Part-time gig?

After a lot of thinking and soul-searching, I have made a big decision. I am going to go back to work part-time this fall. It is very likely that I will be working as a classroom teacher's assistant at the Princeton Montessori School. W will be able to be in a toddler class (at half the tuition price) during the time that I am working, which is a Godsend. I have always been intrigued by the Montessori system and am thrilled to have the opportunity to really learn about it first-hand. If, after an academic year, I want to become a certified Montessori teacher, I will attend the Princeton Center Teacher Education school during the summer (and W will still be in class part-time!) for half the tuition price. Montessori is a very holistic approach to educating a child--kids are grouped in classes with some older and some younger students--W will be in a class with ages ranging from 18-months to 3 years--with the idea that younger kids learn from older ones, and the older ones learn from helping the younger ones. This school provides education for kids 8 weeks to 14 years old (8th grade). It's very different from any school I've been to, and not anything like a daycare center. Most of the learning is child-directed and hands-on. Students don't move on to the next lesson until they demonstrate 85% mastery of the previous lesson. The whole thing is very Zen--I got a very good vibe from the building, the teachers, the kids and the administrators I met with. I'll keep y'all posted.