Stay at Montessori or Move to Public for Kindergarten?

It’s that time of year again, time to think about back-to-school and WHICH school. Lilah has been in Montessori for the last year. She is now 4 ½ and could start Kindergarten in public school this fall but her Montessori has a Kindergarten program as well. What to do? I’ve been reading many parent blogs and other forums about what has worked or not for their little ones and I’ve been talking to the other parents about this subject. About half of Lilah’s class and close friends are heading off for different schools but for a variety of reasons. Here are some reasons parents are taking or not taking their 4-5 year-old children from Montessori.

Reasons to Leave:

1. Their local public school is good and the money paid for Montessori can be used for other things like sports, music and dance classes.
2. Their child is already 5 and they are moving them to another private school that starts at K. Depending on what level they test at the child may move to K or 1st, plus they have been at Montessori for 3 years now and have reached a high level.
3. Some feel their child will be going to the local public school for 1st grade so if they move now they can start making new friends and get them used to the structure of public school.
4. The general thinking is that if your child is at a good Montessori they may already be academically ahead of public school kids. Grade skipping is rare so if they move to public school earlier the child won’t be so far ahead that they are bored

Reasons to Stay:

1. The Montessori program is a full day for Kindergarten (where public is only a half day). Their child is happy (and excelling) where they are AND afternoon child care is not needed. If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.
2. Many children have been looking forward to being the oldest (and wisest) child at the Montessori. This is their chance to take younger children under their wing and for them to solidify the lessons and habits learned in the previous year(s).
3. If your local public school is not a good fit (either academically or socially) this gives time to find a public or private elementary school that does fit. To switch schools now just to have them switch again next year would only disjoint their lives. Kids need stability and structure.
4. Since there is a good chance my child will be academically advanced when she starts public school she will have energy to focus on meeting new friends. True there will be a different type of structure in public school but for any child moving from K to 1st grade sitting in assigned desk will be new. If she can follow instructions, and have a good attention span and social skills she will adjust when the time comes.

Did any of you have to make this decision? What are your thoughts on this subject?

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How to Choose a Preschool

The time has come for my sweet girl to move on to preschool. It has been a rollercoaster of emotion for me coming to the realization that she is growing up, especially knowing how difficult it could be for her (and me) to alter the routine of people and places she’s known for the last three years. These choices may establish her learning pattern for the rest of her life – Wow, the pressure! I have been stumbling through this process – but have come up with a list of basic questions I need answered in order to decide which preschool is right for my precious little one.

Let’s start with some basics:

QUESTION #1: Hours/Schedule

• Does your preschool have a traditional school schedule with many days/weeks off throughout the year or a year round schedule that only closes on major holidays?
• Is there a half, partial of full day schedule?

QUESTIONS #2: Location

• Should it be close to your work, home, or somewhere in between? Are there other more convenient locations that work for your schedule?

QUESTION #3: Cost

• Preschool fees differ widely.  I discovered two schools next to each other could vary in cost by as much as $500/month. A good tip I learned is that there are co-ops where you can volunteer your personal time during business hours at the school in exchange for a reduced cost tuition or as a prerequisite of enrollment.

QUESTION #4: Preschool Philosophy

There is a wide range of preschool philosophies. Only an Owner/Director can explain their viewpoint fully.  I categorized four core philosophies below: 

• Traditional:  This is the most common in the US and is commonly referred to as a Developmentally Appropriate Preschool. This program tends to emphasize physical, cognitive, emotional and social areas of a preschooler. It’s a mixture of self-directed and teacher directed activities.
• Academic: This philosophy puts an emphasis on early reading, beginner’s math, and other skills not usually introduced until grade school. The teacher generally guides the class and learning direction.
• Montessori: This is a structured program where children move from activity-to-activity at their own pace.  It is intended to create self-motivated, independent learners in a social environment.
• Others:  High/Scope: Active learning, Reggio Emilia: Project based, Waldorf: Creativity over academia, and Parent Co-operatives: Parent and Student working together with guidance from a teacher that shares the groups philosophies.

 Last but not least questions: 

• Teacher/Assistant vs. Student ratios
• Do they provide snacks and lunch?
• Do they separate the different age groups from each other?
• Do they admit kids that are not potty trained?  If so, is there an additional fee?
• Is there a nap time?
• How do they prepare the children for Kindergarten and beyond?
• Special Programs: Do they have Gymnastics, Music, or teach a secondary language?
• Are the teachers licensed?
• Does the school have positive/reviews? (Check your local parents’ network.)

After I complete my research and visit my top preschools with Lilah, I know that in the end, I will have to go with my ‘gut-feeling’ for my final decision. A friend of mine said that her son kept talking about one of the schools they visited and wanted to go back – her decision was made. I will admit, this hasn’t happened yet for us, but I’m hoping it will soon. Good luck!

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First Day of Kindergarten

Miranda Wearing Cute as a Button Rib Knit Shirt and Baby Wale Corduroy Skort Set

The long-awaited day has arrived. My daughter has been so excited! Alas, it is here…The First Day of Kindergarten.

The night before, we carefully selected what her first-day-of-school outfit will be. She wanted to wear a dress (to give her teacher a good first impression) but I wanted her to wear shorts or pants because sitting on the carpet will be more comfortable. So, we decided on le•top’s 2009 Fall collection Cute As A Button ensemble. The skirt has built-in shorts!!! (My favorite part—why didn’t they have those when I was growing up?) And it went so well with her new Back-to-School ‘do!

For the past month, I have been mentally preparing myself NOT to cry when I drop her off at school. All I could think of was that my baby is growing up, and from now on until she graduates from high school, she will be in school everyday, five days a week, with only a few weeks during the year when she can enjoy childhood. But on the flip side, I realized that I would now have mornings to devote to my 5-month old son who needs my attention now more than ever.

Today, as we drove to school, there was no time to cry. We were running late, the parking lot was full, cars were parked all along the neighboring streets, and the classroom was filled with paparazzi parents snapping cameras and videotaping this monumental day. It was hard to just get my daughter INSIDE her classroom, let alone me and my stroller. After 10 minutes of listening to the teacher take roll and the students reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, the teacher instructed the students: “Please look for your parent and wave goodbye so they can leave and we can start class.” Miranda found me, waved goodbye with a big smile, then sat down for Circle Time.

I exited the classroom then walked back to the car. A single tear rolled down my cheek. All I could think of was that my little girl is a BIG girl now.

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Time for a Change? Day-Care or Preschool?

I’ve been struggling with the decision to move my daughter from a full-time family day-care into preschool. Lilah has loved her secure “home-away-from home” since she was 5 months old. Developmentally she appears to be progressing at a normal pace – at 2 ½ she knows the letters of the alphabet (and their sounds), can count to 15 and knows many colors and shapes. We have been working on her ‘basic skills’ at home and her day-care does offer music time, craft time, and intermittent teaching – but mostly they play. I am confident she is gaining healthy social and emotional skills in this situation, and I certainly don’t want to push her to excel academically at this point – after all, you only get to be a kid once!  My question is “When to make a change?  I certainly do want to keep her challenged!”

On a day to day basis there are 3 other children that are within 4 months of her age, while the rest are much younger.  One of the ‘older children’ made the jump to preschool a few months back, while others are like me – trying to weigh the decision whether to move our children from a secure, happy environment to one that might offer increased opportunities for learning and interaction.  It would be great to move Lilah along with some of her ‘peers’ – especially one little boy who lives near our family.  His mom also seems unsure when to make the jump!

Lilah is probably “ready” for preschool – but this is a big decision for our family.  Our routines will change; there will be increased costs and most certainly a ‘period of adjustment.’  Can anyone share what they have done and how it worked out? I have heard that it is optimum to spend at least one year at preschool before kindergarten – so our deadline will be by age 4. All of my friends seem to be doing something different with their children, and every parent seems to have opinions…but this parent needs more information.  Help please!

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“Grajuration” Day!

Miranda in Vive Les Fleurs! from le•top's 2009 Fall collection

It’s the end of the school year, and for me it was a special one. My daughter graduated from Preschool!

Before I had children, I used to think that Preschool Graduation (or as my daughter calls it: “grajuration”) was a feeble event that parents made up to make something minor into something MAJOR. Well, I still think that, but now that it’s happening to my little girl, I’m all over it! It is a very big step for these little tykes to finish Preschool and go out into the world as accomplished, uh… Pre-Kindergarteners.

This morning, my daughter woke up and said, “I’m free! No more school! No more homework! No more waking up early! So… what are we doing today, Mommy?” (Ugh.) Well, she may be on summer vacation, but I’m still working. All summer long, I’m going to have to listen to her say, “I’m bored. There’s nothing to do!” How many more days until fall/back to school? 😉

Speaking of fall… Here’s a sneak peek from le•top’s 2009 Fall Collection: Miranda’s print knit dress from the Vive Les Fleurs! line is coming to stores near you  — in fact, the first of these dresses are leaving our warehouse and being shipped to stores this very week. The Giant Peach in Annapolis, MD is taking phone orders for this dress. Give Jean or Mary a call: 410-268-8776. Stay tuned for more fall sneak peeks!

le•top Vive Les Fleurs! print knit dress and matching tights available in 3mo - 6x.

And for all you parents with young “grads”… please share your event photos with us by clicking here. We’d love to feature your scholars!

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Secret Contest Winner Sends le•top a Gift!

Jordynne modeling her dress from the le•top Bloomin' Beauty collection, Spring 09

Our most recent Secret Contest winner sent us a wonderful gift. We love seeing babies and kids wearing our clothes, so when Steph T. sent us a photo of her daughter wearing our le•top Bloomin’ Beauty dress, we’re the ones who felt like we won a contest! It was wonderful of  Steph to tell us how much she loved the dress she won, simply for participating in le•top blog. The best part, though, was hearing that Jordynne loved it, too, and of her choosing to wear it to the Spring Party at Kindergarten. We can just imagine her twirling around at her party!

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