Tell me about _____?

[Anonymous]

I think at this stage of the game, it's pretty sad that you can't tell people what makes your own child "unique". You're the parent, so you're the one who would know!

And suppose we tell you what makes our own children "unique". I assume you want to take the better ideas and parrot them to schools and pretend that your child has similar qualities. Well, if you have to copy other people's ideas, your child won't sound "unique" anyway--they will have heard it all before.

A parrot calling another parrot a parrot.

[Anonymous]

That's the thing about this process ... it is in large part arbitrary because many 4 year olds are so similar. When you have 200 4 year olds applying for 22 spots and 50-75% of them can read and write, are creative and bright, friendly and curious, how do you decide? With all else being equal about the kids, IMHO it comes down to parents not doing anything to raise eyebrows throughout the process, whether the adults at the playdate like the kid, if there are any red flags in the testing (which in the 50-75% I'm talking about there probably aren't), and creating a balanced classroom (whatever that means to each specific school). If my DC gets in somewhere and yours doesn't, it doesn't necessarily mean my DC is better/smarter/cuter/whatever, it doesn't mean my DC is a better fit for the school. It could mean that, but likely it doesn't. Flip side, too ... if mine doesn't get in, I know she's great and will take it as a reflection of the crazy high number of applicants, now her talents.

[Anonymous]

... "not her talents" ... that is ...

[Anonymous]

This statement makes absolutely no sense. O.K., Grandma, it's time to get back on your medication...

Anonymous wrote:

I think at this stage of the game, it's pretty sad that you can't tell people what makes your own child "unique". You're the parent, so you're the one who would know!

And suppose we tell you what makes our own children "unique". I assume you want to take the better ideas and parrot them to schools and pretend that your child has similar qualities. Well, if you have to copy other people's ideas, your child won't sound "unique" anyway--they will have heard it all before.

A parrot calling another parrot a parrot.

[Anonymous]

I pity these children.

Do they even have a childhood by being overly examined?

[Anonymous]

OP here, 12:39 thank you for getting the meaning of my post.

I have completed the process. No interest in copying any ideas or being dishonest. Apps are in and I am playing the waiting game too. I simply started thinking about the 100-200 applicants with high test scores, nice parents, sweet kids and great recommendations. I would love to hear about some of the other wonderful qualities of kids in this area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That's the thing about this process ... it is in large part arbitrary because many 4 year olds are so similar. When you have 200 4 year olds applying for 22 spots and 50-75% of them can read and write, are creative and bright, friendly and curious, how do you decide? With all else being equal about the kids, IMHO it comes down to parents not doing anything to raise eyebrows throughout the process, whether the adults at the playdate like the kid, if there are any red flags in the testing (which in the 50-75% I'm talking about there probably aren't), and creating a balanced classroom (whatever that means to each specific school). If my DC gets in somewhere and yours doesn't, it doesn't necessarily mean my DC is better/smarter/cuter/whatever, it doesn't mean my DC is a better fit for the school. It could mean that, but likely it doesn't. Flip side, too ... if mine doesn't get in, I know she's great and will take it as a reflection of the crazy high number of applicants, now her talents.

Is this just a random estimate or do you have some basis for this claim that 50-75% of the 4-year-olds applying to PK/K can already read? My DC goes to a "feeder" preschool in DC, and I don't think any (or very few) of the children in the class can read (unless you're calling the ability to identify some sight words as reading).

[Anonymous]

12:39 here - Random guess based on DD's preschool. At 4 being able to identify sight words and decode other words (so reading a pre-reader like "See Jane run, See Dick run, Dick & Jane run with Spot) counts as reading to me, but I'm not a professional. Maybe I'm way off with that. But even if only 25% of applicants can read and write, that's still twice as many as can get in in my 200 applicants, 22 spots scenario.

And, OP, what I *think* makes my DD unique is that she turns everyting into a song and makes the family act our random dramas throughout the day. Maybe not unique but certainly entertaining!!

[Anonymous]

PP that's awesome LOL!

[Anonymous]

I don't think the schools care one wit if your child can read. One of my DC, who didn't read until 1st grade, was highly successful in the school app thing while my other, the early reader (completely fluent at 4) was not. I think they might actually be turned off by parents who push the reading thing. There are other, more developmentally appropriate, things for kids to be doing at age 4.

[Anonymous]

It was a few years ago, but for DS1 we wrote about his boundless curiosity - he had never yet asked a question that didn't lead to a follow up question. For DS2 we wrote about his great sense of humor, including amazing comic timing.

[Anonymous]

Boundless curiosity is to be expected of preschools. I don't think it is a unique quality.

[Anonymous]

To 17:54 ... 17:51 was just answering the question posed. That's what the poster wrote about on the apps for her DCs. She didn't say it was unique, special, outstanding, amazing, awe-inducing. Thanks 17:51 for sharing!

[Anonymous]

My child is unique because he is NOT unique--and he doesn't have narcissistic, overbearing parents trying to pretend that he's something that he's not. That alone should make him stand out in the D.C. area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To 17:54 ... 17:51 was just answering the question posed. That's what the poster wrote about on the apps for her DCs. She didn't say it was unique, special, outstanding, amazing, awe-inducing. Thanks 17:51 for sharing!

Um, actually she did write what set your child apart. I am pretty sure that is what unique means. A child who asks boundless questions does not set them apart from most other preschoolers.