Moving from Montessori to Public School K or 1 st grade?

[Anonymous]

We love our Montessori school and it goes through K. Some parents do stay through K but it seems a good portion leave at K as well. We're trying to figure out what to do and need to decide by January.

Pros of staying through K for us seem to be:

We love the Montessori approach and she is happy there
DC gets another year of a richer environment with more outdoor time, science, languages, and other less traditional programs
She has another year to be more flexible in what she focuses on
Both kids would have another year at the same school

Cons seem to be:

Social, if she starts K in public school all kids are new and forming friendships, if she starts in 1st grade she would be the new kid. She is very social but we changed schools once and she was senstive to not having all her friends and learning to make new friends.
Would she be behind? Montessori covers the same general spectrum but they do things differently. If she starts public school in 1st grade there may be more of an expectation that she knows not only general concepts but how to do things a certain way. Classes are big so less time could be spent with her on transition, while I assume in K everyone is new. I don't doubt she would catch up to the new way but worry about her confidence or love of school being affected.
Cost? We would save 15K.

Would appreciate any insights or other things we should consider.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Social, if she starts K in public school all kids are new and forming friendships, if she starts in 1st grade she would be the new kid. She is very social but we changed schools once and she was senstive to not having all her friends and learning to make new friends.

Depending on the size of the public school and how much they shuffle kids around between, this point may not be such a big deal. In dc's first grade class, there are 3 other children from dc's kindergarten class. Of course, other kids were familiar from the neighborhood or playground, but a child new to the school (as there was in the first grade class) would not be encountering a fully developed social unit. This is in a school with 4 or 5 classes per grade, so the effect would be different in a smaller school.

[Anonymous]

I'm pretty firmly committed to the three-year cycle for Montessori, so if K is the third year, I'd stay (am staying) in Montessori. My son's hopefully going on to a small but progressive private school, so I think his transition will be pretty easy. Having said that, most people I know who've kept their kids through K see no transition issues to more traditional school. It's the people who kept their kids through 2nd grade and beyond who have told me about some initial troubles, although most seem to find their way just fine over time.

[Anonymous]

We went from a Montessori preschool, which we LOVED, to a public Kindergarden (Montgomery County.) As far as the transition goes, my daughter did awesome. No issues whatsoever socially or behavoirally. Problem is she is way ahead of the curriculum. Reading at a second grade level, high level math, etc. Long story short, we are pulling her after this year and putting her into a Montessori Elementary school that goes through 6th grade (assuming we get in.) We found there is not enough differentiation in the lower grades to challenge or accelerate her. She loves to learn and comes home every day asking why she has to practice words she already knows and learn the difference between odd and even again.

In my opinion I would put her in Kindergarden at public school if that is where you plan to leave her. If you leave her in Montessori another year, be prepared for her to be ahead of the curriculum and be prepared to advocate and push constantly to keep her challenged.

[Anonymous]

I think it can be very hard for some kids to switch into new schools at a non transition year. I sent my older DD to a private K (not Montessori) and then moved to our public for first. She had a very hard time that year. They expected kids to already know all the school rules and systems and it was difficult for her coming in as a first grader. It took her until the third quarter to really start to feel comfortable there and to start making friends. FWIW, she had no issues academically, her issues were all related to things like classroom transitions, recess transitions, etc.

My neighbor did send her DD to Montessori through K because she believed strongly in the cycle. And her DD is also experiencing a similar rough transition year in first grade.

So while some kids transition easily, it really can be hard for some kids to make that transition without the handholding that they do for K kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

In my opinion I would put her in Kindergarden at public school if that is where you plan to leave her. If you leave her in Montessori another year, be prepared for her to be ahead of the curriculum and be prepared to advocate and push constantly to keep her challenged.

I think most important for any child is to know if the school they'll be going to is a good fit and if they have flexibility with kids who have already mastered some of the goals of the year or who are lagging. This can be a concern of parents of kids coming from many different preschool settings, not just Montessori.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

In my opinion I would put her in Kindergarden at public school if that is where you plan to leave her. If you leave her in Montessori another year, be prepared for her to be ahead of the curriculum and be prepared to advocate and push constantly to keep her challenged.

I think most important for any child is to know if the school they'll be going to is a good fit and if they have flexibility with kids who have already mastered some of the goals of the year or who are lagging. This can be a concern of parents of kids coming from many different preschool settings, not just Montessori.

Of course, but the original poster was asking specifically about Montessori. So no need to address the different preschool settings when that wasn't her question.

[Anonymous]

"I think most important for any child is to know if the school they'll be going to is a good fit and if they have flexibility with kids who have already mastered some of the goals of the year or who are lagging. This can be a concern of parents of kids coming from many different preschool settings, not just Montessori.

Of course, but the original poster was asking specifically about Montessori. So no need to address the different preschool settings when that wasn't her question. "

OP here perspectives beyond Montessori are fine and relevant IMO. Since Montessori is so different from the trdaitional public school approach I am assuming it could be more of an issue than a traditional preK program. Reggio and other programs though also differ from the traditional style.

I've been reading the thread on limited recess for Montgomery and been leaning toward staying in the Montessori school for K but 9:04 captures my biggest concern very well. She will have some degree of transition whether she switches in K or 1st. I'm trying to figure out out if there is huge difference in transition if it is 1st rather than K.

[Anonymous]

Absolutely keep your child in Montessori as long as possible if they are happy there. You can never tell if there might be a tough transition or not but at least you know your child will have one more year of real childhood and be happy. Maybe the neighbor's kid who had a tough transition in 1st grade would have had an even tougher transition if they had started public school in K. I say keep kids where they are happy as long as possible.

[Anonymous]

i have the same dilemma. i have talked with a number of parents whose child stayed at our montessori for kindergarden and the transition was fine. might just be that some kids have a hard time with transitions be it kindergarden or 1st grade, and some kids are fine whenever. i kind of think my son is going to be ok with a transition so i'm wondering how much it will really matter. he also knows there is a third year at his school and he already talks about things he's going to do there next year when he's one of the big kids.

i have a fear too that he's going to be a kid who thrives in a montessori type environment...and i'm not sure how he'll do in a traditional k classroom.

[Anonymous]

DS stayed in Montessori for K and loved it so much. 1st grade wasn't a bad transition but, in comparison to how much he learned in Montessori K, he was definitely bored in public school. So, 1st grade wasn't horrible, it just wasn't great but only in relation to how wonderful Montessori was for him. It's really nice that they can feel like the big kid (over the 3 and 4 year olds) for that year. It really is important. It's the last chance they'll have to be the oldest until they get to 5th grade!

[Anonymous]

We are in the same situation. Most of my child's friends are leaving for K in public school. I worry that she will feel left behind during the 3rd year at Montessori. Of course, she will be the big kid in the class so that comes with its benefits.

Just another thought to add to your pro and con list.

[Anonymous]

not trying to hijack this post but am wondering whether parents whose Montessori grads weren't challenged in public school asked to have them move up a grade? That seems like a good idea if the kids are bored and re-learning what they know.

[Anonymous]

not trying to hijack this post but am wondering whether parents whose Montessori grads weren't challenged in public school asked to have them move up a grade? That seems like a good idea if the kids are bored and re-learning what they know.

In the land of red-shirting, a grade skip is often VERY hard to come by. I have heard of it (FCPS) but it is very rare.

[Anonymous]

Back to the original thread--has anyone regretted keeping their child at the Montessori school for the third year? And are there any social consequences about waiting until first grade to switch to public school (e.g. feeling left out because the other children started public in Kindergarten and have already formed friendships)?