Thursday, September 12, 2013

First Day of School & Primary Classroom

Ryan's first day of school


This is a huge week for Ryan. Not only is it his birthday week, but it's also his first week of school! We woke him up bright and early on Tuesday morning and took pictures outside before dropping him off at his new school. He had been waiting for this day for so long, and seemed eager to march right on inside and prove to mommy and daddy that we truly have an independent boy on our hands. 




Not a tear was shed, except by mommy, who just could not wait until 11:45 to pick him up because I missed him so badly my heart ached. I arrived super early, in hopes of catching a glimpse of him and thinking that it would somehow make me feel like he wasn't experiencing a whole new part of his life without me. Which, of course, is exactly what he was doing.

It is completely healthy and necessary for Ryan to have some time apart from me to grow into his own individual person, emotionally and socially, but it has been extremely difficult for me to let go of the thought of him as being my "baby." Honestly, I know that he is only there for a couple of hours, but still, I am used to knowing every detail about his day. When he comes home from school, he gives me vague bits and pieces (for example, he has a lot to say about "the owl song" and making snacks) but I want to know more!

Regardless, I am proud of Ryan for how well he seems to have adjusted to his new routine, and I am thrilled that he has the opportunity to attend this wonderful school and to learn in this type of environment. We are so very fortunate to have this little boy. Sometimes I still can't even believe how blessed we are.


We got to visit Ryan's classroom and meet (actually re-meet) his teacher a few days before he started school. He seemed excited about everything and remembered his teacher's name right away. Of course, I wanted to take pictures of all of the Montessori materials because I find them absolutely fascinating.

Here is Ryan's primary classroom (3 to 6 year olds):











Each class also has their own vegetable garden outside and there are several different outdoor play areas. I love how everything at the school is child-sized and easily accessible for students to do things for themselves.

I was a little worried about Ryan being independent enough to do the bathroom routines completely by himself, since he often asks me help him to do things like tie his pants or reach the soap/towels, and he sometimes needs reminders to take a bathroom break when he is caught up in working on something. But, so far so good... he hasn't had any bathroom issues at school!

I can't wait to see what the rest of the year brings! They will go on their first field trip to a pumpkin patch in October, and there is a picnic and a special "Stone Soup" day coming up. Soooo much fun!  I LIVE for this type of stuff!


4 comments:

  1. This post makes me so happy! I cannot believe how quickly Ryan is growing up. He looks so happy in his new classroom and the space/set-up there is absolutely gorgeous and looks incredible!

    ReplyDelete
  2. @Karen- Thanks! I absolutely love his classroom and he loves going there. I also can not believe that my baby boy is 3 years old already! Sooo crazy! Hope that you and Rupert are doing well and I can't wait to catch up with you in a few weeks!! xo

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Dana,

    I came across your blog when looking for montessori activities for my 2.5 yrs old son and ended up reading a lot more than that. You are a very positive person and you inspire me a lot. Your Elder son seems to be very smart and social, very nice to know! I believe your younger one is also as smart! Handsome boys you have!

    I have started a montessori program - 3 days a week for my son now and the transition seems to be so stressful and difficult for me and him. He loves learning at home and the only situation he is frustrated at home is, when I'm not teaching him anything. He knows number [till 100, and then to 1000 by counting hundreds], addition, reverse counting, reading words[even long ones], writing words [with little help], human anatomy, advanced shapes, colors, little bit of astronomy and even Google Image search. He seems to remember everything I tell him just once, no matter how difficult it is (or) how abstract it is, like - he understands earth, planets, their motions, satellites, comets, galaxies, asteroid belts etc. He even asks questions like "why earth is round?", "why light beam is different shape when changing angle?". But when he goes to school, all he does is crying and refusing to mingle with any child in his class. His teacher says, all he does is sit quiet and not even have some water. I find her not consoling a crying child [not just my son, anyone in that class] and when I go to pick him up, I find my son to be shaking and crying.

    I'm not sure whether it is a usual phase in his life (or) there is something not quite right about the school. When reading this post, I get a feel that your son didn't have any difficulties with this transition to school and that makes me to worry about what I'm doing wrong in my LO's case! Do you have any suggestion to make transition easier [I talk a lot about school to him at home. He seems to be listening but behaves the same way every day at school] (or) Should I look for a different school?

    Thanks,
    Uma.

    ReplyDelete
  4. @Uma Shivkumar- After reading about all of the things that your son can do, it sounds like he is academically advanced (and I mean, extremely advanced) for a 2.5 year old. In the future, would you consider having him tested for being "gifted" or a high IQ? It also sounds like he is having a difficult time socially and being comfortable around his peers. I would suggest talking to the teacher about her reasoning behind why she is handling it the way that she is. I would want my child's teacher to have high expectations for him, but also be nurturing at the same time.

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...