I have been homeschooling my daughter since she was 14-15 months old.
We have done several activities together to develop her cognitive, language and gross motor skills. I have loved and followed the concept of Montessori Principles and I have seen how well Kenisha picked up and has always amazed me with how well she could complete or understand an activity set for her. Following the child is a beautiful and effective way.
Many of you asked me why I decided to stop homeschooling and send her to a Montessori Preschool?
The answer is – I am not really going to stop homeschooling but I am adding a curriculum to her day. We shall continue with our learning and development too.
Last month my husband and I decided it was time to get our child into a proper Montessori preschool environment because we felt she was ready. It will be her first experience in a structured environment with teacher and other children. It will be a opportunity for her to learn, develop, share and follow instructions.
The very foundation for a moving to an elementary school later, a perfect launch pad.
- At 2 years of age Kenisha, talks and forms simple 3 word sentences. I know she can talk and share all about her day. This was my no.1 criteria
- Since we are in a nuclear family, all Kenisha sees is one adult (me) and 2 lazy dogs through the day. It was time to meet and interact with more people.
- She will gain exposure to adapting to a new environment and a new place
- Develop self confidence and learn to be independent
- A stimulating environment with so many activities will lead to love for learning
- Learn social skills and learn to be a part of group, take turns and share
- Most importantly it will help her to be without me for couple of hours.
- And it would also mean I could get back to working for few hours a day.
Choosing a PreSchool
A lot of factors play a role in deciding a preschool suitable for your child and you. I made my list based on the priority and suitability of these factors for us
- My first priority was to find the best Montessori Schools in Gurgaon . I asked moms on social forums and also experienced moms from my friend circle for suggestions. Also some research and reviews on google helped
- Once we had the list we shortlisted them based on distance from our home. Knowing its going to be for 3-4 hours we didn’t want Kenisha or us traveling and struggling in Gurgaon traffic
- Visiting the school was next in line – Meet thee staff and discuss how they operate and their philosophy and values. Intently look for how they interact with us and with other children.
- Next we took a tour of their facilities to check primarily 2 things
- The physical space like their classroom size, bathroom cleanliness , meal room , outdoor play area. Also the staff to children ratio is important.
- Educational Material – since Montessori requires suitable material I requested the Montessori Directress to show me all the materials and how they will be used. This was my favourite part.
- Take your child and let them explore the setting. Watch how they are treated by the staff and if they feel excited and happy in this new environment.
- What does it cost? Well even though a playschool look excellent or promising we all have a pocket and this becomes a critical aspect to decide how much you can afford to spend and if you ready for a financial commitment going forward. By choosing a school early you can plan your budgets to make it easier on your pocket. Some schools require the yearly payment in advance and some agree on term based payment, like ours did. Also most payments are non refundable.
On top of everything, trust your gut; your instincts are there for a reason! I happened to go to one school and I was fixed on it!
Our babies grow up so quickly and before we blink they are ready to set their wings to explore the world. Preparing them and ourselves is the best way to make this transition easier.
Since our last visit I have constantly discussed “school”, “teachers”, “activities and fun” aspect to get Kenisha Excited. She got a new school bag and a sipper and we have been talking about things she will get to do while in school.
Today was our day 1 trial where she was away for 1 hour. It wasn’t easy on her but it’s a start. I will come back and share our experience after a month!
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46 comments
Loved the post Karuna!! Very helpful for me as we will approach these days soon
Thanks Afsha!
Beautifully penned down and very informative at the same time! It’s important to set a good foundation right from the start! Lovely photo!
Thanks Zainab. setting the foundation was a key point for us too
Montessori is so far the best principle I have come across and implementing it in our lives has been positive so far…Till the time I am not working we will homeschool but will start formal schooling nursery onwards
Priyadashani, that’s fabulous! and i truly appreciate you homeschooling. I do plan to get back to a job soon 🙂
You have written very useful points and penned them down beautifully. I good preschool is very important to lay the foundation of little learners.
Totally Vidhi!
the early years really do set the very foundation
Montessori is a very interesting pedagogy. Having been a teacher myself, there’s so much about this method that is inspiring.
Manveen so good to hear about this. am glad more and more moms are supporting my thoughts
Trust me, you have made absolutely the right decision! It includes life skills, learn while play, group activities – everything that helps develop important skills and traits without putting pressure on the kids. Really good post which is a must read for moms thinking of what kind of school to send their toddlers to.
Thanks Shubs! you have been a big support on my decision always 🙂
Adorable pic. The curriculum and Pedagogy is very impressive and is important too. I am sure your blog post will help many moms.
Thanks Jiya, that was my intention too
I feel it’s important to send kids to playschool as they learn a lot from other kids in school. Lovely post.
Yes Deepa. Kids leanr alot more from their peer than parents and teachers trying to “teach” 🙂
I too was asked a lot why I stopped homeschooling when I decided to send my 2.4 year old twins to a Playschool. I really love how you put it across. We still do a lot of learning & homeschooling activities & we have just added one more part to the scheduled which is simply handled by an external institution that we trust our kids’ learning with. Love the blog & how you have articulated it. Waiting to read more about Kenisha’s school Journey.
Thanks Shalu! That’s exactly why i wrote this blog because many questioned mt on my stand on not homeschooling.
Hope she settles in soon. Good luck!
thanks Mahek! I hope so too
Such an informative and comprehensive post. Very well listed pointers. Should be helpful to parents to choose the right school for their child.
This is such an informative article Karuna. My baby is soon going to be 2 years old and I was looking for some genuine reviews and suggestions. Thank you for sharing this.
That;s good to hear Kavita. All the very best!
I am sure she is going to settle down! my little one settled before me! funny it might sound but kids have great adaptibility levels
I am sending my son to a day care. But I make sure to continue his homeschooling for various topics. He can explain weather cycle, how trees make their food and how tea is made. Just because I keep on telling him things around us. Great read it was 🙂
Been through it, Truly a task
would love to hear your experince
I have always wanted to send my kids to Montessori but unfortunately I did not have it near me so it never worked out Glad you were able to find one near you 🙂
YEs, am very lucky to have found the best school here in Ggn in the vicinity
You are lucky to find a Montessori school near your place, but here there is hardly any. So I try to inculcate those things at home by myself. I connect a lot with this post as even my son has started with pre-school this week. So the journey has just started for both of us and there is a long way to go…
That’s great to hear. Yes its very much possible to have these activities done at home too! And all the best to us!
Very helpful post karuna
Cleared up few doubts I had
So happy to hear it was helpful 🙂
This is a great post. I hope darling K loves it.
Yes she has settled here within a week!
I Support the Montessori principles of learning as a lot of child-led learning happens. I’m happy kenisha could benefit from this curriculum.
Thanks Prisha!
This makes complete sense to me. BabyT is 18 months and i plan to send him to a daycare just to get acquainted with other people and children. This is just a thought. Lets see where it takes us.
I totally agree with you as i send by daughter when she was 1.9 and she learnt a lot of stuff like toilet training ..started to speak a lot of words through school..learnt good habits like keeping her shoes in place…
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Wise decision made. Really your pointers will be very helpful for young moms .
Good researched article Karuna. My son cried for weeks before he settled in his montessori
Very useful post. These tips will come handy when I will start looking for a good pre- school.
I also started with Montessori for my daughter and that was the best decision i took for her. Waiting for my son to turn 2 to go to the same school. Agree with all the points and benefits you mentioned. Experienced almost all.
Great post Karuna👍 very useful for parents who get confused before sending their tiny tots to school☺
Glad you found it useful 🙂
A very thoughtful decision. The child has to be ready for school. I really liked your approach of understanding the need of exposure and overall development of you child. When we started preschool for our daughter, socializing was our key focus.
Very useful post!!