? Ours is new and young and without an ed degree (though clearly smart and certified), so I am nervous about her. Good to hear some kids have previous Montessori - that's got to help.

When you write certified, do you mean AMI certified?

Ours has a brand new Montessori masters degree but not an ed degree (unrelated undergrad degree from good school). I looked her credentials up.

I do believe in education degrees. The major doesn't tend to draw the best students (though some excellent ones) but the knowledge and experience these degrees provide is important. I hate to see the turn away from them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm interested in seeing how the 5s do when they are in a class of mostly 3 and 4 yos.

My newly 4 year old LOVES big kids, and it usually doesn't end well (he follows them around like a puppy till they are mean to him etc.), so I am interested in this as well. Montessori is supposed to solve this with mentoring, but one week doesn't seem much time to instill this value. Do all kids start on the 2nd or is there another phase in for the youngest?

I knew this was coming and it is why they are starting small, but I'm still worried. Montessori classrooms made from scratch in two weeks is a tough beast.

There is a second phase in. The younger 4s and older 3s start next week and the youngest kids start the following week.

[Anonymous]

How are the assistants? I hear some of them will eventually be leads?