My daughter went through the screening process/obs...

My daughter went through the screening process/observation period and was accepted. My husband and I explained our daughter came
From daycare (3 yrs old at the time). We had
spent close to 6 months observing and learning about Montessori school, with the hopes of her being accepted through CMS lottery.

When that did not happen we explored Guidepost and decided to move forward with enrolling our daughter. She was enrolled for 3 weeks before we decided to withdraw her from this environment. If your child is not innately self-disciplined and calm, or have experience in a Montessori environment she/he will internalize they are different because I do not feel the staff/teachers are equipped, nor have the time to help children adapt and adjust in a way that makes them feel welcome and comfortable.

I do believe the teachers/staff tried and the communication was very clear, and I have a great deal of respect for her teacher at the time because her transparency and feedback was helpful, but this school did not meet our expectations. To be fair, there were children who seemed to be doing very well in the environment. Our daughter did learn great independence skills in this environment that we help to maintain currently.

Our daughter is now in a preschool program with high structure, a place where she can be her energetic self, she has access to technology (she loves it), they make smoothies and bake real cookies, and is constantly engaged through learning and tons of affection. She loves to sing, she loves imaginary play, etc. and that s what she is used to, but Guidepost does not meet these needs. She feels she belongs and the reports from her new school are polar opposite from what she received in the three weeks at Guidepost, which reinforced the power of environment. She didn t nap one time out of the three weeks at Guidepost, which signaled stress or discomfort to me because this has never been an issue. She has been napping/sleeping comfortably at her new school since her second day and she has been there a little over one month. A big part of this is because all of the children go down for rest at the same time at her current school. At Guidepost, the smaller children have to rest quietly on their cots but the older children can still work. I did know this entering Guidepost, but did not know it would be such a challenge for her. All this to say, Montessori is a good fit for some, but not for all.

In the end, I am glad for the experience because my husband and I were able to learn a bit more about what our daughter needs in an environment in order to thrive (and in her own unique way). I only hope that Guidepost develops a better observation/screening process for enrollment and learn to better cultivate a more inclusive environment for all children from various educational backgrounds. Some sort of acclimation/transition process could be helpful for all involved.