picking a preschool??? help...

[sandsprite]

How do you pick a preschool???

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The questions are endless.... regular preschool.... My son is a bright one, he already knows the alphabet (since he was 22 months) plays independently, rambutious. But he is the only grandchild, and of my friends the only child... what he really needs is to learn to play with other children, he needs friends.
so I was thinking regular preschool... like the council of parent participation preschool near my place ( I get to help out in the class room 2 times a month and the adult child ratio is 1 to 4 or 5 -- 2 teachers and 1 parent) and its cheaper, because all the parents help out.

But there is also this Progressive Montessori preschool right near my house.. its attached to the elemetary school. so they share a playground. Though I think the alternate times on the play ground. the bigger kids... (I have seen them) aren't always so considerate of the little ones. I like the work stations and I met with the teacher. She explained a typical day and explained the philosophy behind montessori a bit. I like it and I aggree with a lot she had to say. They do allow some group work, and the children are taught to be respectful to each other. Its not strict montessori where from what I understand is strictly individual work.

What I want ... is a place where my bright, bouncy child will grow, learn, meet friends, use some of that boundless energy he has, and learn not only letters, colours and numbers, but how to be a good friend, how to work with others, and play with others in a positive way. I want to raise a compassionate boy.

As far as the montessori curriculum, my son can so do it. I mean he plays individually all the time now. He taught himself the alphabet, he helps me cook (cuts things with the butter knife and mixes things and grinds spices) sorts laundry...

I wish I could have both.

how did you pick a preschool? what was important to you? what questions should I ask? what worked? what didn't?

please I am very curious. Can you share your experiences with me?

[babyj]

I agree that choosing a pre-school is very difficult. After 2.5 yrs at Montessori I'm changing this year to a traditional preschool. DS is eligible for kindergarten but with a November b-day so we're doing pre-school again this year. DS is also an only child and the only grandchild.

The best I can offer is to go with your intuition. What school do you feel good about? In the hallways or waiting area do you get a warm or cold feeling? Do the parents of the other children at the school look like people you could be friends with? A big one for me is school security. How is their screening process for adults? Where is the bathroom? Do the children ever leave the immediate area? etc.

What I liked about Montessori (ours was a very traditional) - They definitely do group works, for the most part that was encouraged as they learn more than just the activity but also teamwork etc. They taught great lessons on grace & courtesy. They were very respectful of each person as an individual - presented lessons in a way that is best for each individual. Their academics were great - ds knows continents, many countries and other things that traditional preschools don't seem to teach. When he was 2.5 I liked the mixed age classroom (3/4/5) but as an older child I no longer like that. Most of his peers have been taken out to go to kindergarten or full day preschool. I don't want to do either. The teacher to child ratio sounds scary but they first 2 months of school were teaching the children to make their own choices, to be responsible for themselves. (DS has always been extremely independent and I thought that being able to have a voice, a choice would be better for him than someone telling him what to do when).

Why we changed to a traditional - Mainly because I don't want him to be one of 2 boys his age. He wants friends. I also feel that sometimes Montessori can be over structured, as in this is the way this activity should be done. Montessori is actually rather strict - I think they call it "freedom within boundaries". My new thinking is that I want him to have fun and be safe. I already know that he's perfectly smart so being with children and having fun activities is most important to me. When he was younger I think that I thought being smart and going to a top school were most important. Weird to think this about a 4.5 year old.....

I"m sure some would disagree with me but I personally would never consider a parent co-op because the idea of a number of different people coming and going out of the classroom makes me nervous. I also don't like the idea that some parents may give it more than others and that would affect my child's experience.


I'm sure this didn't help but hopefully gives some thinking points.

Take care,

bj

[lucyem]

Around here kindergarten became a requirement only about 3 years ago. All preschools and many kindergarten programs are run by day cares and are pretty much day care. When we started looking I had 3 non day care options. One was a brand new montessori school. I have issues with strict montesori and also issues with a brand new school. Another choice was a preschool in a college campus. They only had a 2 day a week opening. They also had only working parent hours - the "half day" was from 8:30 to 3. I spent some time there. The idea of having college students work with the kids sounded great. I spent some time there with my son one day. The place was in a basement of an old building. The space was old and crammed filled with stuff and kids. While everyone was nice and the kids seemed happy I was concerned about the lack of sanitary conditions for example. No washing hands before snack. Feeding popcorn to all the kids. When I asked what they would do if a child had peanut allergies I never got a good answer. The third choice was a preschool run by a private school. An actual half day 9-12. When I asked about peanut allergies they had a plan in place. Peanut allergy child sat at "peanut free" table and could have friends join him/her whose lunches were peanut free. The kids washed hands all the time. There was an actual curriculum. Exposure to foreign language. Plus the possibility that our son could stay there up until 8th grade, also a fabulous teaching theory behind the schools philosophy. Plus a clean bright environment. And thats where we are going in the fall.

[beanma]

my dd1 went to a parent co-op preschool and we were very happy with it. she had a little bit of a hard time last october with separating from me although she had done fine earlier in the year and that was really rough, but we worked through it and she ended up having a great time. the co-op part was fine. dd1 got to know the other parents who were subs when the teachers were out. i was the craft helper and made massive batches of playdough. other parents did fundraising. we had a big silent auction and a big consignment sale. others did cleaning, bookkeeping, newsletter, website.

the things i would ask about when looking for a preschool are discipline -- what do they do when a child refuses to cooperate? hits another child? screams really loudly? etc. i'd ask about the daily routine -- songs, play, calendar time, story time, outside play. i'd ask about snacks -- sugary cookies everyday okay? i'd ask about separation anxiety -- how do the teachers want to deal with a kid who doesn't want mom or dad to leave? are they going to press the parent to leave the child crying 'cause "he'll be okay as soon as you're gone"?

think about what's important to you and then i think your answer will become more apparent.