Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are the kids able to be creative and have fun? I think the structure sounds good but only if they're also allowed to be kids from time to time. For the posters that sent their kid to Appletree would you choose the school over another school knowing what you know now?

They do get to be kids in general and it is not all rigorous academics to a fault. The only complaint I would have is they need to go outside more. Without an actual playground they have to walk to Lincoln Park. While it is half a block away, I feel some of the trips to the park are canceled out of staff just being lazy.

Agree. I would absolutely 100 percent send my child back there again if I had to do it all again. TBH it was easily the best parenting decision we ever made for him. The growth that we saw through two years at AT was amazing. It doesn't seem like academics to the kids. It's all taught through play in fun ways. They do plenty of centers time, do rhyming words, sing songs and it's all research based. the "testing" that they do is about making sure that their methods are working not pitting the kids against each other.

I do agree about the outdoor time during the winter. Any sign of bad weather and they kept the kids inside. However, I think this is similar to many other schools, unfortunately.

I'm 9:46. I agree that they don't get outside enough. We are at Columbia Heights so have the itty bitty (controversial) playground on site, and then the 4yos go down the street sometimes to the DPR playground. But they've only gotten to go out maybe once or twice since December because of the weather--so they do lots and lots of those dance parties inside to get their wiggles out.

They definitely get to be kids. DS comes home covered in paint, glitter, stickers, etc., with some regularity. There's a lot of independent time in the centers, and when I pick him up they are usually sitting around a table together building stuff with monkey links or blocks, totally on their own. He likes to come home and show off stuff he's learned. (Lately he's been teaching me all the things he knows about the planets.)

My one gripe is that the parent community feels lacking, since there aren't any evening events and they didn't circulate parent contact info. I've tried to connect with some parents I see on a regular basis but we haven't seen any of the kids outside of school all year. I suspect that's part of the school being preschool-only, and the director has been receptive to my comments on that.

Anonymous wrote:Are the kids able to be creative and have fun? I think the structure sounds good but only if they're also allowed to be kids from time to time. For the posters that sent their kid to Appletree would you choose the school over another school knowing what you know now?

They do get to be kids in general and it is not all rigorous academics to a fault. The only complaint I would have is they need to go outside more. Without an actual playground they have to walk to Lincoln Park. While it is half a block away, I feel some of the trips to the park are canceled out of staff just being lazy.

Are the kids able to be creative and have fun? I think the structure sounds good but only if they're also allowed to be kids from time to time. For the posters that sent their kid to Appletree would you choose the school over another school knowing what you know now?

Anonymous wrote:I'm the PP with the TV-watching DD. She really did like the school and did well there. I would say the kids who don't do so well there are the ones who have a harder time sitting still, are less geared toward pleasing the teacher, etc. There were some kids who were stuck in that calm-down spot every time I visited the classroom. They also are very discipline-oriented--if I remember right, kids get a series of checks next to their name for behaving throughout the day. Everyone who gets a certain number of checks gets a treat at the end--a dance party, a popcorn party, etc. And the same poor kids end up sitting that out every day.

I think AppleTree is probably helpful for kids who do not get a strong literacy foundation at home. I mean, I'm pretty sure that's who it's created for. Kids who are read to, whose parents practice the ABCs and shapes and colors with them, probably don't need anything as academic. My kid liked the school because she likes practicing stuff (and, yes, LOVES TV). But I don't think the stuff she learned there has given her any sort of academic leg-up.

My kid definitely got an academic leg up from attending AppleTree. Light years ahead of kindergarten peers.