Meet the Teacher

Trevor and James check out

the classroom

With school beginning next week, James will embark upon a new and exciting adventure. Before I took my job earlier this year, I had applied for James to get into a Montessori school in Charlotte. We knew that we wanted him and Lilly to attend a Montessori school and learn the values and lessons that Montessori has to offer. After I began working at Christian Montessori of Lake Norman, I just assumed that we would have him and Lilly attend there. While Lilly is there this year, Todd and I decided to follow our original plan and have James attend at Highland Mill Montessori School. The school is ages pre-K through 5th grade. It was a long, hard decision on his enrollment this year. There were several reasons for our decision, but the biggest factor was that we just wanted to do the best thing for him. Our decision may not be the easiest logistically, but it's what we thought will be the best in the long run. There is a bus that comes to Huntersville, but I feel that he is just too young and small to ride the bus right now. Although the school is in Charlotte, it is only 16 miles from our house and it takes about 20 minutes to get there.

Tonight we went to James' school where we were able to meet his teacher and visit in his classroom. We have been talking up this night for a while. James is still very skeptical of new environments and it takes him a while to feel comfortable in new situations. He is very shy, quiet, and sensitive and it takes him a while to open up to change. He has been excited all week about the visit and did quite well when we got there. He mingled around the classroom and looked at the work on the shelves, found his cubby, and met his teacher. I am very impressed with his teacher. She has over 7 years of Montessori teaching experience and in addition to her teaching degree, she has all of her Montessori teaching credentials through the American Montessori Society (AMS). The teacher's assistant also has her teaching degree and is attending Montessori training. Overall, he seems very excited and positive about the new school year. This is a big step for him. I am pleased with our choice in school for James and tonight helped ease my concerns. I am looking forward to a wonderful year for him with hopes that he will excel academically and socially.