Preschool in a church...and your not questions..

[p1gg1e]

My ODD just turned 4. I'm not really wanting to send her to preschool but I need a break and she really want to go. We live in a small town and there are either churches or a Montessori school.

I interviewed the Montessori - not much upside , they didn't know what to do about us not vaccinating , didn't know what they would be really doing in the classroom (the teacher had been teaching there for 5 years...), and it was more like daycare - no real goals and drop and pick up kids when ever.. Also they said they had no religious education but there where Christian bible study books in every room. I felt they weren't being honest.

Church Preschool - Understood allergies and understood vaccine exemption, Structured and planned out curriculum but play based , field trips , after school parent participation activities, lots on in school involvement also, ( bring a thing to share and snack day ) the school is 5 days a week ( I wanted 1-2 but no one offers them) ...the down side is we aren't Christian , they have bible stories everyday...I'm not worried about conversion only the expectation for us to join the church or ODD saying we don't celebrate those holidays...

Anyhow anyone compromise on what they want for there kids for other things? Should I truly not send her because of the religious issue?

Sorry if this isn't vary organized I'm making lunch and nursing right now also

[HeidiAnn67]

My son went to a Lutheran Preschool for 3 years.
We are not Lutheran and it was never a problem.
He even had a 2 girls who are Hindu in his class all 3 years.
It sounds like you like the Christian school, I think you should give it a try, I don't think it will be an issue (at least our school wasn't).

[HeidiAnn67]

Also wanted to add that I'm not sure how YOU feel about these things, but in my son's school besides stories they did do a Christmas Show about the birth of Jesus.

[p1gg1e]

Yeah I pitched it to DH and he said he wasn't happy with that...he said MAYBE next year :P they are the only game in town so it may be no preschool at all ( that fine any way...guess I need to get my butt motivated)

[Pancakes]

We aren't Christian, but both kids went to a baptist pre-school and DD went to a private Lutheran first grade. Both schools were aware that we had different religious philosophies and we very respectful of that. They did teach bible stories, which we had no problem with. Even if you aren't Christian, your kids will be exposed to these bible stories at some point or will not understand certain phrases or concepts in our society. I don't want my kids to be confused by someone saying "you better build a boat" when it's raining heavily.

My issue would come if the school required mandatory church attendance or some sort of statement of faith. Given that you live in a small town with limited pre-school resources, I can't see them cutting off a student base like that.

[p1gg1e]

I'm going to talk to H more about it tomorrow ( tonight is golf night so its a late night )

I really just need a break My YDD is a handful and I'm just so pooped all the time

[mojumi]

ds and dd have gone to a Methodist-affiliated pre-school, and we are not religious. It has made for some interesting discussions about prayer and god and jesus, but that's fine with me. I have made an effort at home to make sure we read stories from all sorts of religious traditions, my way of balancing out those bible story days. We participate in the school holiday show (christmas) but not things like the special church service for the school, and that doesn't seem to bother anyone. If you like the school, give it a try!

[Pancakes]

I TOTALLY understand. Exhaustion was the deciding factor for sending my oldest to pre-school. We're all human.

On a side note....

DS played Joseph in his preschool Christmas play. It was so funny, after everything was done and we went home, DS son asked "Now, who was Joseph?"

[p1gg1e]

Thanks ladies!

H actually took off work for the tour day his motivation was my parents are going to help with the monthly cost :

I was home schooled myself the later part of my education and I want to home school but I feel I need a year off to get ready LMAO esp with my crazy monkey toddler who is just so busy!!!

[eepster]

When we were looking at pre-Ks we did turn one down simply due to it being religious (of a differing religion than DH or I.) We will be sending DS to a Montessori.

It's true that Montessoris don't have a set curriculumn, but why do you see that as a problem? Before you totally write them off why don't you check out the Montessori subforum and learn a bit about it. I would say that if you planning to HS in the future the individual pace and independent work of Montessori is a better preperation than her getting used to group activities.

That said they may not be a real Montessori. Anybody can use the name, but they don't always follow the method. I've found that a lot of daycares call themselves Montessori pre-schools, but even though they may have some of the equipment (pink tower, etc) they really are just daycare centers.

[trinity6232000]

My dd has attended the same school for the last 5 years (three years of preschool, and she's starting 2nd grade this year) it's run threw my church (we're lutheran).

I was conflicted about dd attending a religious school when she started preschool. While I attend church there, and it is my own personal belief, I want dd to make her own choices someday. I also want her to see all religions as equal and none (not even mine) is right or better than another.

It's been better than I expected. It led us to have far more conversations about issues, belief, even politics (since I'm very liberal, and dd does hear some conversations with her peers about what their parents belief) since the election is coming.

It's been wonderful having these conversations, that of course we could have had regardless of her schooling, but I think that with the school she is at she has more questions for us to discuss.

Take care.

[p1gg1e]

Originally Posted by eepster

That said they may not be a real Montessori. Anybody can use the name, but they don't always follow the method. I've found that a lot of daycares call themselves Montessori pre-schools, but even though they may have some of the equipment (pink tower, etc) they really are just daycare centers.

Hum maybe I should clarify they could not tell me what they did with the kids during the day...I'm not really looking for a set teaching or closed ended learning....plus it smelled like cat pee ( they have 2 cats in the school) , also the fact that they were not honest about the books.....I could go on I was pretty disappointed.

So yeah it was JUST daycare with some equipment.

The religious preschool has a free play room/make believe room and playtime. even though they have a flow to the day I do like the fact that it is a bit organized so that she can enjoy the crafts and stories...but it isn't desk work and work sheets if you know what I mean.

I like Montessori as far as what Id love to send my ODD to but not this one, I just got bad vibes. The next closest one is over an hour away

I'll see how I feel about the religious preschool if I feel its to much ( 5 days 4 hours) or they are ultra pushing and ODD is just bringing home church stuff then I will pull her out ASAP and we will move on to something else...at least it will give me maybe a month+ to organize myself to plan some activities for ua all and recharge

Thanks for making me feel better ladies about your experiences

[Lingmom]

Originally Posted by p1gg1e

Hum maybe I should clarify they could not tell me what they did with the kids during the day...I'm not really looking for a set teaching or closed ended learning....plus it smelled like cat pee ( they have 2 cats in the school) , also the fact that they were not honest about the books.....I could go on I was pretty disappointed.

So yeah it was JUST daycare with some equipment.

The religious preschool has a free play room/make believe room and playtime. even though they have a flow to the day I do like the fact that it is a bit organized so that she can enjoy the crafts and stories...but it isn't desk work and work sheets if you know what I mean.

I like Montessori as far as what Id love to send my ODD to but not this one, I just got bad vibes. The next closest one is over an hour away

I'll see how I feel about the religious preschool if I feel its to much ( 5 days 4 hours) or they are ultra pushing and ODD is just bringing home church stuff then I will pull her out ASAP and we will move on to something else...at least it will give me maybe a month+ to organize myself to plan some activities for ua all and recharge

Thanks for making me feel better ladies about your experiences

I'd absolutely go with your gut. Also, there are different levels of affiliations that preschools and churches have. Is the preschool renting space from the church? Or is it a "mission" of the church?

For the record though, if a montessori school can tell you exactly what the kids are doing during the day, they're probably not really montessori. Part of Montessori is the idea that the children make decisions about what they will work on, rather than a teacher-led daily lesson plan.

Still... it's most important to get a good feeling from a pre-school.

[p1gg1e]

Originally Posted by Lingmom

I'd absolutely go with your gut. Also, there are different levels of affiliations that preschools and churches have. Is the preschool renting space from the church? Or is it a "mission" of the church?

Nope the PS is run by the church

For the record though, if a montessori school can tell you exactly what the kids are doing during the day, they're probably not really montessori. Part of Montessori is the idea that the children make decisions about what they will work on, rather than a teacher-led daily lesson plan.

Just was hoping she would have said , we like to go outside after lunch or we like to read books in the morning...that sort of thing...

[theretohere]

From the other side of the coin- DH has been a pastor at a church affiliated with a school. Plenty of kids came from the church- and the community. It was never a problem.

[marieangela]

Are those your only two options? I drove 20 minutes each way for my older son to go to a non-religious preschool. It was in a UU church, but no affiliation. In my neighborhood, the churches all did religious stuff with the kids and we did not want that. We are atheists and prefer for our children to learn about religionS in a non-biased way and on our terms, not someone elses. It's a tough decision.

[kmeyrick]

I've found more often than not that if the pre-K is willing to take non-members of the church/religion, they're usually respectful of people's feelings about belief. Call and ask.

[p1gg1e]

Originally Posted by marieangela

Are those your only two options? I drove 20 minutes each way for my older son to go to a non-religious preschool. It was in a UU church, but no affiliation. In my neighborhood, the churches all did religious stuff with the kids and we did not want that. We are atheists and prefer for our children to learn about religionS in a non-biased way and on our terms, not someone elses. It's a tough decision.

There are more religious schools and some non through our county that we don't qualify for and honestly I'm not interested in that are income based like headstart...I'm still looking though!

This is a Small town an hour away from the next big one. My car is on its last leg so the closer the better

We are going to take the tour. See what DH thinks ( he is more freshly non Christian then me so a bit sensitive about this then I) We will pull her out if she doesn't like it, is coming home with religious stuff etc. Worse comes to worse she goes for a month has fun and we pull her out

[eepster]

Originally Posted by p1gg1e

There are more religious schools and some non through our county that we don't qualify for and honestly I'm not interested in that are income based like headstart...I'm still looking though!

Many headstart programs allow people who are above the income thresh hold to pay for their kids to attend (at very reasonable prices sometimes.) This way they can have a more diverse socio-economic base.