After trying out another preschool, I was so glad I found ABC Learning Montessori. Let me first start by telling you about my son. He first attended at another preschool where he was traumatized for life. The first two days, the teachers have left him standing by himself in a corner, crying for hours. He was not being comforted at all. He was not used to the food served at school so he did not eat or drink anything for the whole day. When I picked him up after his very first day at school (he was there for about 7 hours), I noticed that he was visibly shaking from his hunger. The teachers told me not to worry, as he will get used to them and will do better. On the second day, I stood outside of the classroom for 2 hours and heard my son crying non-stop. No one even made an attempt to comfort him. I had to leave for my job meeting so I came back 2 hours later. At this time it would be a total of 4 hours in school, my son was still crying in the same corner I dropped him off. Again, he was shaking with hunger. This time I brought his milk and a snack when I picked him up. He was chomping on the snack and swallowed his milk so fast it broke my heart. I withdrew him immediately even though I had to pay for the 2 week notice. No amount of money is worth my son suffering.
The search for another preschool began. I contacted Miss Diana at ABC Learning Montessori after reading an excellent review on Yelp. At the time, I was also considering 2 other preschools. This time I was very cautious about where to send my son. After talking to Miss Diana, I have to be honest that I was not 100% sure it was the right school for my son. However, her educational credentials impressed me. I also called 2 parents who have their kids actively enrolled in ABC Learning Montessori at the time for their testimonies. With much consideration, I gave it a try.
It usually takes about 2 weeks to 2 months for most kids to stop crying when being dropped off at school. My son cried every time he was dropped off for at least 6 months. It could be from the traumatic experience he had at the other preschool or maybe he just did not want to be separated from us at all. Whatever the reason was, his teachers were extremely patient with him. They took time to comfort him every morning. I always have this guilt for leaving my son at school because of the previous experience so you can imagine how hard it was for me to drop him off at school. The teachers took great care of him in term of toilet training, meal times, and hygiene. They went above and beyond from teaching him the alphabet, numbers, shapes, colors, to reading, writing, doing math, and singing songs. Miss Diana also invited personnel from different professions such as doctors, dentists, nurses, fire fighters, police officers etc to talk to the children. He got to sit in a police car and explored a fire truck. During the time he was there, all of my concerns were addressed in a timely manner by Miss Diana. I found comfort and complete confidence that my son was in good hands when I was at work. It was the reason why when I moved to Morgan Hill a year ago, I still drove him back to San Jose to attend ABC Learning Montessori. After almost 3 years, my son grew so much from being so shy and afraid to being a talkative and confident boy.
No words can describe the comforting feeling I had when I learned that I can trust the teachers at ABC Learning Montessori to care for my son. We all want the best for our children and I was blessed to have found it!