Our New and Transitioning Parents' Reception took place on Wednesday, April 17. It's an exciting evening because change is in the air. Parents contemplate bringing their child for the first time, possibly starting school for the first time or beginning a new "level" of Montessori education in September.

It is an opportunity that parents do not always afford themselves as most of the time our hurried lives cause us to think of our children on a continuum of change. We don't often think of our children's milestones once we've gotten past the rolling over, first words and first steps milestones that come on so rapidly in the early years. But, to take an evening and think about where our children are developmentally and where they are going is, indeed, special.

Early in my career in Montessori education, a Montessori teacher said to me, "Parents must be careful to observe their children as they change because a child who is fascinated with planets and galaxies may completely shift his or her interest to trees and bugs while the parents' minds are still on galaxies and planets."

This instantly rang a bell for me because my young family was living in our first home. My wife and I had splurged and bought our only child at the time – a boy named Zayus – a toddler bed that was a fire truck. We did this because he was fascinated with trucks, but some time had passed, and this teacher made me wonder if my son had perhaps moved on from trucks without our having noticed.

That teacher's words rang in my ears a couple years later when my middle child, a daughter, informed my wife and me that she was officially changing her name to Dora. I thought about that teacher because I realized that sooner or later my daughter would go back to the name we gave her (Kaya). And, she did.

A while ago, my youngest child (Thalia), who is ten, gave her bedroom a make-over. She had a bunk bed, and the bottom bunk had been shrouded in a pink, castle-themed covering, and she would use it for make believe and as a fort. When she showed me her made-over room, I saw that she had changed the bottom bunk into an actual bed, with an area to sit and read and presumably to have a friend stay over. She had made other changes, too, and her entire room felt a little more mature. Her room looked different. And, when I looked at her, I realized that she also looked different to me. I am sure that, objectively, she looked the same as she did before she showed me her made-over room. But, after seeing her made-over room, it seemed to me that she also looked just a little more mature. It was as if from one day to the next she had become "a tween." But, of course, it was not from one day to the next, it was slowly, over time, and it took seeing her made-over room for my perception of her to catch up.

Children change. The child you pick up today will be a different child this summer. And, again, he or she will be a different child when school starts in September. I wanted to pass along that Montessori teacher's words to all parents. And, also please keep this in mind: a Montessori teacher might say something to you that will change the way you see your child. To the extent that you are able, observe your children objectively and know that they are changing.

Sincerely,

Kevin Clark, Head of School