Wow, this is way more information than I expected. Thanks. It seems like the general idea is that these methods of teaching might leave ASD kids, or any kids, short when it comes to being prepared for the academia of grade school+ . There might be TOO much freedom and "exploration". Maybe it would be good just to join a Waldorf playgroup outside of school to get a break from too much structure and there can be more time for my son to explore nature and figure things out in his own way. And if someone was considering this type of school, just like any other program, you have to observe and stay on top of things.
then decided to home school them instead. She loved the philosophy and
the teaching of Waldorf and implemented it outside of school and inside the
home. One thing she has not pleased with was her oldest son's academic
progress. While there is something to be said about waiting until a child is
ready for reading etc. I think my nephew, who is very bright and my
daughters age needed to be encouraged more in that area.
bonus367 makes an EXCELLENT point. No matter WHERE you send your child, you must be involved in the school and check, double-check, triple-check that they are doing what they are supposed to. I was just talking to a special ed assistant in our new town last night. I was telling her how I was positive our old school district threw a party when we left!
Anyway, it's essential to stay involved - regardless of the school of choice. And if the school doesn't want you involved - stay away from that school if you can! My son's ECSE teacher asked parents not to come in the classroom 2 years ago - that made me VERY uncomfortable. Thankfully, this year's teacher had no problem with me coming in and encouraged it even!
I agree with EVERYONE here!
Seriosuly, I do. Get involved, stay involved, and make surprise visits! Let 'em hate ya, let em throw a party when your child graduates (OR LEAVES).
Get an intuitive sense of the place, the teacher, and the vibe! If they have to suck it up to pretend that you are welcome GREAT! You only get one chance at this.
We had to leave a crappy daycare (NAEYC acredited no less) earlier this year, and accommodation on short notice for my two younger kids. It was the PITS to change them like that but we could tell within a week that they were happier. The place we left had an icky vibe and we tried to ignore it. DON'T. Pay attention to the other parents. Are THEY comfortable, coming and going? Do the teachers interact comfortably with them??? Do they hang out at all, chat among themselves???
Matty, does your son receive any services (speech, OT etc)? I feel like Aidan's school is teaching him desperately needed language and social skills. He may/may not be picking up academics from school, but I am OK with that because he gets that through his therapies. The truth is that even if he didn't, I personally feel like it would be a lot easier teaching him academic concepts at home then teaching him how to socialize/get along in a group/ participate in imaginative play scenarios, and have fun wiht his peers.
interesting what Hope2 said b/c usually you hear the opposite. that theI think the montessori approach does differ from school to school based on who is running it. The one I wanted had the cribs on the floor, home making stuff, all of it, but the hours conflicted with me. I liked it and I think that my son would have done beautifully there. My son needed a genuinely interesed person in him to be successful at preschool/day care. That was what turned out to be the most important thing for him, since he had all these issues that nobody knew what they were. He was fussy, irritable and generally difficult to keep happy.
My personal suggestion??? No matter where you choose, make un-announced visits and observe your child while he doesn't know you are there-or the regular staff either. This is the very best way of staying informed about how the center is doing.
I think it does depend on the school, the teachers AND the child. We had a Montessori-type school (which was publicly funded actually) in our former town. My son would NOT have done well there. You have to be very independent and self-motivated for that particular school. They do not push you along and believe that seeing other kids moving on will motivate each child to do the same - HAH! If my ds liked a particular task he would stay there FOREVER! Especially if one he didn't like was coming up next. Now, I'm sure they would eventually get him to move on, but I just didn't see it as conducive to my son's learning. In addition, the kids really worked on their own and I am MUCH more interested in getting my ds to interact with other kids. If I wanted him to work on his own I could try home-schooling him (not that THAT would work!). I want him with peers and working together.
Anyway, I know of one child on the spectrum who did really well there - but for the most part, most kids on the spectrum did not. And that particular child had a very difficult time transitioning to middle school (which was not Montessori-based).
First of all, I'm sorry if I'm confusing anyone with my avatar. I'm experimenting with different ones
See, I'm really struggling with whether or not my son can learn well in a typical mainstream type school. Okay, even if he could, what if he doesn't like it? I want him to be happy too! Then I think, what if it would be detrimental to him? He DOES have to learn to sit and attend at some point, right? But what if an alternative learning method brought about more language/social skills because he's HAPPY??
I DO think that social and language skills are THE core skills for preschool. PERIOD. I would avoid any place that is really pushy with academics.
But ... how successful the teachers are depends on more than the theoretical approach.
Does anyone have any experience with alternative teaching methods for their Pre-K - Elementary age child? I was just wondering if anyone has tried anything eclectic and how their child responded to it? My son loves gardening, cooking, and science experiments, so I'm wondering if I can take advantage of that as part of his education.
Tuhina had Regio Emila preschool. It is akin to montessori but focuses on interaction among the children -- so it emphasizes collaboration and negotiation among the kids. It sounds ideal, but ... I felt that because they did not push participation in the activities, she learned from them how to retreat into herself, more than she might otherwise have.
IF the place had really adhered to RE principles, and IF it had had about twice the staffing ratio, and IF it did not have student workers - only in the late day ... it coudl have been ideal. As it was, I felt like she was not as well-supervised as she should have been and structure would have helped her prepare more for mainstream public education.
The nursery school that we send Aidan to could be considered a "Waldorf style" school but it is not affiliated in any way with Waldorf, and they have plenty of plastic.And of course it helps to have an administration that has both money and the know-how to utilize it effectively.
My DS went to the same preschool as DD for a year and a half. His experience was VERY different from hers and I felt it was due to both administration AND teachers. One teacher in his room had a negative attitude and was overwhelmed. She "pushed" potty training, to my disappointment, and made it clear that other things going on in DS's life (he was adopted one yr earlier, at 2, we had just moved to a new house) were not relevant to her. We trained him, but it was very difficult for him. A couple months more before we started might have really helped him handle it more positively. After we had begun triaining him I was in the classroom one morning and heard a child (a normally pleasant and well-adjusted one) screaming and crying as a teacher held him on the potty. I was not sure why this was happening but obviously it added a great deal to the tension of the room.
So ... don't look at the administrators' "favorite" classroom, either, but the class your child would enroll in.