Luke's First Term at School

Matt and I just had our first PTC at Luke's school, and we are happy with the reports and feedback we got from Luke's teachers, and from what he's been learning at school. From the teachers' description, Luke's behavior at school is pretty consistent with who he is at home. Here are some excerpts of comments on his term report:

"Luke is a quiet little boy who listens and follows instruction well."
"Luke is independent and confident."
"Luke enjoys individual work time and likes to attend to tasks on his own without teacher's assistance."
"Luke often volunteers to perform in front of his classmates during English and Chinese circle (language periods)."
"It's been a pleasure working with Luke. It would be even better if he can particpate more in group activities next term."

The themes of being independent and confident, and that he's not quite the social butterfly fit his natural profile very well. However, the teachers respect these traits and never push him to be more social than he wants to (to which I'm thankful). Seeing what he does at school and knowing how he flourishes during the Montessori individual work time help confirm that I have picked the type of schooling that is befitting to his style. One thing (among many others) I really appreciate about a Montessori education is how much it values individuality and independence in child development. Luke has taken great strides in developing his independence and his sense of responsibility to his environment in the past month or so, and I would not hesitate to attribute his Montessori experience, at the least partially, influenced this growth. At 3, he

-puts away his dishes and dirty laundry,
-washes his hands after playing outside,
-gets his own breakfast and drinks (with help),
-brushes his teeth on his own (including putting toothpaste on his toothbrush and filling his rinsing cup at the tap),
-changes his clothing,
-puts on his shoes(velcro straps and sandals)when going outside,
-puts on sunblock before swim (and sometimes he even helps me with it!),
-picks up his toys and cleans up messes (even the wet and sticky ones),
-water the plants (with supervision so that my plants won't drown...),
-switches off lights after using a room

all WITHOUT my reminding (most of the time). Maybe it's the norm for 3-year-olds to accomplish these tasks nowadays, but I'm impressed.