My not-so-little baby will be entering preschool in just 15 days, but hey… who’s counting? (Me!) She will be one day short of 20-months, and I am feeling a flurry of emotions – excitement, anxiousness, nervousness, sadness. In a previous post, I mentioned that my daughter has always been very cautious and shy around new people…
This is what we call “The Ostrich” – she’ll hide between our legs or duck her head if she’s in unfamiliar surroundings, thinking if she doesn’t see them then they won’t see her. Her height is a bit unfortunate for my husband right now, haha.
One reason I’m looking forward to sending her to preschool is because I hope it will help her come out of her shell a bit more. I know I can’t force it, but I think it will be good for her to experience an environment beyond the comforts of home. Since my in-laws live with us, she has been surrounded by family since the day she was born, with little exposure to outside help. Some babies are naturally comfortable with anyone and everyone – mine isn’t one of them.
I started researching preschools when she was only 4-months old because I heard about the long waiting lists at some schools in our area. I honestly didn’t know what to look for, but these were some of our immediate criteria:
- Close to home and work – both my husband and I have short 10-15 minute commutes so we definitely wanted to find a preschool in our city.
- Within our price range – we were willing to set aside a budget of $800-1200 for her preschool.
- Good student/teacher ratio
I looked on yelp.com and greatschools.org to find reviews on the various schools in and around our area, and decided to schedule tours with a few.
Cost: an all-inclusive $1,100/month + lunch is provided. When I say “all-inclusive” I mean there are no additional, hidden fees.
Hours: 7-6pm, 5 days/week
This was a Montessori school with a 3-year waiting list, so that was out (in 2011, they had just enrolled their 2008 waitlist!). I put my daughter on the waitlist, and the moment I found out I was pregnant with my 2nd, I put him/her on the waitlist as well. We may never end up here and the preschool I did go with might exceed all my expectations, but I always like to keep my options open.
Cost: $1,115/month + Lunch/milk/snacks are not provided
Hours: 8:30am-3pm, 5 days/week
This was another highly-rated Montessori school. I was really impressed when I visited. The director and teachers all seemed very nurturing, and I was blown-away by the level of maturity and politeness I saw in the preschoolers there. Many of them came up to me and proudly showed off their artwork. In typical Montessori style, many were sitting quietly in their own “play stations,” independently doing their own thing. I was instantly captivated by this school and everything Montessori, but while the base cost fell within our price range, there were a lot of hidden/additional fees that made us second-guess this school.
For instance, if I wanted “early care” from 7-8:30am it would be an additional $80, and if I wanted “extended care” from 3-6pm it would cost an extra $170!! I don’t know many full time working parents that can afford to drop off their kids at 8:30 am and finish work by 3 pm. It just seemed so unrealistic. They had more days off than other schools in the area, so if I wanted to have childcare on an “off day”, I’d have to pay extra on top of the regular fees. I should also mention they charge you $15 for every 15 minutes you’re late in picking up your kid. That is way too much pressure on a working parent! Even if we could afford to send our first child here, we would never be able to afford two now that we have a second one along the way.
After several discussions with my husband, I shelved my desire to put my daughter in a “top notch” program for a “really good” program that met all our needs for the time being. Which leads me to…
Cost: an all-inclusive $832/month + milk/snacks are provided but lunch is not.
Hours: 7am-6pm, 5-days a week.
This is the school we went with. It is not a Montessori school, but it is affordable, with a small student/teacher ratio, and large campus with a huge, sprawling playground. It is also affiliated with a church that holds our same Christian values. We met with the director several times and instantly got a great vibe from her. She is so energetic and lively – just one of those types where if you met her you could instantly sense she has a way with kids. She knew the parent handbook like the back of her hand, and was able to answer every single question I threw at her. Parents are free to drop off or pick up their kids anytime within those hours with few restrictions. Toddler Heels will be in the 18-36 month old “Waddler” room with a 1:6 student/teacher ratio. At 20-months, she will be one of the younger kids, but I think she will learn a lot from the older kids in her class.
I will report back soon on whether or not this school meets our expectations, but we have a good feeling about this one!
With all the options out there, it’s not easy choosing a daycare or preschool. Have you thought about preschool options for your child?
grapefruit / 4120 posts
I am starting to look into this, maybe for January when my babe will be 2. But it’s hard because I want him in a preschool, not a daycare, yet I work so I don’t know how he will get from home to school and back… I guess I have to find someplace that has transportation which is not easy.
GOLD / wonderful apricot / 22646 posts
awww the ostrich!
we are def leaning towards Montessori-style, but haven’t looked into details yet, a review like this is def worth keeping in mind to weigh out all factors.
GOLD / cherry / 182 posts
Yes and it’s so tough to decide! My budget dictated a lot, and I too was in a similar price range to you. There are some great day care options but they can cost a lot more. In the end, I went with a day care close to work that is affiliated with a church and by no means blew me away but seems solid. I just can’t justify going into debt for day care, although I would love to be able to afford to send him to a five star facility.
blogger / eggplant / 11551 posts
@sloaneandpuffy – that was our concern as well… do you have odd working hours? are there preschools in your area that have extended hours like the ones above? the core curriculum is usually from 8-3pm, but they have playtime from 3-6pm until the parents can come get them.
i also wonder what parents do once their kids enter kindergarten! most kindergartens end in the early afternoon so i don’t know what we’re going to do about that when the time comes… hmm.
blogger / eggplant / 11551 posts
@ms. fairy wings – i have the same sentiments!
GOLD / wonderful coffee bean / 18478 posts
Aww, my daughter does the Ostrich, too! She has been going to daycare since 6 months old and she is still shy around strangers.
I am probably going to keep her in daycare until kindy. There aren’t any preschools in our area with the long hours that I need. She seems to learn a lot at daycare so I think we’ll be happy with their preschool program, too.
grapefruit / 4120 posts
@Mrs. High Heels: Fortunately I work at a school, so once he’s 3 he will be here on campus with me and can take the school bus home (since at that age they are half day) and hang with the nanny. But I’d like to get him in somewhere before then. I guess I just feel silly sending him somewhere all day when we’re also paying the nanny! (Although she’ll have another baby to worry about soon.)
blogger / eggplant / 11551 posts
@sloaneandpuffy – school buses! now that answers my questions about kindergarteners and how parents get them home in the middle of the afternoon! completely forgot about those…
@andrea – aww she does the ostrich too?? cute!
if she’s shy, was it hard for her to adjust to daycare?
blogger / wonderful cherry / 21628 posts
A three year waiting list is crazy! It must be a good school.
blogger / eggplant / 11551 posts
@leialou – i think it’s a combination of it being a reasonably priced montessori school ($1100 + lunch provided is a steal in our area for this kind of education!)… and the awesome hours! they have 4 different branches in our city and they ALL have 3 year waiting lists.
apricot / 340 posts
Good luck with school! I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts about how preschool goes for lil HH.
I’m thinking about enrolling my son next year when he turns 2.5 y/o. There’s so many schools to choose from, it’s mind boggling. Thanks for your post about this.
blogger / wonderful cherry / 21616 posts
lol oops you said 18-36 year old class lol made me chuckle.
she is so cute! glad you found a school in your price range you like!!
blogger / eggplant / 11551 posts
@coco bee – oops!!! thanks for the catch…!
pomegranate / 3225 posts
yikes, I had no idea preschool could be so expensive!
pomegranate / 3053 posts
Aaaw… I love the ostrich shot! So cute! We really hyped up preschool to our son a couple of weeks before he started. I even took him to visit and sit in once and he loved it. I think that helped a lot. And then he always asked where I was going and I would say “I’m going to the store.” So every time I dropped him off he would say “mommy going to the store and then come pick me up after?” I think it was a way to make him feel good and it worked.
I sent my oldest to preschool at 32 months b/c I was starting my third trimester with our second so I didn’t really have many options as all the good schools were filled already. So instead I looked into church preschools (play-based) and found one 5 minutes away that fit everything I was looking for and his two teachers were seriously awesome in every way. Turns out they had one opening left for the 2s class and I took it. It was only 2x a week but I felt that was a good start. He LOVED it and wanted to go back and probably only said once or twice that he didn’t want to go to school but he sometimes say things like that just to say it. He cried maybe like 3x at most. So I felt that I made the right choice. Originally, we wanted to send him to Montessori but now we’ve decided to leave him at this preschool. I hope his second year will be just as good… but hard to say with new teachers. Although, I will have to volunteer (parents rotate) so at least I’ll be able to see first hand what goes on there w/o asking. He has class 3x a week and I think they only have one parent there once a week so not bad at all. I’m excited and hope they let me bring my LO with me as I’ll have no other care for him. The huge bonus about church preschools is the price. His 2s class 2x a week was $215 a month. His 3s class 3x a week will be $210 a month. It’s only 3.5 hours in the morning and I pack lunch (which I’d rather do anyway) so it’s a good amount for everyone. By the time he comes home it’ll be nap time so it’s perfect.
GOLD / wonderful coffee bean / 18478 posts
@Mrs. High Heels: no, it wasn’t hard but she was only 6 months old so she probably didn’t know any better! I’d imagine that transitioning an older kid will take slightly longer but your DD will do fine!