Is touring schools (elementary in our case) a thing?

[Anonymous]

Do principals give tours of schools? DD is starting K next year and we've been advised to prepare her as much as possible so she knows what to expect. I know there will be an open house the week before school, so maybe that's sufficient? I'm just worried the open house may be too hectic I suppose.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do principals give tours of schools? DD is starting K next year and we've been advised to prepare her as much as possible so she knows what to expect. I know there will be an open house the week before school, so maybe that's sufficient? I'm just worried the open house may be too hectic I suppose.

If DD doesn't have special needs you can probably relay on the school to know what they're doing and show the kids the classroom and the bathroom (at our ES, K classrooms actually have their own bathrooms, so the kids don't even go down the hall or share with older kids). All else will be done in groups and introduced gradually anyway. DD doesn't need to know the school on her own because she won't be wandering around it. No need to make the whole thing literally seem bigger and more complicated than it is.

One thing that surprised me when DC1 started K was that the classrooms were essentially bare at Open House. The teacher very kindly and patiently explained to me that the classroom was going to take shape as a gradual visual record of the class themselves, with their name tags, their art, their work, and their projects surrounding them as they produced things. It did not look like colorful party time at the outset to me, but it came to vibrant life in the course of the year. And it might have been helpful to not have as much stimulation and distraction at the outset.

[Anonymous]

It depends heavily on the school, but typically even schools that allow tours do not allow children to attend them. The tours are for families who are considering the school, and for parents to make their decisions, not necessarily for students to get a bespoke preview ahead of the other 125 incoming kindergarteners.

[Anonymous]

(Same PP.) In other words, to me a special tour isn't necessary at all. The school does K transition with dozens upon dozens of kids every single year. Let them do their thing unless DD genuinely needs something different.

[Anonymous]

I would be wary of a school that did allow tours except in special circumstances (special needs student enrolling, etc.). Its a security concern.

[Anonymous]

I think this is a great preliminary exercise for the OP in trust. Depending on the size of the school, there are anywhere from about 50 to about 200 incoming kindergartners. It would be impossible to give personal tours to every family, so instead the schools have developed systems for orienting new kids to the school.

You were going to hand your child over for 7 hours a day to these folks, every day, starting in less than 6 months. You have to trust that they know what they are doing, at least until you have reason to believe otherwise. Without at least extending that benefit of the doubt, you are in for a very long public school adventure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think this is a great preliminary exercise for the OP in trust. Depending on the size of the school, there are anywhere from about 50 to about 200 incoming kindergartners. It would be impossible to give personal tours to every family, so instead the schools have developed systems for orienting new kids to the school.

You were going to hand your child over for 7 hours a day to these folks, every day, starting in less than 6 months. You have to trust that they know what they are doing, at least until you have reason to believe otherwise. Without at least extending that benefit of the doubt, you are in for a very long public school adventure.

Thanks. DD goes to daycare every day for about 8 hours, so we do have experience with trusting others with our child, who does have special needs. Just trying to figure out how to implement a recommendation from a psychologist. It sounds like a school tour is not a good approach.

[Anonymous]

My kid is special need mainstream, and I have not heard about getting a special tour at ES except the open house a week before. My school's kindergarten has bathroom in it, and all kids stay in that room most of the time except lunch/recess time and PE time. I don't recall if tgey have library time at k or not. Parents can drop off and pick up at classroom door daily. There is nothing much to tour. Open house greet and meet is good enough.

[Anonymous]

Call the school's office and ask. Our elementary school offers tours and kids are welcome. This might depend on volunteer availability to give tours.

[Anonymous]

Who told you this OP? Prepare her for what? No one even knows what classroom she will be in or if the teachers will be there next year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Who told you this OP? Prepare her for what? No one even knows what classroom she will be in or if the teachers will be there next year.

Why can't you just answer the question?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this is a great preliminary exercise for the OP in trust. Depending on the size of the school, there are anywhere from about 50 to about 200 incoming kindergartners. It would be impossible to give personal tours to every family, so instead the schools have developed systems for orienting new kids to the school.

You were going to hand your child over for 7 hours a day to these folks, every day, starting in less than 6 months. You have to trust that they know what they are doing, at least until you have reason to believe otherwise. Without at least extending that benefit of the doubt, you are in for a very long public school adventure.

Thanks. DD goes to daycare every day for about 8 hours, so we do have experience with trusting others with our child, who does have special needs. Just trying to figure out how to implement a recommendation from a psychologist. It sounds like a school tour is not a good approach.

If your kid truly had special needs, you would have presented this information to begin with…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this is a great preliminary exercise for the OP in trust. Depending on the size of the school, there are anywhere from about 50 to about 200 incoming kindergartners. It would be impossible to give personal tours to every family, so instead the schools have developed systems for orienting new kids to the school.

You were going to hand your child over for 7 hours a day to these folks, every day, starting in less than 6 months. You have to trust that they know what they are doing, at least until you have reason to believe otherwise. Without at least extending that benefit of the doubt, you are in for a very long public school adventure.

Thanks. DD goes to daycare every day for about 8 hours, so we do have experience with trusting others with our child, who does have special needs. Just trying to figure out how to implement a recommendation from a psychologist. It sounds like a school tour is not a good approach.

If your kid truly had special needs, you would have presented this information to begin with…

Wow, I didn't know I could make my child's special needs go away just like that! Thanks for the tip.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this is a great preliminary exercise for the OP in trust. Depending on the size of the school, there are anywhere from about 50 to about 200 incoming kindergartners. It would be impossible to give personal tours to every family, so instead the schools have developed systems for orienting new kids to the school.

You were going to hand your child over for 7 hours a day to these folks, every day, starting in less than 6 months. You have to trust that they know what they are doing, at least until you have reason to believe otherwise. Without at least extending that benefit of the doubt, you are in for a very long public school adventure.

Thanks. DD goes to daycare every day for about 8 hours, so we do have experience with trusting others with our child, who does have special needs. Just trying to figure out how to implement a recommendation from a psychologist. It sounds like a school tour is not a good approach.

I have a child who was dealing with selective mutism (anxiety disorder) in preschool and early elementary. Based on a recommendation from a therapist, we reached out to the school prior to starting kindergarten and we were able to have our child visit the classroom and meet the teacher during pre-service week ahead of the open house, so they could start building up their comfort level in that environment. I was very grateful that the principal and teacher supported this and made the effort and time; it wasn't a huge effort for them, but it made a big difference to my kid. So if you have a psychologist's recommendation and a specific need/request, it may be worth it to reach out to the school to see if they are willing to accommodate it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this is a great preliminary exercise for the OP in trust. Depending on the size of the school, there are anywhere from about 50 to about 200 incoming kindergartners. It would be impossible to give personal tours to every family, so instead the schools have developed systems for orienting new kids to the school.

You were going to hand your child over for 7 hours a day to these folks, every day, starting in less than 6 months. You have to trust that they know what they are doing, at least until you have reason to believe otherwise. Without at least extending that benefit of the doubt, you are in for a very long public school adventure.

Thanks. DD goes to daycare every day for about 8 hours, so we do have experience with trusting others with our child, who does have special needs. Just trying to figure out how to implement a recommendation from a psychologist. It sounds like a school tour is not a good approach.

I have a child who was dealing with selective mutism (anxiety disorder) in preschool and early elementary. Based on a recommendation from a therapist, we reached out to the school prior to starting kindergarten and we were able to have our child visit the classroom and meet the teacher during pre-service week ahead of the open house, so they could start building up their comfort level in that environment. I was very grateful that the principal and teacher supported this and made the effort and time; it wasn't a huge effort for them, but it made a big difference to my kid. So if you have a psychologist's recommendation and a specific need/request, it may be worth it to reach out to the school to see if they are willing to accommodate it.

Thank you! This is really helpful.