Luke's First Week of School

Well, this week started out rough. Luke cried violently for 30 minutes on his first day of school. That episode made me feel so bad that I decided that I would never leave Luke again... no more church, working out at the health club, working as a physical therapist, etc. Luke had enjoyed three and one half solid weeks of time at home with me and extra time with Dave at the holidays so the only thing he wanted to do was, "Stay at Luke's house."

Fast forward to the end of the week.... Now Luke has a special glow in his eye when I pick him up from school. He is so proud and he talks about how much fun he had. He is already applying many of the things he is learning. He has gone from basket case (that may be a word only my family uses) to marching in straight lines and saying "more brusselsprouts!"

I was a little worried about Luke having to conform to too many rules and standards with the Montessori process. It is a amazing way of learning however they are very particular. For instance, when doing an activity you must lay out a work matt, then take the activity off of the shelf with two hands and place it down, then get on your knees, and then use three fingers to remove the pegs. If you sat instead or used two fingers you would be corrected. (It is a wonder that these teachers never say no. They can influence children by modeling instead.) There are other things I was worried about also. Could he go three hours without running or being silly? Can he carry glass plates and dishes without dropping them? Can he stay dry when he is in a new enviornment? Can he say, "Good morning Mrs. Smyczck" and shake her hand as they must do as they come in the room? Can he even say Mrs. Smyczck and Mrs. Ashwini Manjul?

I think that Luke may have the best teacher he will ever have until he gets to college. Here is her bio:

Mrs. Laura Smyczek, Lead Teacher.Mrs. Smyczek received her Elementary (ages 6-12) AMI (Association Montessori Internationale) Diploma from the Montessori Institute of Milwaukee in 1994, followed by her Primary (ages 3-6) AMI Diploma from the Midwest Montessori Institute, in 2000.She taught in a Lower Elementary class at Forest Bluff School in Lake Bluff, Illinois, and during that time, she was featured in Paula Polk Lillard's book, Montessori Today, and was invited to be a speaker at an AMI/USA National Conference on grace and courtesy.She has lived in France and Italy and has studied and played the piano her entire life. She also earned her B.A. in Art History from the University of Dallas. She brings her love of art and music, and her appreciation of beauty, to all she does.