Tim Seldin is President of the Montessori Foundation, publisher of Tomorrow’s Child. He has written many articles and books for parents on Montessori education.  He has some interesting things to say about the Kindergarten decision: 

Why Montessori for the Kindergarten year?

by Tim Seldin with Dr. Elizabeth Coe

 Its re-enrollment time again, and in thousands of Montessori schools all over America parents of four-almost-five-year-olds are trying to decide whether or not they should keep their sons and daughters in Montessori for kindergarten or send them off to the local schools.

The advantages of using the local schools often seem obvious, while those of staying in Montessori are often not at all clear. When you can use the local schools for free, why would anyone want to invest thousands of dollars in another year’s tuition?  Its a fair question and it deserves a careful answer. Obviously there is no one right answer for every child. Often the decision depends on where each family places its priorities and how strongly parents sense that one school or another more closely fits in with their hopes dreams for their children.

 Naturally, to some degree the answer is also often connected to the question of family income as well, although we are often amazed at how often families with very modest means who place a high enough priority on their children’s education will scrape together the tuition needed to keep them in Montessori.
So here are a few answers to some of the questions parents often ask about Montessori for the kindergarten age child.

 [Dr. Seldin goes on to address the following questions, click here for his answers.]

• In a nut shell, what would be the most important short-term disadvantage of sending my five-year-old to the local schools?
   
• What would be the most important advantages of keeping my five-year-old in Montessori?
   
• In a class with such a wide age range of children, won’t my five-year-old spend the year taking care of younger children instead of doing his or her own work?
   
• Isn’t it better for kids to go to school with the children from their neighborhood?
   
• Since most children will eventually have to go to the neighborhood schools, wouldn’t it be better for them to make the transition in kindergarten rather than in first grade?
   
• If I keep my child in Montessori for kindergarten, won’t he/she be bored in a traditional first grade program?

[Click here for full article]

An interesting article in the Wall Street Journal about food allergies:

Fewer Children May Be Diagnosed as Doctors Told Not to Rely Solely on Standard Skin and Blood Tests

Parents who have eliminated foods from their children’s diets based on allergy tests alone may find that some are safe to eat after all.

The National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases issued the first clinical guidelines for diagnosing and treating food allergies Monday, saying that blood or skin tests aren’t sufficient when making a diagnosis.

An allergy should be suspected if someone has a reaction within minutes or hours of eating a food, according to the guidelines. Physicians should then take a detailed medical history, conduct a physical exam and confirm the allergy with a skin-prick test, in which tiny drops of the suspected allergen are pricked into the skin, usually in the forearm, to see if red wheals form. None of those steps is definitive by itself, the recommendations say, which will likely to lead to fewer diagnoses.

…

Medical history is the most important key to a diagnosis, experts say. “The major piece of the puzzle is what happened? What did they eat and when? How long was it between eating and having symptoms? What else was going on?” says A. Wesley Burks, chief of pediatric allergy and immunology at Duke University Medical Center and another author of the guidelines. In the real world, it’s often far from clear which of dozens of different foods a child eats during the day, or what unknown ingredient in a restaurant meal, may have set off a reaction. That’s why the guidelines also call for using a skin-prick test to verify that the patient does have an immune reaction to a suspected food.

In more than 50% of cases, the report notes, the presumed food allergy isn’t a real allergy. A different food could be responsible, or there could be some other cause entirely, particularly with gastrointestinal symptoms.

Now lets take a look at what we might expect from some of the older students at The Montessori House — age 6.  (From Maren Schmidt’s column on  “Home Responsibilities” in the September 2010 issue of Tomorrow’s Child):

Tasks for Six-Year-Olds

Choose clothing according to weather.

Shake rugs.

Water plants and flowers.

Peel vegetables.

Cook simple food (toast, hot dog, boiled eggs).

Prepare own lunch for school.

Hang up own clothes in closet.

Gather wood for fireplace.

Rake leaves and weed.

Take pet for a walk.

Tie own shoes.

Responsible for minor injuries.

Keep garbage container clean.

Straighten and clean silverware drawer.

Next in our series on age appropriate tasks is the age of new Kindergarteners — age 5).  We’ve taken these from Maren Schmidts’s column on  “Home Responsibilities” in the September 2010 issue of Tomorrow’s Child: (copies available to Montessori House parents at the school):

Tasks for Five-Year-Olds

• Help plan meals and grocery shopping.
• Make own sandwich and simple breakfast.  Clean up.
• Pour own drink.
• Prepare dinner table.
• Tear up lettuce for salad.
• Measure and pour ingredients for a recipe.
• Make bed and clean room.
• Dress and choose outfit.
• Scrub sink, toilet and bathtub.
• Clean mirrors and windows.
• Separate clothing for laundry.
• Answer and dial phone properly.
• Yard work.
• Pay for small purchases.
• Help clean out the car.
• Take out the garbage.
• Help make family entertainment decisions.
• Learn to tie shoes.
• Feed pets and clean their living area.

Several parents have asked if they should bring their child to their individual Parent-Teacher conference in November.

No, we do not allow children to attend Parent-Teacher conferences.  Based on experience, we know our approach promotes effective, informative meetings that respect every other parent’s schedule.

However, if you do not have convenient child care available, please call the office and we can share with you the parents who have conference appointments adjacent to yours on the schedule.  You may then contact these parents and suggest a barter: you watch their child(ren) during their conference in exchange for them watching your children during your scheduled time.

The Tenafly weather forecast for the rest of the week is excellent — we expect a dry, crisp day for our Fall Festival this Saturday.

During the two hours of the Festival  you and your children will find plenty to do.   We have a range of activities for parents and children to to together, including: Obstacle Course, Pumpkin Bowling, Hay Ride, Name the Ant, Adventure Tunnel, Leaf Pile , Farmers’ Market, and much more.

Finally, you won’t want to miss the unveiling of a new piece of playground equipment.  It looks like  a lot of fun for the children!

You may examine the photos in our office.  After examining the photos in our office, if you would like to purchase the package, you may do so by completing an order form and writing a check payable to MARTY HYMAN PHOTOGRAPHY, or you may pay by Visa or MasterCard.

We’re working our way up the age list based on Maren Schmidts’s column “Home Responsibilities” in the September 2010 issue of Tomorrow’s Child: (copies available to Montessori House parents at the school):

Tasks for Three- and Four-Year Olds

• Setting the table, even with good dishes.
• Put the groceries away.
• Help with grocery shopping and grocery list.
• Polish shoes and clean up afterwards.
• Follow a schedule for feeding pets.
• Help do yard and garden work.
• Make the beds and vacuum.
• Help do dishes and fill the dishwasher.
• Dust the furniture.
• Have goal chart with tasks.
• Spread butter on sandwiches.
• Prepare cold cereal.
• Help prepare plates of food for family dinner.
• Make a simple dessert (gelatin, ice cream, yogurt).
• Hold the hand mixer to whip potatoes or mix batter.
• Get the mail.
• Should be able to play without constant adult supervision.
• Fold laundry.
• Polish silver, brass, and a car.
• Sharpen pencils.

The task and responsibilities are cumulative, so be sure to see our prior post on what to expect of two-year-olds.

In the September 2010 issue of Tomorrow’s Child, the Kids Talk column by Maren Schmidt discussed the kinds of “Home Responsibilities” we should expect of our children.   In a series of posts we’ll go through the kinds of task and responsibilities she lists as appropriate for each age.  You may be surprised at what you can expect of your young child!  (If you’re interested in the entire article, for parents of our students, we have copies of Tomorrow’s Child available at school).  

Tasks for Two-Year-Olds

• Pick up toys and return to proper place.
• Put books and magazines in a rack.
• Sweep the floor.
• Place napkins and silverware on table.
• Clean up what they drop when eating.
• Give a choice of two foods at breakfast.
• Clear own place at table.
• Toilet training.
• Brush teeth, brush hair, wash hands.
• Undress self.
• Wipe up own spills.
• Put food away from grocery sacks to shelves.

That’s a pretty impressive list!  Surely you can’t wait to read what we can expect of 3-4-year-olds!