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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I have yet to hear a negative word from any Appletree parent, which speaks worlds to me--especially here on DCUM.  We've accepted a slot at CH for next year, although we have a high WL# at our local elementary and are torn as to which we would choose.  We went to the Appletree open house last week, and I admit I was a little put off by how ACADEMIC the place looked--everything on the walls seemed to be about reading and writing, including worksheets and fill in the blanks.  I didn't see art anywhere, just lots and lots of white paper with words on it in various forms.  I'll be thrilled when my kid learns to read, because I'm an avid reader myself.  But I don't want it to come at the cost of everything else he does in school.  Walking around, it felt like a mini kindergarten; I didn't see or hear about paints, or musical instruments or anything like that.  With even the youngest grades in elementary becoming heavily focused on academics and testing--to the exclusion of so many extracurriculars--it troubled me to think my kid would be put onto that path two years sooner than he has to.

Can current parents comment?  Since you've been part of the program much longer than my brief impression, can you share some insights?[/quote]

My son is at Lincoln Park and I'm surprised to hear your description of Columbia Heights.  There is art work all over the walls in his class - all related to the current theme.  They just switched from dinosaurs to farm animals.  Previously in this thread there were discussions about how they do "centers" twice a day which includes art, construction, exploration (sand or for the farm theme its straw), dramatic play, library etc.  Did you see how the day is typically structured?  It's all through play.  When they have done testing my son has told me that he has gone to play games with his teacher.  He LOVES school.

He ASKS for more homework every week.  He does his in less than five minutes.  A recent example was something like: We've been reading the book "Dinosaur in your back yard" (not sure if that's the exact title I'm not familiar with it).  Draw a picture of a dinosaur living in your back yard.

He got a bigger pack of homework for spring break (completely optional).  It was about 10 pages long including worksheets to write letters and show the odd one out etc.  He finished in in 20 minutes and asked for more.

One other thing that I love about Appletree is that they really go out of their way to make it FUN and welcoming for the kids.  For the first few weeks the principal and some of the other staff were at the door every single morning as the kids arrived and greeted every single one of them by name right from the first day.  The teachers always say "we're so happy that you're here" - and in fact sing a good morning along those lines every day.  I think the aim is to start the kids off right with a very positive experience with school -- it's working for my 3 year old!  They also work very hard on discipline and class room behavior and it shows.  The kids are very respectful of each other and really seem to have fun.  [/quote]

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