Tate attended UBC daycare for his pre-school years and when he entered Kindergarten, I specifically requested the teacher whom expressed on her website that she was inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach. Tate had an incredible year in that class. His teacher was compassionate, calm and nurturing of their innate wonder for the world around them, and also helped foster a growth mindset with the kids. The kids in his class were also all really wonderful and formed a cohesive bond with each other. Now that he is in grade 1 with a new teacher and class (the kids from his kindergarten class were all split up for grade 1 with only 4 kids accompanying him to his grade 1 class), the experience isn't nearly the same. As often happens in the public school system, there are a few children in his class who have learning and developmental challenges, and unfortunately, the extra support given to those children isn't adequate to create a positive learning environment for all the kids in it. It distracts from the learning for all the kids and unfortunately, it causes stress on his current teacher who then resorts to yelling at everyone. Tate is a resilient kid, and luckily because he is so articulate, he's able to talk to me about what's happening and how he feels. We work on strategies for him to see the kids who are struggling from a compassionate standpoint and to give his current teacher's behaviour the benefit of the doubt. But as a parent, my heart breaks a little that I have to help my six year old overcome such challenging classroom conditions. I want him to be able to focus on the joy of learning and discovery. I want him to come to school excited for the day ahead, for the unknown experiences that lie awaiting him, as I know from his kindergarten experience that he is the kind of kid who embraces that if the opportunity is there. I think the Montessori method is a natural extension of our at-home parenting style and as a result would be where Tate could flourish.