申请 preschool 的问题

申请 preschool

阳阳已经13个月了，要申请 preschool。听朋友说我们附近的好的 preschools 要一两年的 wait list。好吓人！朋友推荐了两个 montessori 学校，都有 $200 的报名费，还要等不知多久。我对 preschool 和 montessori 一点也不了解，不知要不要花 $400 报名排队。还有一间教会的，和一间隔壁 school district 的（不是我们 district）。电话簿上还有好多好多学校。今天打算去参观一间学校，可我真的不懂要看什么，怎么知道学校的好坏。要参观多少学校才算合适？要不要等参观几间学校之后再花钱报名？怕再晚了更排不上了。

离我家最近的好像是最差的。我婆婆不喜欢。

真头疼。

我看了 crazydog 写的 how to find a good preschool，还是一头雾水。大家有什么经验？

[午夜蝴蝶]

阳阳妈妈，如果这样的话，也许可以试试Montessouri.母亲和孩子的互动就像dancing partner.你要follow阳阳的lead,不要随时介入他的活动，并希望他按照你的方式行动。在阳阳玩的时候，你可以在一边观察，并自己摆弄一些玩具，不一定要阳阳参与。如果他感兴趣，他会注意你，也会试图模仿你，甚至参与到你的游戏中来。总之，阳阳自己应该initiate 活动,他也在这样做。关键是父母怎样follow 他。

阳阳是个很特别，很可爱的孩子！他对音乐的反应让我觉得非常amazing.我也觉得他有你这样sensitive 的妈妈，非常幸运。

只是一点小建议而已。你已经做得非常好了！

[小花菜]

Thank you for your input. I have been visiting several preschools the last couple of weeks and I feel overwhelmed. I really cannot tell the difference between schools. I don't know much about Montessori either, but from what you describe, maybe Yangyang will fit in there. Yangyang is a very independent baby. Most of the time he just likes to play on his own, and if I initiate any activity, he is most likely to turn away and do his own thing. He tries to figure things out himself all the time. I cannot get him interested in anything unless he initiates himself.

We still have a few months so I will take my time to make the decision!

[午夜蝴蝶]

Personally, I do not recommend Montessouri. The main philosophy of Montessouri is children's self-initiated learning and teachers tend to be an observer. To fully practice its philosophy, Montessouri needs very high quality teachers and they need to know exactly when to support or interact with children and when to be a sensitive observer。 The fact is that many Montessouri teachers are not highly trained as expected. Then, the outcome is that children do not get enough support in learning. There is no solid research finding that Montessouri produces better child outcomes than other early childhood education models.

For Yangyang's age, I would suggest to go to regular preschools. He definitely needs adult's attention and interaction. Some nice family day care would work, too.

You can search some information on selecting preschools. Here are my two cents: (1）the overall climate of the school. Do you feel teachers and children have good relationship? Can you tell children are engaged in play, relaxed,feel comfortable, have enough activities to be involved with? (2) are teachers nice to every child? How do they greet parents and children? How does the program director greet parents and children? Do teachers have warm voice when they speak to children? (3) Is the classroom safe, clean, well-organized? Does the classroom have defined play areas (e.g., literacy, library, sand box, water box, drama play area, or areas that children can have some quiet time)? Does the classroom have enough resources (e.g., toys, books, puzzles，color papers, pens) and whether those resources are accessible to children (can they reach out those resources by themselves)? (4) How does the relationship between teachers and parents look like? Do they communicate when parents drop off or pick up children?

There are many other things, but the most important thing is that the teachers are warm, sensitive, responsive, responsible, confident, and they love children, having a positive relationship with children.

Be patient with the process and it worths the time since it will be one of the most critical experiences for Yangyang. When you have a list, I would suggest you to go there to do some observations and go with your intuition.