Montssori Transition - Sarah's Story

Boy was I nervous that first day of school! After the warm, wonderful years spent at Montessori with what feels like family, my first born, Jared, was truly going out into the world - junior high school. It was something I had talked about with many of you over the years, but it always felt so far away. As he walked away from my car that day, I felt a pang in my stomach and tears in my eyes. It was finally time to see how this was going to work out. Was he ready? Would he be able to socialize like a "normal" child in this wild new environment? All I could do was watch him walk away and hope for the best.

I worried all day and could not wait to pick him up from this HUGE place full of new kids, new classrooms, new and scary things for both of us. When he walked out at the end of the day with a smile on his face, my nerves calmed (at least a little). He was full of stories about kids he had already met, things he had already seen, teachers he knew he already liked. That was months ago.

Since that time, he has thrown himself in to lots of great activities: band, quiz bowl, BEST (Boosting Engineering Science and Technology). He was admitted to the GATE (Gifted and Talented Education) program. He is even going to space camp this summer. He found (on his own) lots of wonderful friends. The homework has been minimal. His grade are off the charts and his teachers love him. I hear from them routinely that he is very focused and a joy to teach.

I think that the years at Montessori taught him all he needed to know to fit in, in any type of place at any time. Sure, there are things he has seen this year that I never had to face at his age, but he has had no trouble dealing with any situation. I think he knows who he is and is very strong in his convictions. It has been so much better than I could ever have imagined.

I think it turns out that those concerns about "transitioning" are created by us, the parents. We worry so much, but the most important thing to remember is that in the Montessori environment our children are in, all of those pressures of the HUGE school and the HUGE classroom are not there weighing them down. Jared had years of feeling nurtured and secure without the pressures that are already there in most elementary schools. The problems you think they will be facing in junior high don't just magically appear in 7th grade. Most of those students have been dealing with the "sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll" issues since they were in Kindergarten. I think his time at Montessori allowed him to develop the skills he needed to deal with this scary first year of junior high, rather than being thrown in unprepared and unprotected as a young child.

I know that we did the right thing, and we would not exchange one day he spent at Montessori for any experience he could have had in a bigger, more traditional school.

P.S. Jared is already admitted into AP Algebra (9th grade) for his 8th grade year!!!! Way to go, Jared!