Vancouver Montessori School Parent Handbook: Beginning School

Beginning School

Preparing Your Child

Young children live in and understand the present moment. Future time is vague and enigmatic for children under six. A lot of talk about beginning school creates anxiety and apprehension about a place of which s/he knows little.

Prepare your child for beginning school by indirect preparation such as:

Select children's books from the library about kindergarten, nursery school, making friends etc.
Make up stories about playground activities or going to school, etc.
Tell stories real or made up about when you first went to school. Do not relate these stories to your child or to his/her future. These stories will give your child the information s/he needs without causing anxiety.
Visit the local elementary school and the Vancouver Montessori School Children's Park on a Saturday or week night. Allow your child to experience the Children's Park and equipment. No explanation is necessary.
Begin to gradually readjust your child's bedtime and wake-up time a week or two ahead of the school starting date. Work towards a calm and orderly pace of being up, dressed, fed, and ready to leave the house for a timely arrival at school. If this routine is mastered before the first day of school, your child will not need to deal with the stress of a new morning routine.

Pre-visit

A short pre-visit to meet the classroom guide will be scheduled for your child during the morning class time. The guide will introduce the child to the drinking water and the bathroom procedure and perhaps a "first" lesson. This first visit will be about 20 minutes. Please bring the child's blanket, comb, Kleenex and spare clothes with you to this visit.

Parent Interview

Before your child begins or shortly thereafter, an appointment will be scheduled with one or both parents to meet with the Guide. Please consider this a sharing time. The guide will want to get to know a little about your child's uniqueness within the family arrangement. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have pertaining to the school.

Gradual Entry

Returning students begin class the first day of the school calendar. These students re-establish relationships with their peer groups and the teacher. They will review classroom procedures and lessons. As they restructure, they form a foundation which new children can be successfully phased into. The new children enter an ordered and prepared environment.

The phasing in of the new children begins the second week of school and continues through September on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, in the order of the child's registration date. This procedure provides each new student an individual and personal adaptation to the children who are then busily working and socializing. This allows the guide to devote needed time and attention to worthily focus on each new child's adaptation to the classroom.

The First Weeks

Beginning school is tiring for young children. They form new relationships within the dynamics of the social group and experience new procedures and lessons. Be sure your child has adequate rest and appropriate quality time spent with you.

Reluctance to go to school may sometimes manifest itself the first weeks of school. School is a challenge for children and due to lack of experience, they have not mastered their analyzing skills. The child may experience a growth spurt physically, intellectually or socially. They may be anticipating a future event which causes some anxiety for a child under six.

If a child is not adapting to the life of the classroom within a short time, the guide will contact you. The staff is equally anxious for your child's adaptation and will put forth every effort towards your child's comfort. If home complaints continue or worry you, please send written message to the guide about your concerns or call the office and leave a message for the guide to call you. The guide will contact you soon.

Common complaints reported by parents during adjustment and transition times are:

"I don't feel well."
"No one likes me."
"Joshua pushes me down."
"I don't get any new lessons."
"I'm too tired."

Please accept these and other remarks as a sign of growth in your child. S/he is beginning to develop the ability to express feelings. Children are just not always able to accurately identify the cause.

Short Good-Byes

Short good-byes and a positive, non-worried manner convey to the child an unspoken message that you know s/he is being left in a safe place you picked out just for them. Parents set the pace for a child's success at school. A short, cheerful good-bye from you can help your child feel there is nothing to be concerned about.

The First Day

The child's very first day at school, please park your car in the staff parking area and walk your child to the classroom door. Say a cheerful, short good-bye and allow the Guide to assist the child into the classroom. If you are concerned about your child, please drive away and call the office at your earliest convenience to check on your child's adaptation. If there is an adjustment period, it is usually very short. The second day of school, you may use the meeting cars procedure if you choose.