Montessori Elementary and transition (credit, home, neighborhood)

[sweetlime]

My son currently attends Montessori and is graduating primary this summer. Montessori method has truly worked out for him and he has thrived. We were planning to transition him to a private school as we don’t have a good home based school. But his teacher wants him to continue here for sometime before he transitions as she thinks he will do absolutely great. We are debating as the real world is all about testing and homework. We really don’t believe in it so much, but eventually he will have to graduate Montessori and move to the traditional setting.

My plan however is to send him for just two yrs either private or Montessori and then move him to public. That way he will have a same set of friends through high school. Atleast a hope.

My question to you guys, have your kids done Montessori in elementary? For how long? How was the transition to traditional setting? Also, is it just advisable to go public to begin with since we won’t be completing 5th grade here. I would love to hear your thoughts. I know Montessori is not for every child, but since mine has thrived, I would like to make a conscious decision and not regret.

Thanks in advance!!

[AtlJan]

Originally Posted by sweetlime

My son currently attends Montessori and is graduating primary this summer. Montessori method has truly worked out for him and he has thrived. We were planning to transition him to a private school as we don’t have a good home based school. But his teacher wants him to continue here for sometime before he transitions as she thinks he will do absolutely great. We are debating as the real world is all about testing and homework. We really don’t believe in it so much, but eventually he will have to graduate Montessori and move to the traditional setting.

My plan however is to send him for just two yrs either private or Montessori and then move him to public. That way he will have a same set of friends through high school. Atleast a hope.

My question to you guys, have your kids done Montessori in elementary? For how long? How was the transition to traditional setting? Also, is it just advisable to go public to begin with since we won’t be completing 5th grade here. I would love to hear your thoughts. I know Montessori is not for every child, but since mine has thrived, I would like to make a conscious decision and not regret.

Thanks in advance!!

I would give him as few transitions as possible. If you put him in the private school and he loves it, you are going to have a tough time moving him. If he will "graduate" from the private school (i.e. it only goes through 8th grade) and will go on to public high school with a lot of the other graduates of the private elementary, then maybe. Otherwise, just send him straight to the public if that's where you want him to end up.

[pinetreelover]

I didn't have kids in Montessori, but my daughter befriended a couple of girls who transitioned from Montessori to public school in 9th grade! They were excellent students and socially wonderful girls who set a high standard for kindness for the rest of their girl group.

I think that kids who have a positive school experience are well prepared for transitions. If you are happy at Montessori, I'd stay put for as long as it is working for you and your little learner.

[az25]

Our child attended a Montessori school all the way through Upper elementary, transitioning to a more traditional private school in the seventh grade. He is now a senior and has done really well both academically and socially. We give a lot of the credit to his Montessori experience.

[sweetlime]

His current school goes up until 5th grade, but I am scared to keep him for that long and translation directly into middle school. Yes, eventually I want him to be in public. Private schools all the way through high school is crazy expensive. Moreover, north Fulton has v decent middle and high schools.

I like all the things you shared from one parent’s experience all the way through upper elementary and other’s whose daughter didn’t want to be friends with others. This is good as these are some real life examples, thanks so much for sharing. If anybody has more things to share, plz do as this is v helpful.

[CaliDreaming01]

I would keep him in Montessori until middle school.

My first-grade daughter went to a Montessori preschool and thrived. She is definitely the type that does well in Montessori. I put her in a public elementary school beginning in Kindergarten since our public school system is very good. The transition was very rough, although she is slowly adjusting.

If I had to do it all over again, I would have kept her in Montessori until at least middle school. When my daughter was in Montessori, she loved school and learning. Now it's a constant battle keeping her engaged. I fear that she will lose that natural curiosity and love for learning by the time she gets to middle school, so I work hard to provide her with outlets at home and in her extracurriculars to pursue her personal intellectual interests. It's a little too late in the game for us to move her to a private Montessori school, so we do the best we can.

I believe by the time children are in middle school,they are mature enough to handle the rigidness of public school education and their love of learning will be more firmly established. Also, children get more choice and freedom in their academic work by middle and high schools. I think my daughter will be just fine in the end, but if I could have kept her in a Montessori type environment, we could have saved ourselves a lot of unnecessary grief. All the homework and testing for elementary school children is just insane. It's a shame because I think it beats down the curiosity and creativity all young children have naturally.

[sweetlime]

Thank you so much. This whole post has been very helpful.

Update: My son got an admission at Fulton Science Academy. We have until April to decide. This has added more confusion for sure now, lol. We cannot afford the higher priced private school like Paces or Lovett. Anyone has any thoughts about FSA? Is that a good school? I have to decide soon.

Like mentioned before, I don’t plan to do it more than 2yrs. Also our zoned school is manning oaks elementary and my neighborhood isn’t very happy with it. Hence, I need to make a choice. Fulton announces open enrollment each yr, not sure which schools get listed there, that’s somwthung I will look into as well.

Appreciate all the help here. Thanks in advance.