Kindergarten Scientist

Kindergarten looms on the horizon.

Unfathomable, considering it feels like a minute ago that he was born.

As I have stated before, I am not a proponent of school vouchers. I won't belabor the point, but I don't feel that Arizona is doing the best service for their children. We'll see after the next billion they want to slash from the education budget how much worse it will get. Anyway, I did end up utilizing the voucher system. The only consolation that I feel is that I chose to put him in a different type of program instead of a similar one.

My son's neighborhood school is a few blocks down the street. He has been eager to go there ever since the preschool program he attended there last summer. I took him to register on Tuesday night and he seemed to be rather happy about it. The teachers held activities in the library while walking around and speaking with children and parents.

One of the teachers talked with Ian (in an annoying, saccharin-toned voice) and asked him to replicate a color pattern that she made. He countered by asking her to build the pattern that he had made. She was surprised that he didn't need any help with colors or patterns. I told her this was his area of expertise. She chuckled. I wasn't kidding.

I asked her to tell me about what they learn in Kindergarten and what the day is like. She explained that this particular school is very literacy-based and they do reading work for the entire morning and after lunch. They have one special (music or PE) and then they do a little math and writing at the end of the day. No art projects, no science-based curriculum. They get stickers and red light-green light discipline. (I like to call that the carrot system) She said that they would begin by learning the alphabet and that letters make sounds, letters make words, etc. I asked what they do with children who either can read or are beyond those skills. She said that the advanced kids get to take out a library book and read while the teachers and aides assist the children who are not reading yet. And science isn't really part of the curriculum.

I could feel boredom also looming on the horizon.

You might think that I am being a little weird, maybe a little neurotic about kindergarten. You would be right because I tend to lean toward over-analysis. Yet, my instinct alarm was going berzerk and I knew it wasn't going to be the right environment for him.

You see, Ian is very curious and extremely cerebral. He pondered whether he wanted to be President (he was very disappointed on Inauguration Day when he discovered Barack Obama won. "That's NOT who I chose! I chose John McCain!") He thought that being President would be great because he could create "lots of rules." But he quickly decided he would rather be a scientist because he is "good at thinking." No kidding. This from a child who is actually learning how to play chess at four years of age and constantly builds Legos meant for 7-12 year olds. Scientist isn't a far stretch. Chess club might also get a charter member.

Anyway, Tom and I talked and he agreed that Ian would not be well-served in this particular school, even though it does sound like a great place for kids who need and deserve the extra attention for reading skills and essentially learning English. The teachers were kind and devoted to what they were teaching. I also found the discipline philosophy to be too heavily carrot-based and not enough placed on the expectation of good behavior because it's just the right thing to do.

I finally called the school that offers a Montessori program, just two neighborhoods over. They suggested we come in to observe the class and then decide if we would like to enroll Ian. There was no waiting list at the moment, but she encouraged us to come in right away. Tom and I met on Friday and walked to a little set of portable classrooms and a small courtyard filled with three or four gardens.

The classroom was bustling with a variety of activities, as is the Montessori way and every child was on task working on something. Two were huddled in a corner reading a book on some beanbags. One was at the table practicing writing. Two more were listening to a book with headphones. Another student was sitting on the floor with plastic animals and placing them on little continents based on where the animals live. Three were working with the teacher and another few were working with the full time aide. All were carrying around little clipboards.

The teacher explained that it was a kindergarten/first grade combination class and showed us the clipboard that the kids use to organize their day. Each day, they must do activities in reading, writing, math, cultural, science, word building and practical life/sensorial. Much of the time, they do activities on their own or with a partner. She does have group lessons but not as frequently as a regular classroom might-part of the philsophy. The kids have a garden that they maintain and go out to observe each day and that afternoon they were going to plant sunflower seeds. Sometimes they pick vegetables from the garden for snack. They work at their own skill level and spend much of their time in self-directed activity.

The discipline doesn't include rewards. There is a peace table to work out problems and from what it appears, there really aren't many discipline issues. The expectations are high, which is what we expect of Ian anyway. There is a real sense of community, so I think Ian will learn to make friends a little easier.

We enrolled Ian in the class for the fall and I feel comfortable that this will be a much happier place for him to learn and grow. So many friends have children in Montessori programs here and are very pleased. The only catch is transportation and we have to drive him there and pick him up. But we are becoming very adept at those type of schedules. The truth is that we could both picture him in this classroom and flourishing. We could see him getting all of the knowledge that he is truly curious about and making discoveries for himself.

Now, I just have to get used to the idea that he is going to be in Kindergarten.

Saying an official goodbye to infancy, toddlerhood and preschool looms on the horizon too.