Dumb ?, but are kids not allowed to use bags anymore?

schnappycat

It's all backpack this, backpack that, and that is all I see in DS's little Parks and Rec classes (he doesn't start preschool until August). I get that they are convenient and we have a little preschool-sized one we take for him, but are they honestly not allowed to carry a regular bag (messenger style or otherwise)? DS doesn't like carrying his backpack on his back and I wonder if he'd prefer something else. But every post about bags is about backpacks, so I wonder if they are actually required at most schools. If so, that is a bummer. 

Really silly question, I know! And I'm sure I'll get my answer soon, but we haven't been assigned a school or received info yet. Just curious. 

franciscaz

I would ask his pre-k teacher.  Ours stated on our welcome letter specifically a toddler sized back pack BUT I bet if you asked they might be fine with a duffel or messenger type bag.  I was real surprised by the earlier post how each teacher seems to have their thing.

I know Harmon's swim bag is a little Thomas the Train duffel in the shape of a train and he loves it.  We found it at Ross for real cheap.  So if you are looking for cute duffel style ones check out Ross.

kellnbri

DS's preschool just says a bag big enough to fit a folder.  They are not allowed to have wheels though. 

lite-bright

When I toured a few preschools, I only saw backpacks hung on the wall. Some of them were the super small ones, but when I asked, DD1's teacher for fall said that they recommend a full-size backpack. 

howleyshell

We were not given any guide lines in Douglas County BUT.... the space allotted for each kid to store their stuff wouldn't accommodate a messenger type bag well at our particular school.

And... in pre-school the bag is mainly to keep a change of clothes in so I don't think it would really matter what kind of bag it was as long as you could fit a folder and a change of clothes in there for him (and lunch if need be) and can store it in the space they assign for him.

Have you tried a messenger type bag on him?  My concern would be that it would be too big and long for him to lug around well?  At 4.5 we're still using a pre-school sized back pack instead of a regular sized one.  Do they make miniature messenger type bags? 

But - when they're older I really do prefer back packs to evenly distribute the weight of books on their shoulders.  I'd hate to see my teenager trying to lug all of his weighty stuff in a messenger type bag.  It's just not good for their backs or shoulders.

 

schnappycat

howleyshell:

We were not given any guide lines in Douglas County BUT.... the space allotted for each kid to store their stuff wouldn't accommodate a messenger type bag well at our particular school.

And... in pre-school the bag is mainly to keep a change of clothes in so I don't think it would really matter what kind of bag it was as long as you could fit a folder and a change of clothes in there for him (and lunch if need be) and can store it in the space they assign for him.

Have you tried a messenger type bag on him?  My concern would be that it would be too big and long for him to lug around well?  At 4.5 we're still using a pre-school sized back pack instead of a regular sized one.  Do they make miniature messenger type bags? 

But - when they're older I really do prefer back packs to evenly distribute the weight of books on their shoulders.  I'd hate to see my teenager trying to lug all of his weighty stuff in a messenger type bag.  It's just not good for their backs or shoulders.

 

Thanks for the info. I just keep seeing these tiny kids DS's age carrying these ginormous full-size backpacks filled with stuff and know there there is NO way he could even lift it. He's small for his age and perhaps weak, but complains even when I ask him to carry his preschool-size one with just a few toys. It's not heavy at all to me, so I'm thinking he just doesn't like how it feels on him or the distribution when it's on his back. Or maybe he just needs to get used to it. I haven't tried another bag, but I know they make smaller duffels and that sort of thing and was thinking he would be more willing to carry something like that. I guess I'll just see how it goes. I just can't see him carrying a full-size one right now and was wondering what options I might have.

FWIW, I never carried my backpack on my actual back--it just wasn't cool then. I guess times have changed, but we always slung it over one shoulder (or had another type of bag), which I know wasn't good for my back or shoulders. I am glad to hear that kids are smarter now.

How do you like the DC preschools? Any words of wisdom? We should find out his placement next week. I hope he gets my first choice.

 

 

howleyshell

schnappycat:

I just keep seeing these tiny kids DS's age carrying these ginormous full-size backpacks filled with stuff and know there there is NO way he could even lift it. 

 

 Totally not an issue in pre-school - they don't ever carry anything but clothes.  Even when he's got homework to turn in it's 1 page and we usually carry it by hand instead of bothering to put it into the bag because it's a squeeze with all the parents and kids at drop off and it's not a good time to be digging around in a bag.

There are days we forget his back pack completely because it's really not necessary.  He puts it on to walk to the car and then from the car to the door.  Barely carries it at all. 

By the time I think they're actually carrying things like books or projects you're talking K at the earliest and you'll be stunned by how much he grows by the time he's 5 or 6.

That said we got the smaller sized back pack from Lands End and it fits his back well (barely fits a file folder that I put in there just to prevent papers from getting bent).  I don't see us getting a regular sized pack for a while yet.

 

 

 

schnappycat:

How do you like the DC preschools? Any words of wisdom? We should find out his placement next week. I hope he gets my first choice.

 

This is gonna sound snobby but here's my DC feedback:

Since the 16 yr old has been in private school his whole life my expectations for DC pre-school were insanely low.

I've been VERY pleasantly surprised.

They had a nice open house for all the kids and parents to come for an hour to get to know the teachers and the room.  DO IT.  It made drop off our first day so easy that he barely took a second to hug me because he was so excited to go play in that room again.

Another bit of advice - start talking up school now.  We would say "there's Dylan's school!" when we drove by, read lots of "first day of school" books, etc over the summer.  (my favorite is Llama Llama Misses Mamma FWIW)

The one thing that kinda bugged me is that their "back to school night" wasn't until about a month after school started.  I had NO idea what he was doing in there until that night and then I was seriously blown away.  

He's in a class of 15.  He's got 6 "teachers."  2 of them are always at his school. 2 of them float between 2 schools and the other 2 are an occupational therapist and a speech therapist who work with every single kid in the class as "teachers" but do special extra stuff with the kids who are needing extra help.  The therapists also serve to assist the teachers in highlighting certain things in their areas of expertise.  WAYYY more than I was expecting to get out of pre-school in a public school.  He frequently has 4 teachers in a room full of 15 kids.  That's an amazing ratio for any place much less public school.

Dylan LOOOVES school.  I mean seriously, seriously loves school.  I've met some awesome moms and we do stuff with the kids outside of class.  

Jace goes with me for drop off and pick up most days and he's DYING to start pre-school now.

The homework thing took me a bit by surprise but it's fun stuff and not a lot.  We already sit and do school type things so it's been more about getting us on the same page with what they're focusing on in school which is good.

They always give me extra hand outs because they know that Jace sits and does this stuff with us.

I've also been really impressed with the social pieces of their curriculum.  I've learned so great techniques from them including "smell the flower, blow the candle" to help in calming them down.  They have these awesome full sized puppets that teach the kids about emotions and how to interact respectfully with peers.  The kids seriously think they're real.  Dylan comes home all the time telling me about what happened to "Dolly and Wally" that day (the puppets) and how they solved their (social) problem.

Great curriculum, great experience.

I've been very pleased and I hope you are too!

 

We're also waiting to see what classes we get.   If I don't get them both in AM I'm going to take the kids to the Esprit daycare school for a year because I just can handle them being in classes at 2 different times now that I'm working part time.

 

GL!  Keep me updated. 

schnappycat

Wow, great to hear such good stuff, howleyshell! I have a couple of friends who have raved about their preschool experiences with DC, but it's nice to hear more specifics. 

I'm not worried about leaving him. He's been taking rec center classes that are nearly the same as preschool (one is 2.5 hours one day a week). Plus, he takes speech one hour a week at Eagle Ridge Elem, as well as a tumbling class, and I leave him alone for both classes. So he should be fine. I'm glad we have been doing that. The transition should be simple.

Part of the reason I chose DC is because of his speech issues and the classroom speech teachers. I'm hoping it's a seamless transition for him and he'll continue to get help while there if necessary.

I will definitely plan on the open house and back to school night. Thanks for the heads up.

I'm really excited for him. I think he'll love it and hopefully thrive in that environment. I've been told he's very bright by his speech teacher, but he's a hard one to motivate at home to learn "academic" concepts. So I'm hopeful he'll be more motivated around other kids. 

howleyshell

Hee hee...  We're at Eagle Ridge.

Chances are that one of his speech teachers may be one of the ones in Dylan's class room?

What school was your first choice?

If it's Eagle Ridge and you get it I can give you the low down on the teachers.

In fact... if it's Eagle Ridge and he gets it he and Jace might be class mates!

Did you request AM or PM and how many days?

 

schnappycat

howleyshell:

Hee hee...  We're at Eagle Ridge.

Chances are that one of his speech teachers may be one of the ones in Dylan's class room?

What school was your first choice?

If it's Eagle Ridge and you get it I can give you the low down on the teachers.

In fact... if it's Eagle Ridge and he gets it he and Jace might be class mates!

Did you request AM or PM and how many days?

 

Ha, too funny! I guess that is near you! He has Beth Mariotte (sp?) for speech. It's in the parking lot trailer on Thursday AM.

But no, I didn't choose Eagle Ridge for preschool. I thought about it, but really wanted him to attend our neighborhood school, Redstone, if possible.  I chose 2 other nearby schools as backups. They are all closer to my house (not that Eagle Ridge is far). I hope I don't regret my choices! I asked for AM, 2 mornings a week. I wish DC had a 3-day option, though. Maybe next year I'll do 4 days.

howleyshell

schnappycat:

Ha, too funny! I guess that is near you! He has Beth Mariotte (sp?) for speech. It's in the parking lot trailer on Thursday AM.

But no, I didn't choose Eagle Ridge for preschool. I thought about it, but really wanted him to attend our neighborhood school, Redstone, if possible.  I chose 2 other nearby schools as backups. They are all closer to my house (not that Eagle Ridge is far). I hope I don't regret my choices! I asked for AM, 2 mornings a week. I wish DC had a 3-day option, though. Maybe next year I'll do 4 days.

I know her but she's not in his class room.

We're there every Thursday AM for pre-school!  What time do you come?  It must be in the middle of his class or we would have seen you.

I 100% agree with going with the closest school unless there are some major red flags with the school's ratings and scores.

It's been AWESOME to meet these kids that live so close and bump into them at our local park.  We're finally getting some of that neighborhood friend interaction that I remember so fondly from my own childhood!

I think 2 days is great for starting out at this age.  

We didn't start Dylan until he was 4 and even then only did 2 days and I don't regret it.

Most of the kids on their 2nd year in Dylan's class did just what you're talking about - 2 days the first year and 4 days the 2nd year.

GL!  Let me know what you get, K? 

schnappycat

We're there every Thursday AM for pre-school!  What time do you come?  It must be in the middle of his class or we would have seen you.

GL!  Let me know what you get, K? 

He goes from 10:45-11:45. I'm sure it's right in between all of the other dropoffs and pickups to ease traffic, etc. It's hard, though, because it's really only about 50 minutes that I have free, which isn't enough time to come home. So I usually end up lugging DD to Kohl's or the grocery store or something. Oh well!

I'll keep you posted!  

howleyshell

schnappycat:

He goes from 10:45-11:45. I'm sure it's right in between all of the other dropoffs and pickups to ease traffic, etc. It's hard, though, because it's really only about 50 minutes that I have free, which isn't enough time to come home. So I usually end up lugging DD to Kohl's or the grocery store or something. Oh well!

I'll keep you posted!  

bummer... if it was 10:15 instead you could hit the lone tree library story time.

It's tough to fill 50 minutes.  

That's not even enough time for me to make a full King Soopers run, KWIM?