Thanks Ladies for the Preschool post!

[sugarsnappea]

I have no friends with children my daughter's age. I only knew I intended to send my DD to preschool somewhere next fall. I am also in the middle of a huge move, which is taking up all my time. I had no idea about this Preschool thing unitl I read the thread. I couldn't believe the high demand for preschool slots. In fact, many schools in our area started waiting lists last summer. Thanks to you we are now on some waiting lists for next fall. I would of missed out if it wasn't for this post. :) thanks again!!

[blnony]

I swear its like trying to get my daughter into a college. She will be two by next fall and I started looking for a two year old preschool program around here. ARGG!! Right now she is on two waiting lists and I'm working on the third one. And its expensive!! It is around $200-$250 a month for 3 half days (8:30 to 11:30) so 9 hours a week. And its the public school calendar too, and up front fees of about $100. I was amazed how crazy this is. Evidentally for one of the programs here, it takes about 2 years on the waiting list to get in, so we missed that one already.

[egoldber]

Briana, I would put Audrey on the list for any preschool you think you really want. There are ALWAYS cancellations. People move, change their minds, the program doesn't work out, etc. We had Sarah on a list for 2 other programs and both cleared after the first couple weeks of school. But we were happy with our program and didn't want to change.

Just for reference, we pay $180 a month for Sarah's 2 mornings a week program (9-1). If she were in the 3 day a week program, it would be $270. At least around here, that is in the typical price range for a quality, non-elite type program (which can easily be double that amount).

[Momof3Labs]

I also appreciated that post! But I'm wondering - do I need to worry about this now? It seems so soon, Colin is only 13 months old! Or do the schools usually require them to be 2 years old when school starts - in which case we can wait another year (which I would rather do).

[egoldber]

It depends on what you want. For example, at Sarah's school, they have two 2 year old classes. The "younger 2's" class that Sarah is in, is for kids who were 18-29 months by September 30th. The older 2's class is for kids that were 30-36 months by September 30th. I like a program like this because it gives you more flexibility on how you place your child based on their developmental readiness.

If you have no interest in placing Colin in preschool until he's three (or older), then obviouly there is no need to worry about it for next fall. But if you think you might be interested and want a particular school, I would go ahead and put his name on a list.

I wasn't planning to do preschool until Sarah was 3, but I personally reached a breaking point emotionally with being a 24/7 mom with no relief due to DH's intense travel and decided to go ahead and do it.

HTH,

[Momof3Labs]

Thanks, Beth. Part of me wants to defer this because I have no idea where there are preschools (I'm certain that there are many, though), much less which ones are any good! I guess that it is time to start polling the neighbors on this one!

[sugarsnappea]

I couldn't believe the waiting lists. I heard some people put there children on them when they are PREGNANT! The prices were crazy too~ most in my area were $50-60 a HALF day. I felt like I was buying a car when I called to just receive information. Talk about high pressure sales. ITS PRESCHOOL! Some even wanted to interview ME. I felt like we were already preparing for college. Luckily, I thought about a local university that has an excellent Education program. Bingo- they have reasonable prices, a diverse student population, and instructors who love children. I am high on this waiting list and put JG on some others just to be safe. Thanks Again! :)

[CherylT]

Wow! I can't believe how long some folks have to wait. I must say we are lucky in that we were able to get our DD into school about 1.5 months before the start (both schools we were interested in had openings in Aug for Sept) - but I live out in the sticks. I also wanted to share that we are in a co-op preschool which I love! I thought I'd hate all the participation, etc. but it turns out that I just love it. I assist in class once a month and it is so much fun to see the kids and how they interact, etc. It is also very affordable (5 hrs per week total over 2 days - $75/month). There is some fundraising involved, however only one fundraiser is required participation and you could just donate $75 to avoid having to sell (which is what we did). It is also great being part of the membership, helping choose how the money is spent, etc. Makes for a very interesting experience. HTH someone who is in the throws of choosing a school - good luck to you!

PS The changes in your child after they've been in school for a while is AMAZING! Such a wonderful experience for them, and this from a mom who was recently lectured by DD that 'friends share' when I wouldn't give her something she wanted.

Cheryl
SAHM to Lilli 9/20/00 & Alec 10/21/02

[MelissaTC]

Wow. That sounds nice :)

I have Matthew in a 2 day a week program at a local church. I love it because everyone there is super nice. The school itself was built for this very purpose so there is lots of room, wonderful equipment (that is also NEW), and I like the curriculum. It is Christian based so they teach him things like God made the sky, etc.. He has a wonderful time and is learning so many new skills. It is really cool to see how much he has come out of his shell.

I pay $192 a month for 2 days a week, 9-1. It is one of the pricier programs but worth every penny, imho. I love their policies on discipline, potty training, etc.. and feel very comfortable keeping him there until he is off to kindergarten. I like that they have a class of 5+ who for whatever reason, did not enter kindergarten this past August. I like to know that this is an option if he is not ready by his 5th birthday.

I never thought I would have him in a program so soon but man, I needed a break big time and this has been great for the both of us.

[blnony]

Thats important to me too. I want to get Audrey into a program where she can stay until Kindergarten. I don't want to switch programs on her later.