Would you send your kid to this preschool?

[bisous]

So we've been "homeschooling" preschool and I have been totally loving it. My mom has been a K teacher for the past 10 years and she gave me a great "program" that has been working so well. If anyone is interested I'll post what we've been doing. So everything is great except really three things.

1. I think DS needs more socialization. We don't really see people all that often.

2. By Friday, both of us are burnt out. Monday through Thursday are great but by Friday I literally cannot wait for the weekend when DH can rescue me and I can get some "me" time. I don't have any babysitters that can help me during the week except my SIL who is pregnant with her 4th and is quite understandably extremely busy.

3. I find it hard to give DS2 any attention at all and I really regret that.

So we just found a preschool that might actually work for DS. He is Type 1 Diabetic and very, very active.

There are some great things about this school.

1. It is public so they have to accept him even with his behavioral and health considerations.

2. It is very diverse. It is an area in my city with many kids from different backgrounds which is surprisingly hard to find in my So Cal city. The kids seem really sweet and the parents are really non-judgmental.

3. The assistant teacher has a daughter on the same insulin pump as my son. This is really hard to find. In fact, she is the first person that I have met IRL that knows anything about how to work our pump.

4. It would allow me some time to play with DS2.

5. It would give me a break from my very high energy DS.

6. It would allow DS1 to have opportunities to play every day. He is super friendly and loves other kids.

7. The cost is reasonable.

8. It is very developmentally appropriate with long stretches of free choice centers and outside playtime.

Here are the cons.

1. I don't really like the afternoon teacher. The assistant teacher is great but the main teacher just seems really....for lack of better work, lazy. I feel terrible saying this but she is very sloppy looking. While I was there she told the director to watch the kids for a second because "she had to go pee". That just seems so unprofessional to me. I don't know if I should care about that or not. Technically neither of those things should really affect my DS at all.

2. It is an ugly site. It just isn't very inspiring but perfectly adequate. SOmething like that would have been a big deal to me but I'm not sure if it will affect DS or not.

3. I don't know if just throwing DS into a preschool setting would cure his social ills. I'd like him to get some improved social skills which is the major reason that I am considering preschool at all but I don't know if this is a valid strategy.

4. It is four days a week (albeit in the afternoon which works much better for us) and I really like our quiet days together. I think I would prefer it to be two days or week or even three.

Would you do this program?

Any thoughts appreciated!

Jen

[SnuggleBuggles]

All programs have pros and cons so you just have to go with your gut. My gut says go for it. :)

Just because it is 4 days a week doesn't mean you always have to go if you would just prefer to have a pj day or something. It is good to go pretty consistently for the sake of routine and making friends but it is just preschool. so be flexible.

Beth

[o_mom]

Can you pay for four days but only send him two or three? If you find he loves it and thrives, you can always send him more often.

I think the teacher is something you might keep an eye on, but not a deal breaker. I don't think the asthetics of the site is something your DS will care about.

[gatorsmom]

I would try it. After weighing the pros and cons, I'd try it and be aware of how DS talks about it and feels about it. If he is coming home excited and happy, then you know it was a good choice.

As for the teacher being, well, sloppy, it's not like your DS is going to pick up those tendencies. And maybe she has some exceptional qualities in other areas. I understand your concern, though, about the pee comment. I'd find that disagreeable too. Just be vigilant of your DS's attitude and how he feels about the class. That's the most important thing, kwim?

You, know, it's just preschool. You could take him out of class as often as you want, imo. It gets alittle more tricky when they get older.

gl!

[belovedgandp]

I'd say go for it. Based solely on my assessment of your list of issues.

My bias is that my son goes to our public school pre-school and I've been thoroughly impressed with the entire process. It's a "peer model" program where they have "normally developing" kids as models in the same class as children needing assistance - our classroom has a range of behavioral, sensory, developmental issues. It's been fabulous having staff focused on teaching all the kids appropriate ways to communicate and treat each other.

My biggest hang up with sending my son was that it was four days a week. He just turned 4 this past week, so he was barely 3 1/2 when he started in August. It was a major adjustment, but the routine has been crucial for us - especially with having a baby now.

See how your son reacts. My DS's teacher always seems so nervous and scattered brain around us parents. You could tell she was totally freaked out about having 20 adults in her classroom at back to school night last fall. But she is fabulous with the under 5 set. I on the other hand would much rather speak to a group of 200 adults then be in a room with 12 3 year olds all day.

[s7714]

If I were you I would go for it! It sounds like the pros are really very good ones. Based on your previous posts about being frustrated with not being able to find a school that would be able to work with your DSs insulin pump/diabetes, the fact that there is a teacher there who has experience with that situation sounds ideal!

As for it being four days a week vs. something less, I agree with PPs about seeing if you can just put him in for two or three days even if you still have to pay for a full four. Most of the programs around here allow you to do that sort of thing.

[TahliasMom]

i would go for it. there will be an adjustment period but there will come a day when you are having to drag him out of there. lol. and i know 4 days seems a lot but like others said, you can always take him less or drop him off late and/or pick him up early. Preschool is a great socialization experience plus he'll learn so much from other kids. In turn, this will able you to focus on your 2nd child.

[lizajane]

do it!!!

your pros far outweigh your cons, IMHO.

and as for the teacher- how fancy would you look if you taught preschool? think about it from her perspective. my favorite teacher (that we never had, i just like her) at our school is 8 months pregnant and i have seen her wear maternity clothes MAYBE twice. she wears giant tee shirts and baggy pants. no makeup, always a pony tail and sneakers. she is one of the MOST patient, hands on, enthusiastic teachers around. honestly, i would worry about a teacher who looked too nice! it would seem to me that she wasn't ready for playing or arts and crafts. as for the pee remark... while unprofessional around a potential parent, it wouldn't actually bother me. she is just a person. who happened to have to pee.

i sub at our preschool ALL THE TIME these days and the way teachers talk to each other is WAY different than how they talk to kids or behave with kids.

[set81616]

I send my DS to a daycare that also has a preschool and preK with it. The buildings need a lot of work. There is nothing flashy about it but it is the BEST in the area. I just got on the board and found out there are over 300 kids on the waiting list and the other nationally known daycare just down the hill (literaly a 1-2 minute walk) has open spots. The quality of the buildings sometimes has nothing to do with the quality of the care. I understand your concern about the sloppyness. There are 4 teachers in my son's room and one of them has clothes that hang off of her and just seems sloppy. I was a little biased about her and then found out she is phenomenal. The teachers will say things like what you heard but I am there a lot for my son's therapy so it may be they feel they don't need to watch what they say or they just realize I say similar things. The insulin pump is also a huge plus. It must be really hard to trust someone else to take care of your DS's medical issues the same way you do and this might be a nice transition for you. She may also be able to help you with how to train his future teachers if she has had to deal with this before. Trust your instincts. I hope this all works out for you and DS. Let us know how it goes.

[dr mom]

It sounds like a great match for your DS in so many ways. He will have the chance to socialize in an environment where his medical needs are not an issue - how wonderful is it to find a teacher who is familiar with insulin pumps and the specific needs of a child with IDDM?! AND at an affordable price?

My big preschool concern for my own DS has been how many days to send him next year (3 vs 5) and I'm not kidding when I say this has caused me more anxiety than trying to decide which college I wanted to attend, LOL! It finally occurred to me that the cost was low enough, I could sign up for 5 and just go however many days seemed right for him...and it sounds like that is your situation, too. So you have options! If he's slow to warm up to the class, try just 2 or 3 days instead of all 4...I'll bet a time will come when he wants to go 4 days, because he doesn't want to miss anything, and looks forward to playing with his friends.

If the teachers are interacting with the children appropriately, are offering hands-on activities and positive reinforcement, and there are plenty of toys and arts/crafts materials...I'd ignore the "ugly" site and the "sloppy" teacher. Your child's experience will really be determined by his interaction with the teachers and other kids, and if the teachers are experienced and creative, they'll make his preschool time enjoyable.

Grab that slot while you can!

[erosenst]

I feel terrible saying this but she is very sloppy looking. While I was there she told the director to watch the kids for a second because "she had to go pee". That just seems so unprofessional to me. I don't know if I should care about that or not. Technically neither of those things should really affect my DS at all.

In the "FWIW" category - I love the daycare/preschool where Abby goes, in no small part because there afe some truly exceptional teachers. Both of whom are clinically obese. And at least one of whom would make that comment.

But despite their weight, they are up and down all day, working with the kids, etc. And they both totally get/got Abby. (One is in her current room, and one the room she was in last year.)

As far as the four days a week thing - you might find he thrives in that environment. And if not, I'm guessing you can pay for four, and send him for three...although depending on how their program works, he may feel like he's "not with the program" if he's the only one missing one day every week.

Good luck -

Emily
Abby 4

[KBecks]

It sounds like it's worth a shot. The only way you learn to socialize is through practice, practice, practice. Try it out and you can evaluate a few months in and you can always change because it is just preschool. I hope it works great for you!

[kransden]

That teacher sounds just like me lol! But when I am in the grocery store or return to a school and the kids swarm me to give me a hug, I know my looks don't matter, and I must be doing something right. So don't be put off by appearances.

As to the social skills, you know your child has issues. Discuss them with the teacher. After about a month, see where he is and what you need to work on with him. Keeping him at home won't fix the problem, but he might be to overwhelmed by preschool or he might thrive in the structure.

Also alert the parents of the other kids and give them suggestions on how their kid can handle the situation. In dd's class there is a slightly mentally retarded girl. I talked to dd on how to handle things with her. DD doesn't like people/things that are different. What I didn't know was there was a boy with autism. She did not like him at all. It took a while to figure out what to do. In the end, he settled down, I coached her on coping skills when I found out, and now they are good friends. It would have happened faster if I had known what to expect. You might tell other parents something like "DC has mood swings due to his sugar. If he is acting rough, your child might tell him xxxx to remind him to calm down."

I hope you send him and it turns out to be a fantastic experience for him.