UPK?

orangeluck · February 2012

I haven't paid much attention to UPK(wmsvl) because our DCP had been a participating provider for the school system but I just realized they are not on the list for next year even though they had been for at least the past 3.

Is UPK preferred or better over other preschool curriculum or is it just that it's free that makes it appealing to parents? Woud she be missing out if I didn't enroll her in UPK but kept her in the DCP with the preschool component? Our schedules are flexible so we could make a change if it would be for her benefit.

The deadline is approaching and I didn't realize I had to figure this stuff out for next year so soon.

xKimx · February 2012

Charlie's in UPK this year & I am very happy with the program. His is right in the elementary school so it won't be such a huge transition next year for kindergarten. I like the structured programs & curriculum that is used and it leads into & prepares them for K very well (there is also play time!). They are also able to adapt to fit the individual students' needs a little easier because they can draw on the schools' resources. C's class has a teacher from Buffalo Hearing & Speech come in once a week to work on literacy skills above & beyond the regular curriculum. And the free part is very appealing as well

TinyPinkBug · February 2012

From what I gather from the preschool service eligability meetings I have sat through as a parent rep, UPK in my area sucks! Staff, therapists, and teachers from all different agencies, daycares and preschools all cringe when they hear kids are going to go to UPK.

MrsWhiteonWhiteSt · February 2012

Just like Kim said, Justin's UPK would be right at the Elementary school where he will go, so I like the idea of the transition being easier. There are a few teachers from my district in my zumba class and they speak very highly about the UPK program. We love his pre-K now but the 4yr old program is 3 days a week/$110 per month vs UPK being free- which does play a big role in my decision. If I remember (without going back to your ticker, haha) G is a late b-day just like Justin, I worry about kindergarten readiness when he won't turn 5 until 2 1/2 months into school, so I'd rather have him where they can best prepare him for their specific requirements.

The thing that stinks is 5 days just seems like way too much time away and way too many days to pack up the twins every morning. Our school is like 3 miles away but it would mean walking with the kiddos on a really busy street past a big intersection so DH won't let us.

When did our babies get this old

orangeluck · February 2012

Wmsvl has UPK is just at select preschools/centers- it does seem to make sense to participate if it were at her elementary school.

She goes 3 days this year but I'm not sure I want to switch her to go 5 days somewhere else or maybe switch to 5 half days where she is now. I do worry about her late-ish birthday because she is still really really young with how sensitive she is. I'm going to talk to her preschool teacher on Friday (she's a former elementary teacher) to get her thoughts.

watermellens · February 2012

As a Kindergarten teacher I always cringe when I hear that a child did NOT go to UPK - I know it's not always possible and programs fill up, but you can definitely tell the difference academically and socially between a child that attended and one that did not.

In my opinion, a UPK program and a DC with a preschool component are not even close.

TinyPinkBug · February 2012

watermellens:

In my opinion, a UPK program and a DC with a preschool component are not even close.

In my district, UPK is in the daycares. The UPK is not in the schools. There are dozens of pay preschools which are good. The district does have a preschool for 3 and 4 yr old but it is not free like UPK. It costs the same as all the private preschools in the area, they just call it prek.

MrsWhiteonWhiteSt · February 2012

watermellens:
As a Kindergarten teacher I always cringe when I hear that a child did NOT go to UPK - I know it's not always possible and programs fill up, but you can definitely tell the difference academically and socially between a child that attended and one that did not.
In my opinion, a UPK program and a DC with a preschool component are not even close.

I know you could probably right a book or I could google- but what ARE the signs of kindergarten readiness that they generally look for? Justin is very verbal and very coordinated but I worry that he lacks a little self control especially around other kids when they're playing rough.

xKimx · February 2012

MrsWhiteonWhiteSt:
watermellens:
As a Kindergarten teacher I always cringe when I hear that a child did NOT go to UPK - I know it's not always possible and programs fill up, but you can definitely tell the difference academically and socially between a child that attended and one that did not.
In my opinion, a UPK program and a DC with a preschool component are not even close.
I know you could probably right a book or I could google- but what ARE the signs of kindergarten readiness that they generally look for? Justin is very verbal and very coordinated but I worry that he lacks a little self control especially around other kids when they're playing rough.

I can help chime in here

We all know how, um active, Charlie is. Even with being in daycare all his life, it took a little while for him to settle into the routine/expectations of pre-K but he is doing awesome now.

Knowing Justin I think he would be 100% ready for pre-K and I'm sure for K the year after. He is such a polite kid & really has empathy & cares for others.

MrsWhiteonWhiteSt · February 2012

xKimx:
MrsWhiteonWhiteSt:
watermellens:
As a Kindergarten teacher I always cringe when I hear that a child did NOT go to UPK - I know it's not always possible and programs fill up, but you can definitely tell the difference academically and socially between a child that attended and one that did not.
In my opinion, a UPK program and a DC with a preschool component are not even close.
I know you could probably right a book or I could google- but what ARE the signs of kindergarten readiness that they generally look for? Justin is very verbal and very coordinated but I worry that he lacks a little self control especially around other kids when they're playing rough.
I can help chime in here
We all know how, um active, Charlie is. Even with being in daycare all his life, it took a little while for him to settle into the routine/expectations of pre-K but he is doing awesome now.
Knowing Justin I think he would be 100% ready for pre-K and I'm sure for K the year after. He is such a polite kid & really has empathy & cares for others.

Thanks for the input Kim! I try to chalk some of the energy up to "boys will be boys" or "he's just 3" but I don't want to be that mom, haha. He has never had a behavior problem at school but like when his cousins come over it seems like he's the one that just can not simmer down when things get crazy.

MrsWhiteonWhiteSt · February 2012

Do they look for anything academically? It is a BROAD range in his pre-K class now. Some of the kids are almost 4 already, some turned 3 in late summer or fall- he's the youngest. When I observed, some of the kids could write there first name, some couldn't even spell it. They are learning to work with scissors 1 handed, 1/2 the kids seem to get it... he's not in that half, lol

xKimx · February 2012

It is a wide range academically.

Here are the "goals" for C's class-

name 10 colors

name 6 shapes

recognize & write name

recognize a majority of letters (upper & lower)

begin to know letter sounds

recognize numbers 1-10

count to 20

sort & pattern

simple addition/subtraction

concepts of print

identify rhyming words

recite phone number

recite address

dress themselves

know birthday

xKimx · February 2012

In his class right now there are kids that are reading & kids that are still working on the letters in their name. Kids that are adding & kids that are working on counting to 5. Big range

MelissaSue81 · February 2012

xKimx:
It is a wide range academically.
Here are the "goals" for C's class-
name 10 colors
name 6 shapes
recognize & write name
recognize a majority of letters (upper & lower)
begin to know letter sounds
recognize numbers 1-10
count to 20
sort & pattern
simple addition/subtraction
concepts of print
identify rhyming words
recite phone number
recite address
dress themselves
know birthday

holy moly this goves me anxiety. I know Eve still has 1.5 years before she even starts pre-k.. but thats a lot of stuff.. (and i'm convinced she will NEVER dress herself.. ever). Our district does not have UPK currently, that I can tell.. They just passed full day K this year, it will start next year I think.. I love Eve's school, and I can tell they do awesome stuff with the older kids, but the atmosphere is so laid back, I worry she will only learn what she wants to learn.. (Like now for example, Eve is awesome at a lot of things, her vocab is amazing, she can solve puzzles better than some adults, but she will NOT count objects.. I know she can.. and she can count sequentially, but she just won't do it).

watermellens · February 2012

It's pretty crazy how different schools/programs will have different "goals" for Kindergarten readiness. A teacher I work with is currently hyperventilating because her kids day care gave her a list of 100 words that her son "should" be able to read before going to Kindergarten....really??? 100 words???? The majority of my Kindergarteners now can't do that!! And I'm not sure why a day care would have the right or the authority to tell a parent that. Anyways...

So we do kindergarten screening for incoming kids every March. We administer a screening tool called the Dial 3. the kids come in with their parents and they go around to 3 different stations - language, motor and concepts.

Some of the things we "test" them on are counting to 20, counting sets of objects, sorting, naming colors, naming body parts, talking about words like smaller, longer, hot, dark, behind, in front of, etc. We do a little rhyming, singing the alphabet, asking if they can name their first and last name, birthday and if they're a boy or girl. The motor is cutting, jumping, skipping, twirling their thumbs and tracing objects and shapes.

We look at how they did on everything and they get three scores- one for each area. A 70ish is about the best you can get and obviously 0 is the lowest. We also give them a behavior score - judging by if they can sit still, wait for directions, easily separate from mom/dad, whine, cry, etc.

The total and behavior scores are taken into account when we place kids in classes. That's pretty much it!

Generally we recommend that anyone that's of age start kindergarten in the fall. If parents are like "oh I don't know if I should" then we generally say "just send them, they'll be fine." A lot of times when we have that conversation, we'll ask the parents what they would do with their kid if they didn't come to school and the answer is "just keep them home with me" so yeah, definitely send them

The thing to remember though is (and as a parent now I can appreciate this) that the test is given in March and school starts 6 months later. SOOOO much can happen in those 6 months it's ridiculous. Those are also the numbers on paper and they help us place kids, but a lot of other factors go into placement as well. We've had kids get a ridiculously high behavior score (a bad sign) and then they come into school and you have no idea why b/c they're awesome kids and great workers. We also have kids come in with a 0 behavior score and they keep you on your toes.

Whew - did that help?

orangeluck · February 2012

watermellens:

As a Kindergarten teacher I always cringe when I hear that a child did NOT go to UPK - I know it's not always possible and programs fill up, but you can definitely tell the difference academically and socially between a child that attended and one that did not.

In my opinion, a UPK program and a DC with a preschool component are not even close.

This was on my mind so I talked to the director and DD's current teacher today. They said that for this district the UPK locations are based on a lottery and rotate some (which does make sense bc it's an advantage to offer it). The same teacher that taught UPK teaches the center preK and uses the same curiculum and materials and evaluations but it doesn't have the district name at the top. It would be at a significant cost difference over the free UPK but staying still has advantages for us I think. We have friends that go to some of the approved UPK locations but some of them I know we checked out when G was a baby and I was not interested in them at that time.

I'm still going to check around while I have time but thanks ladies for your imput!

UPK?

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