Reply to How Challenging Is Your PK3 Student's Curriculum?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP: Could you please post which preschool your child is currently in? [/quote]

I won't name the school, because I don't want them to know that we are looking at leaving lol.  But it is a private, in-home school.  It is not a fancy private school with 1000s of reviews.  The director, a former principal, puts a great emphasis on education and exploration.  The entire "school" has 12 students, so it is a very small environment.  I don't mean to come off as if my child is in "class" all day with textbooks.  They have mastered incorporating Kindergarten-level learning with lots of play and field trips.  The kids are kids, they play, they color, they paint, they have fun.  They go on field trips to just about all kid-friendly places in the area, including libraries, Port Discovery, Six Flags, Climb Zone, Sky Zone, etc.  They just happen to be taught more than your traditional "preschool" or "day care" will teach.  I realize that my initial post has come off completely wrong.  I am sorry for that.[/quote]

This is helpful information, OP.

I think your actual question is more along the lines of, [b]"How does your DCPS/charter differ from [this school my child goes to]?"[/b] I will respond to that, in hopes you find it helpful.

For starters, adjusting to being part of a larger group. That will be something that many students in whatever class your DD gets into will be working on. My DD was in group daycare from 6 months on, with about 15 kids per class starting toddler age (I don't remember exactly, it was in DC so whatever the regulated ratios are in DC). She was used to things like walking to the playground in a line, having a buddy whose hand she held as part of that process, paying attention to adult directions outside. Those things are useful in her DCPS during field trips. Many kids do not come from a preschool/daycare that took field trips or walked to the park daily, so those are skills that they have had to learn. DD was also used to waiting her turn for things, including her turn to speak. A child whose experience is mostly in a smaller social group may have less skill on those areas. Certainly it will be a different vibe.

Curriculum-wise, because children will all be the same age, it's possible that the upper limit of things they learn about will be lower than in a mixed-age group. A good teacher will be able to assess children's individual skills and, to some extent, tailor that child's experience to their skill level. This is particularly good if your child is one who is struggling, because the teacher will be able to note areas where support is needed and suggest things you can do at home, school resources, etc. If your child is not struggling, it's also good - my DD is an early reader who also loves math, and her teacher has noted these skills and does everything she can to maximize DD's exposure to things that challenge her in those areas. She encourages DD to read whole words, rather than just identify letters. She presents counting games in a more advanced way than she would for a child who is only just learning to count now.

Finally, there will always be areas in which your child can improve. My DD's problem area, all damn year, has been nap time. She had basically dropped her nap and her previous school had been able to accommodate that. (It was Montessori, so 3-6y kids - she would just go hang out with the 5 & 6y kids, rather than napping with the wee ones.) The school she's in now has had more difficulty accommodating this, and DD has had more difficulty mellowing out and not being disruptive during nap time. Her teacher and I check in about it regularly and come up with creative solutions, including stern talks with DD about how she needs to let other kids sleep and not talk to them during rest time, period.

Every social environment is different. DD started in an expensive child development center, spent a year in Montessori and is now in a DCPS that uses Creative Curriculum. She's exposed to a very new group of kids, demographically. Her best friend's family speaks Spanish at home. She's the only little white girl in her class (there are white boys, but no other girls). Many of the children are low income, but honestly, that doesn't seem to matter much at this age to the kids. I have issues with it (mostly related to worrying that DD's friends' parents will feel weird about playdates with DD's more affluent non-Spanish speaking family and how to make them feel more comfortable, rather than concerns that DD will somehow be damaged by her association with low income kids).[/quote]

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