From: judy@locus.com (Judy Leedom Tyrer)
Subject: Re: nursery school questions
Organization: Locus Computing Corporation, Los Angeles, California
Distribution: na
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 1992 23:06:27 GMT

In article <1992Nov17.185351.23228@cbnewsl.cb.att.com> zippy@cbnewsl.cb.att.com (steven.s.albert) writes:
>I'm just looking for some opinions.  We're looking into nursery
>schools for Billy (for next September, I can't believe how early
>you have to start this!).  Anyhow, we had thought we'd start out
>with 2 mornings a week because we're really just looking to give
>Billy an exposure to other kids in a group setting (without us
>around - currently he's with Mary or me all day).  He's currently
>in a pre-nursery program 1 day a week.  After an initial tough
>adjustment, he seems to be doing pretty well there (and is quite
>proud of his "art projects", which now decorate our refrigerator :-)).
>
>Now the question.  We have since heard and read that 2 days
>a week is not a good thing because of the lack of continuity and
>that 3 days a week is much better (2.5 hours/day).  I'm just looking
>for comments or experiences with nursery schools.  Billy will be 3.5
>then, so I know he'll be quite different emotionally and maturity-wise.
>Right now, he's very shy and tends to hang back by himself when he's in
>a group setting and we didn't want to traumatize him by putting him into
>a situation that he's not equipped to handle.  He also has some other
>activities that he enjoys that we want to continue him in and a 3 day
>nursery program would mean he'd be busy every day of the week.  Advice?
>Anecdotes?

One thing that struck me when we first started looking at pre-schools was
that there were some that were actually day care centers but had a morning
pre-school curriculum.  I didn't like this for my children because it seemed
there was a natural cliquishness built in with those that only came for the
part day being a separate group from those that were there all day.  I didn't
like the feel of these places.

I found the perfect pre-school and I knew it when I saw it.  It may have been
the large tree in the yard that they encouraged the children to climb, or 
maybe it was the floor time story telling.  Or the house play areas where
the kids could free play.  Or was it the science lab with lots of insects
and plants growing.  All I knew was that it felt 100% "right".  It was the
fifth school I'd looked at.

What they did was have the school split according to age group.  M W F is
all 4 year olds.  T TH is all 3 year olds.  Those who are in "pre-K" (old
enough but not mature enough for Kindergarten) go M-F afternoons.  

We found that the two days a week was a little disjointed, but for us the 
purpose of sending a 3 YO was just to get him used to the idea of school,
regimentation, and getting up in the morning (that was for us parents, really).
The three days a week seems a lot more like the real thing but with a day
of free play in between each school day so Mitchell isn't "under the gun"
all the time.  He calls his non-school days his "vacation".  I think it is
so cute.  

I find this a nice interlude for school.  It helps us as parents get used to
having to get up and get the kids ready for school but still gives us two
days a week to chill out and sleep in.  And Mitchell adores school.  He is
excited that next year he gets to go every day that Mommy works.  

So I disagree about 2 days a week being too little.  It was perfect for us.

>
>I don't know about him, but *I* feel the stress!  Tying this into the
>"growing up" thread, how many of you find that your children have grown
>up faster than your ability to cope (i.e. you've finally figured out how
>to deal with the stage that just ended :-))?  My first inclination is to
>protect him from everything and it takes all of my willpower to let
>him experience some things firsthand...(his personality is very close
>to mine so I can make some pretty good guesses about what's in store
>for him as he grows up).

I have a sure fire cure for this syndrome.  We call it "the second child".  
That way you get to reexperience that stage you've just mastered (only to
find that it is different for every child, sigh), and you don't have time
to protect your firstborn from "everything".  In fact, having a second child
has made me feel grateful to have my children growing up.  I love age 4.  I
look forward to Erin getting there (we've had 3 years of living with 2 yo
behavior and, quite frankly, I've had enough of it now ;-)

-- 
Judy Leedom Tyrer

"The road to hell is paved with good intentions"	- William Blake
Newsgroups: misc.kids