prk schools with more outdoor time?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC DPR co-ops might meet your need. They are mostly 2-3 year olds, but meet for 2-3 hours each morning M-F.

OP, some of the PK3 and PK4 schedule is just the constraint of a day. Lunch and nap takes 2.5-3 hours hours of the 6.5 hour day. If your kid's school has daily "specials" (which parents aggressively advocate for), that is another 30-60 minutes. That leaves 3 hours remaining. Recess is typically 30-60 minutes, which leaves about 2-2.5 hours for snack, bathroom breaks, and center/lesson time. Think about how long it takes to get a group of 15 three-year-olds to do anything (snack, lunch, bathroom, walking to or from recess) PLUS the school's need to schedule/balance which age groups (PK3-5th grade is 8 years of age span) are on the playground at any given time.

My kids go to a school where the littles have one scheduled morning recess of about 30 minutes. They are frequently outside for additional parts of the day for lessons, and sometimes the non-nappers get additional outdoor time in the afternoon. Aftercare typically does 1+ hours outside as well. They get more time outside than they did when I was home with them. But yeah, it's only 30 scheduled minutes of recess per day.

Your school seems to offer a LOT more "specials" and flexibility for teachers and outside time than ours!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I had the same concerns and the easiest solution I found was to leave DCPS and signed up at a no frills church preschool three days a week 9 am-1pm. We pay $345 per month, which feels so worth it so far. It feels much more about fun and play, much more age appropriate and laid back than the DCPS we were in.

Thanks. I had not really looked into this option much but I will be! Lower stress relaxed setting for a busy kid would be amazing!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There's pretty amazing free PreK offered at a range of CBOs. They're early childhood centers so it feels less like regular school for a kid so young (and there are no uniforms, a plus for me) and before and after care is available on a sliding scale. Full school day attendance (9-3:30, 8:30 if you want breakfast there) is expected to keep a spot. Outdoor time at ours is something like 45 min and while the rooftop space isn't great, they also do movement classes, garden, and take walks in the neighborhood.

Thank you for the information! We are in the process of checking a few of these out. We are still working to figure out if it is just too long of a day. Or if it is the more structured school setting vrs more of a smaller group, warmer, playful /room to move setting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's pretty amazing free PreK offered at a range of CBOs. They're early childhood centers so it feels less like regular school for a kid so young (and there are no uniforms, a plus for me) and before and after care is available on a sliding scale. Full school day attendance (9-3:30, 8:30 if you want breakfast there) is expected to keep a spot. Outdoor time at ours is something like 45 min and while the rooftop space isn't great, they also do movement classes, garden, and take walks in the neighborhood.

Thank you for the information! We are in the process of checking a few of these out. We are still working to figure out if it is just too long of a day. Or if it is the more structured school setting vrs more of a smaller group, warmer, playful /room to move setting.

OP - your child is going to grow up so much between now and next August. What is hard to imagine now may make perfect sense by July.

[Anonymous]

Second DPR CoOp program

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Second DPR CoOp program

They've already scheduled open houses for 2017-18 (first one is in Feb) https://dpr.dc.gov/service/cooperative-play-open-house-2017-2018

[Anonymous]

Oops - I forgot what year it was. #nevermind

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's pretty amazing free PreK offered at a range of CBOs. They're early childhood centers so it feels less like regular school for a kid so young (and there are no uniforms, a plus for me) and before and after care is available on a sliding scale. Full school day attendance (9-3:30, 8:30 if you want breakfast there) is expected to keep a spot. Outdoor time at ours is something like 45 min and while the rooftop space isn't great, they also do movement classes, garden, and take walks in the neighborhood.

Thank you for the information! We are in the process of checking a few of these out. We are still working to figure out if it is just too long of a day. Or if it is the more structured school setting vrs more of a smaller group, warmer, playful /room to move setting.

My advice to you is get on the WL now as it's first come first serve, not lottery, and most spots go to kids moving up from early childhood.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC DPR co-ops might meet your need. They are mostly 2-3 year olds, but meet for 2-3 hours each morning M-F.

OP, some of the PK3 and PK4 schedule is just the constraint of a day. Lunch and nap takes 2.5-3 hours hours of the 6.5 hour day. If your kid's school has daily "specials" (which parents aggressively advocate for), that is another 30-60 minutes. That leaves 3 hours remaining. Recess is typically 30-60 minutes, which leaves about 2-2.5 hours for snack, bathroom breaks, and center/lesson time. Think about how long it takes to get a group of 15 three-year-olds to do anything (snack, lunch, bathroom, walking to or from recess) PLUS the school's need to schedule/balance which age groups (PK3-5th grade is 8 years of age span) are on the playground at any given time.

My kids go to a school where the littles have one scheduled morning recess of about 30 minutes. They are frequently outside for additional parts of the day for lessons, and sometimes the non-nappers get additional outdoor time in the afternoon. Aftercare typically does 1+ hours outside as well. They get more time outside than they did when I was home with them. But yeah, it's only 30 scheduled minutes of recess per day.

I hate "specials" for early childhood. So dumb. The kids should get extra recess or free play during that time.

Our DCPS PK3 had a ton of outdoor time (long recess and long lunch). But that was totally dependent on one teacher.

Agree with others that if you only want a few hours/week you should go for a co-op program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I had the same concerns and the easiest solution I found was to leave DCPS and signed up at a no frills church preschool three days a week 9 am-1pm. We pay $345 per month, which feels so worth it so far. It feels much more about fun and play, much more age appropriate and laid back than the DCPS we were in.

Thanks. I had not really looked into this option much but I will be! Lower stress relaxed setting for a busy kid would be amazing!

We did similar. Not a church program, but a drop-in playgroup that cost a little more than that but was worth it.

[Anonymous]

We are currently in a DPR co-op and really liking it after a couple of weeks. Gives my son time in a relaxed environment, gives me a few hours to get work or other stuff done, and it's super inexpensive. It isn't too late to try to get a spot - just call the office and talk to Moneick. There are a lot of people who are on waiting lists at a couple of spots so once they accept one the list at others move. And inevitably some families realize it isn't the right fit. They try not to accept anyone after Dec 1.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are currently in a DPR co-op and really liking it after a couple of weeks. Gives my son time in a relaxed environment, gives me a few hours to get work or other stuff done, and it's super inexpensive. It isn't too late to try to get a spot - just call the office and talk to Moneick. There are a lot of people who are on waiting lists at a couple of spots so once they accept one the list at others move. And inevitably some families realize it isn't the right fit. They try not to accept anyone after Dec 1.

NP. How much is the coop? It sounds like something we may want to do for our kid next year.

[Anonymous]

DPR co-op is about $190/month, plus a "seat fee" of a few hundred, I believe. It only runs from Labor Day through May, so it isn't a real substitute for someone who needs year-round care, but we're just planning on a few weeks at home with him in June before he goes to camp with his older sibling for the summer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lee Montessori allows for early pick up for nappers (aka pk3 and sometimes pk4). They also play outside everyday regardless of weather (unless it's dangerous). Most schools will stay inside but Lee they are out and you are expected to send your kids with proper outdoor attire.

The real question is are you serious about sending your kid to school? If you aren't prepared to fully commit to school's attendance than don't take a space for a child/family willing to commit to being all in.

Lee allows pick up at 1pm for all PK3 and PK4 kids, though you will be strongly encouraged to leave your PK4 kid once they are ready for an afternoon work period (usually around age five).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lee Montessori allows for early pick up for nappers (aka pk3 and sometimes pk4). They also play outside everyday regardless of weather (unless it's dangerous). Most schools will stay inside but Lee they are out and you are expected to send your kids with proper outdoor attire.

The real question is are you serious about sending your kid to school? If you aren't prepared to fully commit to school's attendance than don't take a space for a child/family willing to commit to being all in.

Lee allows pick up at 1pm for all PK3 and PK4 kids, though you will be strongly encouraged to leave your PK4 kid once they are ready for an afternoon work period (usually around age five).

Ya'll really shouldn't be making this known, because OSSE will shut this down if they know.