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Working Moms
Mustardseed2007
member
Thoughts on DC situation **long**
Mustardseed2007
member
in Working Moms
Sorry this is long. I'm driving myself crazy and I need to stop. So part of this is me getting this out there, but mostly I'd love to hear what you ladies think of our school choices and what path we should take.
My sister currently watches DS, who is 19 months. We've been wanting to start him around this age at a day care program just to give him more structure than he currently receives. We found two schools we really liked, but the waitlist at school 2 was very very long. We put DS on the waitlist and then later put him on the waitlist at school 1. Several months ago a spot opened up for the new school year at school 1 and after confirming that the first spot available would likely not be until February of next year at school 2, we put down a deposit at school 1 and signed DS up.
School starts at school 1 on August 20. The deposit at School 1 is refundable provided we actually start school AND give 30 days notice prior to withdrawing.
We just got an email from school 2 that a spot is now going to be available mid to late October. I confirmed that we are interested, and so I'm waiting for them to tell me a firm date that he would be able to start, which they said will take a week or two.
school 1: Mid/large sized school that goes from infant to 8th grade. It's got a good reputation for the older school. As far as I can tell it has a good reputation for the lower schools as well. It is very clean, very up to date. It has great indoor and outdoor play areas, video cameras (not that stream, but they record in each room), Gymboree visits once a week and they play on that equipment (right now DS goes to Gymboree 1x per week and LOVES it). Not included in school tuition, but available on site, are dance, tae kwon do, art, soccer, and t ball teams. DS is too young right now for a lot of that but it would be available as he gets older. It's accredited by ISA and Commission of Tex Assoc. of Baptist Schools (it's a Baptist school, which is fine). The hours are 7:45 am to 6pm.
School 2: very small Montessori school that goes from 18 months to 8th grade. Their largest program is the 18mos-Kindergarden program. They have mixed aged classes like most Montessori programs. They seem to be very into what they are doing and excited about the Montessori system, and the director and administrator seem to be on top of everything. They had former students interning at the school, and those students were very excited about being there. Their ratios are lower than state requirements. The facility isn't as fancy, but the entire program seems more homey and quaint. At the same time it seems very structured, but child directed, the way a lot of good Montessori programs are. They are AMS certified and NAEYC certified. School 2 costs about 350 less than school 1, and it is closer to our home. The hours are a little more forgiving also, 7:45 am to 6:30pm, which will make pick up easier in emergencies if we get held up.
Now my question: what would you do? We are considering now:
1) Starting DS at school 1 and transitioning him to school 2 when we get a confirmation on a start date.
2) Keeping Ds with my sister for a couple more months and then starting him at school 2 when a spot opens. This means paying my sister and loosing money at school 1.
3) Or start at school 1 and maybe just keep him there after all to avoid having to switch him. Dh thinks I'm crazy for considering that, since School 2 has really always been our first choice, but I'm also concerned that maybe school 2 seems all cutesy from the outside b/c it's smaller, but has problems we aren't seeing from the visit we made. School 1 seems to run like a machine compared to school 2, but I find that a little intimidating as well.
Thanks to whoever reads through this. You guys are so smart about day care stuff, I just had to ask here!
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Thoughts on DC situation **long**
If it's a choice between two daycares - I would go with the Montessori program. Because it's closer to home, the hours are better, and it's Montessori. I'd kill for an affordable Montessori program in our area.
Visit each school one more time and make your decision.
I would nix option 3-it's too many adjustments in a short period of time.
You need to revisit your original pro/cons list of the two schools and make decision with the best fit for your family. My concern with Montessori has always been that it's hard to find programs past 8th grade and I think a child might find it difficult to go from that learning environment to a more traditional one.
We chose a smaller school for our child. I like the fact that every teacher knows my kid and most know me, my husband, and my mom (who also picks him up). We also considered convenience, cost, and curriculum (this program met those needs too). I talked to lots of parents with children in different programs and knew this was the right choice for us.
I would not enroll and start at one place and then chance. It was a HUGE adjustment for my child and an even larger adjustment for me. Until enrolling in school, he was cared for by an individual in her home (one-on-one care).
In hindsight, I should have visited more before we enrolled, but I knew this was this right choice for us.
Good luck! These decisions are never easy.
"No one will ever know the strength of my love for you. After all, you're the only one who knows what my heart sounds like from the inside." -Unknown
: ) I'm glad to hear so many people like Montessori.
It doesn't have all the bells and whistles of the other more parochial place, but it really seemed like they understand what they are doing, they care, and the kids are given an opportunity to both learn and be themselves. That's what made me like the Montessori place.
Polyp removed/hypothyriod 6/2011
7/2011 IUI#1 w/ 150 Follistim/Ovidrel trigger BFN
8/2011 IUI#2 w/225 Follistim/Ovidrel trigger BFN
10/2011 IUI#3 w/300 Follistim/Ovidrel trigger (BFP)
beta #1: 195 beta#2: 502
7/2013 Back to RE because my uterus is OLD