Preschool For Zachy

What a day! I just want to cry. Today was Zach's first day at a new Montessori preschool. It was only 1/2 day and not all the kids so that new kids could learn the ropes. There were three teachers there (2 are teacher aides). Zach would not let me go. He started to warm up to the teachers and the program. He's not used to this Montessori method where everything seems to be so independant and individual. You pick your own activity and play with it yourself, with some help from the teacher if she feels you need it. You don't touch any one else's activities or play with them. They do have some group activities - play outside, learn the calendar, sing songs. Zach really seemed to like the individual activities though, the puzzles, sorting things, playing with water (washing dishes, washing a baby doll). They played outside for awhile, then before going back to the classroom, went to the bathroom to wash hands. I took that opportunity to sneak out and see how Zach reacted. He went into the classroom and sat down with the rest of the kids. Then he realized I was gone and I heard him start to cry and ask for me. Then the really freaky part happened. The teacher put on a tape of a Sesame Street story. It was really loud. Ernie was on a safari and was being chased by a tiger. In the end, it was just a tiger chasing Ernie to give him his telescope that he had dropped. I heard Zach screaming and screaming. I peeked my head in and there was Zach in the middle of the floor on the ground, his hands clamped over his ears, screaming. The teacher and kids were doing these motions and marching along with the Bert & Ernie story. No one was with Zach trying to console him. I was so upset for Zach. I went in and it took quite a while to get Zach to take his hands off his ears. He was petrified. Eventually I convinced him to join the group again, with me sitting next to him. This was when they were talking about the days of the week. I explained to the teacher later that he is terrified of voices where he can't see who's talking. If we have our DVD player on and the TV is turned off or the DVD is over, Zach freaks out because the sound is still going or there might be loud white noise and he can't figure out where it's coming from. I really don't know what to do about this problem. For now, the teacher at the preschool said that if they do this activity again or watch any videos, Zach can wait outside. This is really going to be tough on me. I know that Zach has to grow up. He's usually younger then the other kids in the class because Zach was born in November. I don't want to baby him, but I also don't want him to suffer. It's so tough.