preschool question, would love opinions -- UPDATE ON BOTTOM

I apologize in advance, this is going to be long...

I live in brooklyn, and the preschool process is crazy here - worse than the college application process. You have to commit by early March.

DD was born in late December. Which means she'll be going to Kindergarten when she is 4, turning 5.

She'll be 2.9 in September and was just accepted to a top preschool in the neighborhood for the 2's class, not the 3's class. So, she'll prob be one of the oldest in the class. When she goes to Kindergarten, she will not be with these kids... she'll be with the kids in the 3's class and be the youngest in her class.

We are also looking at another preschool, that is 2 blocks from our apt. This one is multi-age, and takes kids from 2.5 to 4. So if whe went there, she would be the youngest.


The first one, with the 2's class is a big name, fancy shmancy school and is a 20 minute walk or a drive with praying I don't get a ticket while double parking and dropping her off.

The multi age one is two blocks away. Not a big name, but I met and liked the staff. Its also about 1K less than the first. We are TTC, so proximity is kind of important to us. But I'm not sure if I love the multi age idea, or if I love the idea of her being the oldest.

The first one is one people are dying to get into. I worked there 10 years ago and know its a nice place.

WWYD?

Anyone have experience with a multi age preschool and/or having their child the oldest or youngest in a class?

Message edited 2/16/2012 8:23:42 AM.

Re: preschool question, would love opinions

Honestly, I would go with the multi age over being the oldest and not moving up with the rest of the kids. She will be able to learn from the older kids. But I don't have experience with multi age, so I'm not sure.

DD is the youngest in her class and she thrives. She's in pre-k now. She was in preschool last year, and same thing.

Re: preschool question, would love opinions

Re: preschool question, would love opinions

anyone else?

Re: preschool question, would love opinions

if her birthday is in december then the 2 class is the correct age because most schools in ny -the cut off is Dec. 1st

so unless you are planning on sending to private school with a different cutoff date- the 2 year old class is good

but i would go with the group session if you are planning to use the public school system (unless you need the preschool to count for getting itno a private elementary) kids learn well with different ages -that is part of the montorssi system

Re: preschool question, would love opinions

I would go with the second choice, as long as you are happy with the academics/activities, etc. there. It sounds like it has the most going for it. It also depends on your DD. I know that for my DD being the oldest probably would have not been so great for her. She would have fun, but probably wouldn't learn very much. The only thing I'm not sure of is the multi-age thing. Will they be trying to keep like ages together? I considered a school with a multi-age program and didn;t hear the best things about it. At that age there can be so many differences developmentally. I do know people who ended up there and it worked out better than I expected, so it might be ok. I think it ended up being like ages, due to the fact that the older kids were signed up for the longer day program and younger kids were mostly going to the shorter, morning program. Not sure I'm making sense or helping you at all here.

Crazy all the things we think about when picking a preschool, same here. I really didn;t expect this either.

Re: preschool question, would love opinions

Thanks ladies.

In NYC 12/31 is the cut off, so the 2's class is young for her, and she'll be the oldest. She's already very verbal and starting to potty train... I don't want to hold her back.

But the multi-age thing is a concern for me too - huge difference between a 2.5 year old and a 4 year old. They do some small group activities by age level and accept kids according to age and gender so there is an even balance. I don't even know if we got into this school yet.....

Re: preschool question, would love opinions

bump for the night crew. Really would love to hear as many experiences and viewpoints as possible. Thanks :)

Re: preschool question, would love opinions

I am confused about one thing....why did they accept her to a 2yo program IF she makes the cut off for a 3 yo one. To me that makes no sense.

My opinion first as the mom of a child with a Dec 20 bday, and as having a NB when ds1 first entered school is to go with the closer one.

First there is something to be said about not having to hike 20+ mins to drop off/pu with a NB in tow. One of the reasons I picked my DS school is because its 5 mins from my house which is great in allowing me to wait til the last possible minute to wake ds2 before we have to go get his brother. Also your d d is always going to be the youngest in class and although this is a bigger age gap, I think she could be exposed to more because of her exposure to older kids....its like when they have an older sibling...ds2 has done almost everything earlier than ds1. As my peditrician says ds2 has a built in educational specialist in his big brother!

GL

eta: also by skipping the 4yo program to go to kindergarten she might be at a slight disadvantage as well. Simply because she won't have learned/experienced what all the others did in the 4yo program...which is not a deal breaker but still something to consider.

Message edited 2/13/2012 9:44:50 PM.

Re: preschool question, would love opinions

My 2nd DD is in a multi-age class and while I was hesitant, I am very happy with her progress. She is a late November birthday and was not yet three when she started and is the youngest by about 6 months. I was very nervous about it, because it was a change to the program that I wasn't informed of until the year had started, but I was very clear with the teacher and director about what my expectations were and was reassured that every child's needs would be met and my dds really have been.

Re: preschool question, would love opinions

Thank you for this wonderful input.

They accepted her into the 2's program because its a private preschool and doesn't have to follow the DOE schedule. The admissions director said that December birthdays give more flexibility - that she really can go either way. When I went on a tour, and saw the 3's program in December, they looked huge and there was a 4 year old's birthday party happening. I realized there would be kids a full year older than her in the 3's class, and that made me nervous. Then she told me that they currently have an "older 2's class" where all the kids had fall birthdays. I said that would be ideal! She said that she can't guarantee that would happen again, that's just who happened to apply that year. So.... I think they put her in the 2's because of that. You have be 2.3 to start, so DD would be 6 months older than the youngest kid....


This is so nerve racking.

Thank you so much for the input on the multi-age class. The school close to me is definitely the most convenient.... I just have such mixed feelings about the multi-age business. They are both good schools and I'm sure she'll be fine in either of them....

Time for bed. Thank you so much, really - I appreciate the insight. Any more is appreciated. Goodnight.

Message edited 2/13/2012 11:55:55 PM.

Re: preschool question, would love opinions

My brother started school early and he always had difficulties in school. Was the smallest and although very athletic he couldn't compete with a lot of the kids on the team. Once he got to college and he shot up he made college teams he didn't make in high school. He was also very immature which is usually the biggest problem with late birthdays. He was super smart but was always getting into trouble.

My parents tried to keep him back later on but the school wouldn't.

I would give your dd that extra year of maturity.

Studies show that older kids tend to learn by teaching the kids that are behind them and the younger kids learn by watching the older ones.

Re: preschool question, would love opinions

thanks, and last bump....

Re: preschool question, would love opinions

ok, really the last bump

Re: preschool question, would love opinions

Re: preschool question, would love opinions- UPDATE AT BOTTOM

Re: preschool question, would love opinions -- UPDATE ON BOTTOM

I would send her to the first school.

In my opinion, there is a HUGE difference between a 2 year old (young or old 2) and a 4 year old. 4 year olds will be reading and writing while 2 year olds are learning to color.

DS started off in the younger 2's class and is now in the older 2's class. Almost everyone has a birthday January-June but there are a few kids who are October-September from the previous year so they are older. Their moms said those older kids would be moved up to the next class once there is room.

I love how close everyone is in age. They play so well together and are similar in development. I don't think 2yo DS would do well with kids almost double his age. If he was 4, I also wouldn't want him in a class with 2 year olds.

Re: preschool question, would love opinions -- UPDATE ON BOTTOM

I've got a few friends in Brooklyn, so I think I know the big fancy school you're talking about. I don't have any answers for you, but my son is 2.5 now and I'm having to put him in day care for a few weeks (I have jury duty) and opted for the 2-3's class instead of the 3-5's. I just felt that though he's bright, he still naps, not quite potty trained, etc, he'll be more on par with the 2-3s. It's hard because September may be a completely different ball game! Also to consider - what kind of children will he be going to school with at the private school. May be reverse snobbery on my part (?) but I live in an urban area as well and I am always aware of taking him to events, classes, etc where he's only playing with affluent children. I just don't think it reflects our surroundings and I want him to be exposed to lots of different children...KWIM?

Re: preschool question, would love opinions -- UPDATE ON BOTTOM

Just wanted to thank everyone who gave input. I took DD to visit the multi-age school today, and just loved it. So, I think our decision is made. Its really well run, and the kids all seemed so happy. The director was so accomodating (sp?) And it took 7 minutes door to door including our two flights of stairs!