Baltimore parents- can we talk about pre-first?

[Anonymous]

Maybe Baltimore questions should be on a separate forum?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe Baltimore questions should be on a separate forum?

Or maybe you shouldn't click on threads that are clearly labeled as threads related to Baltimore? As has been discussed here MANY times, there is no Baltimore forum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe Baltimore questions should be on a separate forum?

Wait, if we post enough threads labeled BALTIMORE, we get our own forum? Yes!

Don't tempt me: There are 12 very long days left until decision letters are sent out in Baltimore. Do you have any idea how many threads a nervous parent like me, sending a first born off to school, drinking far too much coffee, can create in 12 days?

[Anonymous]

I have long considered the feasibility of creating a DCUM like forum for Baltimore. I am not a Baltimore native and would love to tap into the collective wisdom of the locals.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We recently found out that DS is going to prefirst. It's the right decision for him based on the expectations of first grade, but I'm still finding myself a little disappointed that he's spending another year in what seems mostly like a repeat of K. I know it'll be good for him in the long run, but still. Anybody else recently hear that their kindergartener is going to prefirst?

One of the benefits of prefirst is it really isn't just a repeat of K. The kids I know who went to prefirst had a great year with a great curriculum that was a good mix of K and 1st, and were kept intellectually and socially engaged throughout the year, and were fully ready to move on to 1st grade the following year. The prefirst kids at our school are the leaders when they and the K kids mix, and that leadership tends to hold for the rest of their lower school careers. For kids who might not have been leaders in their K year, it's pretty amazing to see the difference.

Thank you! This is very helpful to hear. I guess I am struggling a bit with the fact that my boy, who is a typical kindergarten boy, not particularly immature compared to his peers, is going to be a grade behind his public school friends, some of whom are younger and more immature than him. But he won't be compared to those kids. He'll be compared to the kids at his school who DID have the opportunity to go to prefirst. And in that environment, it's definitely the right decision.

Prefirst is so common in Baltimore private schools, your kid being a grade "behind" his public school friends isn't going to be remarkable. It's not like when I was a kid and everyone knew that one kid who was held back in K or first grade. A bunch of kids do prefirst (and several others do a transitional K year, or just an extra year of preschool before K). As he and his public school friends get older, they'll always have known that Larlo's in a different year in school (and he'll make other friends, in a variety of grades, with a variety of ages).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have long considered the feasibility of creating a DCUM like forum for Baltimore. I am not a Baltimore native and would love to tap into the collective wisdom of the locals.

I wonder if a Baltimore forum would get as much traffic. DC seems much more transient. Baltimore has a bunch of people who have always been here. We might end up with a bunch of newbies just trying to help each other figure things out.