Please suggest a school for K w/smaller classes and very few transitions...

[Anonymous]

...for a shy but bright soon to be 5 yo for 09-10. Love Lowell, but sense there are too many transitions. We like the experiential schools for him (as opposed to a Primary Day or Sidwell). Thanks!

[Anonymous]

We're in the same boat. Can you tell me more about the transitions at Lowell? I gathered they have lots of transitions at places like Norwood, and are very rigid at places like Primary Day...

[Anonymous]

All schools will have transitions at that age because you are paying for them to get music and art and PE and they can't do eveything in the classroom.

Look for a school that has a very small class size. Transitioning a few times a day with 10 new friends is much easier than transitioning once a day with 20. Just getting used to a large group in and of itself would be a huge adjustment that could take a shy child a while to get over even if the class stayed put all day, which you wouldn't want anyway.

[Anonymous]

sheridan?

[Anonymous]

No way. There K has 24 kids and had a zoo like feel when we toured. No offense to the school, that was just our impression and we didn't apply. The gender ratio was very uneven because of their sibling policy - admit all - and that was a turn off for us as well.

[Anonymous]

Mclean -- but it is structured, so I'm not sure its what you are looking for. But if you have a child who needs small classes (I think there were 12 in my son's K class, with two experienced teachers), any kind of extra attention and can get overwhelmed, its a great school.

[Anonymous]

The Sheridan class that corresponded with my daughter's class had something like 30 kids, all in one classroom. More kids accepted than they expected and they have no capacity to add a class (which most schools would do in this situation).

[Anonymous]

Try Grace Episcopal Day School in Silver Spring. It is the lower campus of the school, and has the Nursery, Pre-K and K classes. Very cozy and intimate feel. The kids transition to their specials, but because the school and the classes are small, it most definitely does not have a zoo like feel.

[Anonymous]

You should tour Green Acres. It's a lovely school and although our son has only been there for 6 weeks now we couldn't be happier. Our son is also very shy and does not transition well but the ratio is so small and the day is so well planned and coordinated that he doesn't notice. He's having a great time, learning a great deal, and loves his teachers. The grade is split into smaller units that are very small and perfect for kids to feel safe and recognized.

They even have a bus.

[Anonymous]

Beauvoir - Special Classes including lunch are held in the classroom (Science (Go to Science once or twice a month), Music, Art, Spanish). PE held in gym or NCS or Beauvoir field.

[Anonymous]

When we looked at Green Acres, we were told that there is a lot of transitioning, so they want older kids who can handle that. The birthday cutoff is June 1.

[Anonymous]

If you think Lowell would otherwise be a good fit, I would definitely talk to them about the transition issues in more detail and see if you think it would work for you. The K classes are small (this year 14 with two teachers). Lunch is in the classroom and there is a bathroom in each classroom. The kindergartners have a designated playground where they do most if not all of their recesses which is reached right near the classroom. They do move around for some of their "specials" but it did not seem to be very much when my kids were in K. In my experience Lowell is a fabulous school for kids like yours because they are very focused in kindergarten on social development, respect for kids, etc. and have a very gentle and loving way of bringing out the shyer kids in a protected environment. The routines like having a "morning greeting" every morning and focusing on kindness and community seemed to help the more reserved kids shine. Ask for specifics but I recall that there was a process of keeping the kids more in the classroom at the beginning of the year so that they ramped up slowly to the transitions. I also liked the way the teachers talked about how it was OK to make mistakes and worked with the kids who were scared to take risks/tended to be too hard on themselves. My kids still love their kindergarten teachers from Lowell and greet them with hugs whenever we see them.

[Anonymous]

OP here--thank you all for your thoughtful, helpful responses. MCLEAN POSTER: How is the school 'rigid'? Stresses sitting in desks w/worksheets and a lot of writing? And I'd love to hear more about GREEN ACRES K. Thanks again!

[Anonymous]

McLean parent here -- it is absolutely NOT rigid. It is an incredibly nurturing school that takes a creative approach to finding what each child needs to learn. But it is structured in the sense that every child knows what is expected of him -- there are rewards and, for poor behavior -- punishments. In my experience, poor behavior is rare, because they screen for behavior problems and because the expectations are clear and the kids know they have to behave. But they move around a lot, are absolutely not fixed to their desks and forced to do a lot of writing (which my son would have trouble with, anyway, because he struggles with handwriting). I suggest you take a look at it. I have a child at a Cathedral school, which we like very much, but I adore McLean, there's just something magic about the place.