Changing Schools

secretkeeper321

I'm starting (like barely starting) the search to change H's school to somewhere closer to the new house.

My question is...do I take him on the tour with me or do I go solo?

Last time we looked for schools I was pregnant with him so this wasn't an issue.

Is it better to see how he reacts or should I be on my own to really concentrate?

On another note....Any recs for Roseville/Rocklin?

lukaface

How old is H? We toured a preschool this morning with S and she is 2 1/2.  It was great having her with us and she even joined in on circle time in one of the classrooms.  I loved seeing her reaction to all of the new things.

If you are going by yourself it might be better to go alone so that you don't have to worry about corralling H at the same time-but if there are two adults you can each take turns asking questions and focusing on H.

futrkingsley

When we were searching for a preschool for DS, we took him to some and not to others, just for our own convenience.

I had to rule out one school because of the way the other kids reacted to a new kid they didn't know.  The school seemed very nice and we loved a ton of things about it, but jerky kids (one was quite forceful in words and actions with DS) are a deal breaker. 

I didn't actually take him to his current school before signing him up.  Bad mama.  I probably should have. 

secretkeeper321

Thanks ladies, this is great...keep it coming.

H will be 16 months this weekend....so old enough to interact, but not old enough to hold back and really listen, lol.

shnelly

You may want to check with the school and see what they suggest. 

I didn't visit that many schools, but one recommended that I visit by myself first, so I could ask questions and check out everything first. Then if I liked it, I could do a second visit with DS to see how his experience is, and not have to worry about the questions. 

LV2006

I just went through the same thing.  I asked what the school preferred and did it that way.  The one we ultimately decided on had me bring L in with me first while there were no other kids there so she could explore and the teacher could get a feel for the type of kid she is.  Since the teacher and I were both happy with the outcome of that visit, I went back alone to observe the class in action to be sure I still thought it was a good fit.

 Good luck with the search!

SweetieP

I think it depends on the child as to whether I take him or not.  I needed to see Ryan in the room and since he's old enough, I could ask him what he thought.  I wouldn't necessarily take Natalie - she's so adaptable that she'd be happy where-ever.  That said, I would take her before I committed because I would want to see the teacher and her together.  

This is totally out of the way, but I like Pacific Oaks - it's in Rocklin though. I think they do all day care as well as pre-school

Mrs.K&C

For me it was super important to see how Sabrina reacted to the school and kids and also really important to see how the teachers responded to her. Kids or not, there is a certain chemistry and if there isn't any connection at all with any teacher, that's a problem. Plus the one school that requested we not bring DD I found the tour to be like the zoo - like the teachers were on display behind a cage. It was weird, and it is the most sought after preschool in the area. After taking DD to a couple others, I realized how important it was for me to see how DD responded to the school. One of the reasons I picked the school she is at is because she looked like she was super comfortable, and all of the kids came up and said hi and were friendly.