Switching from home daycare to montessori

TwinkieFiend

DS has been in the same home daycare since he was 6 weeks old.  I love our DCP and I know she really loves DS.  He was a difficult infant and I felt great knowing he wasn't at a center crying in a crib, but being loved and cared for.

The problem is he is now 18 months, but there are no other children his age at the home daycare; they are all older.  I feel like he might benefit from being in a setting that would focus on developing the skills he is working on at this age.  While my current DCP does work with him she must also spend large amounts of time working on occupying the older children as well.

Long story short, I found a Montessori school nearby that seems like it would be a good fit.  

1.  How much notice should I give my current DCP?  She's been wonderful and she watches my sister's children as well, so I'll probably still see her from time to time.  I want to be fair to her.

2.  I'm also excited about the move and new experiences for DS, so I'm anxious to start the new school.  But in 6 months he would have to move to the 2 year old classroom.  It is a small school and he'll meet the other children and teachers in advance, but I don't know how difficult the change will be from classroom to classroom.  Do I wait the six months and start him then, or can I do it earlier and then he'll just move classes when he turns 2?  

A last factor is that my home DCP takes off 10 days at the end of December/beginning of January, so I'll be scrambling to cover that time.  If I started him at the Montessori school I wouldn't have to worry about it, but if the transition is going to be very hard for DS I don't want to put him through it twice, just to make life easier for me.

Thanks for any insight you ladies can offer!

KandT0919

most kids are good with change.. my DD would have been fine with the change. I think you should just do the switch now if you are able to.

hansa11

If you know you're going to move your son to the Montessori school, honestly, I'd just do it now.  If you think he needs the change, I'd want to switch him now anyway and the ten-day gap in childcare would be just one more reason to switch.  I think six months between transitions is enough to not make it too overwhelming and the new school is going to help him through that transition to the new classroom. 

Decisions aren't always soley based on what's best for our kids, but works best for the family.  So many people tell me that daycare would be better for my kids because of the socialization factor, but having a nanny is what works best for us, so that's what we're doing. 

LoCarb

1.  Is there a contract btwn you and the current DCP outlining the notice period?  Two weeks is standard.

2.  I thought Montessori's go by skill level and not age?  Regardless, he will probably move around the time of the others classmates in 6 months.  I would move him now.  The toughest adjustment will probably be from the in-home to a facility.  One he has been introduced to the new environment and friends the new classroom transition usually goes smoother.

3. If you move him now, you will not have to worry about end of year coverage.

QueSrah

Are you sure the Montessori school doesn't close those same 10 days in Dec./Jan.?  I'm pretty sure ours is closed Dec. 19-Jan. 3 because it follows the county schools calendar.

 I would give the DCP 30 days notice, but if you have any kind of written contract with her I'd check that first for what kind of notice you may have already agreed to.

DD was in an in-home for 2.5 years and honestly I thought it was terriffic for her when she was 1.5 and playing with kids a year older.  She learned a LOT from them.  And in a Montessori setting, he'll probably be in a mixed age classroom in the next year anyway, with kids a year or two older (even if they're working separately on skill-appropriate tasks).

Netty_3

Most DCP have a policy on how much notice is required, at our School (we do Montessori as well) it's a 30 day written notice.

Kids only stay in the Toddler room for a year anyhow.  They should have a week transition to Minis where he can go for visits, that get progressively longer, until they're finally fully transitioned. You may find he gets excited about the new room because the work in there is more challenging and different.

He'll be transitioning from Minis to Primary at 3 anyhow...so you may as well ask the director how they do transitioning, and what you can do to make it go smoother as well. There's a little girl in our Nido class transitioning to Toddlers...and she is so ready for the different atmosphere and the different work. Maybe he'll be able to get used to how Montessori is done in Toddlers(using a rug and putting it away, going through different levels of work), so that it's an easier transition when he gets to more difficult work in Minis.  That might also make it easier for the Mini teachers.

Netty_3

Montessori goes through work by skill level.  Classes are by age.

Nido: 6 weeks-12/15 months

Toddler: 12/15months-2yrs

Mini: 2yrs-3yrs

Primary: 3yrs-6yrs.

TwinkieFiend

Thanks for the input, ladies.  I feel like it will be best for him to move sooner since I'm ready for the change now as well.  There is no written contract with my current DCP, but I just wanted to make sure if I gave her 6 weeks notice that it would be considered sufficient.

I appreciate the help!