School Enrollment

Yes - It is that time of the year again.  School Enrollment.  For parents with kids in Mother's day out or preschool or parents trying to determine where to send their kids to grade school, it can be a very stressful time.

I remember when I first enrolled T and S in mother's day out.  My friend informed me that I had to make my decision in Feb about 6 months before they would even start.  I was thinking to myself this is crazy, the fall is so far away.  But I took her advice and visited a few different programs to help me decide where to send them.  I liked every where I went and found the ones I viewed to be fairly equal.  Some of the items that were important to me was the location of the program to the things I would do while they were there such as work out.  I also wanted to go somewhere that was fairly close to my home.  Teachers were important along with the training that they had.  T and S have attend two different schools and I have liked them both a lot.  The reason we moved from the first school was location to our home and where I would be working.  I found that our second school provided some extra flexibility in scheduling as far as offering some extended hours.  This has been a huge help for me with work and the new baby.  So another item I would really think about is the flexibility of the hours with what you will be trying to accomplish while they are at the program.  I do remember one of my other friends indicating that the most important part for her was that everyday her daughter attends mother's day out that the teacher be happy to see her. That is a great plus when you have those extra special teachers your kids love.  So to sum that up I think location, the teachers and flexibility are some of things you should look for in a mother's day out program.

Probably the hardest thing about starting to send your child to Mother's Day out for me was the realization that my kids will start to have experiences that I would not be a part of.  This kind of just hit me after they were signed up and dropped off on the first day.  I think this is an important part of growing up for all kids but the mental preparation that goes along with that can be hard for Mom or Dad who is home with the kids during the day.

For Pre-K/Preschool programs- I think all of above is also important but then you really want to start to find out the teachers qualifications and what type of environment the teacher will provide.  We have one child that needs to know the rules and have a structured environment.  The other child does well in that learning environment but go more with the flow.  Both kids have been in the same class, so I have seen how the different teaching styles can affect their behavior at school.  I think that can make all the difference in how the year will go for your child.  You know your kid better than anyone and what their needs will be at that age.  So I would look for a school that meets those needs and within the school the teacher that would best fit your child.

I will be enrolling my kids in grade school this week.  The district we are in allows you to fill out a form that indicates what type of teaching style your child may do best with.  I have spoken to several Moms that have filled out the form and said it was worth the extra time.  They felt like the school really tried to put their child with a teacher that would best fit their child's needs.  T and S will be split up next year in different classrooms.  This was the recommendation of their Pre-K teacher.  When I talked with them about it, they were both excited about not being with the sibling anymore.  I am going to request that they have the same lunch and recess time, just in case things do not work out like they plan.

I have also been thinking and enrolling my kids in some summer camps but I will take about that in another blog entry.

I think many of items would also be true when looking for a full or part time day care.  I have not looked closely into that, but I would think the same issues would be important.

Please let me and the other readers know what is or was important to you in choosing schools/day care and mother's day programs.  I will ask that you do not list any specific programs.

I will assume that choosing J- high and High Schools for kids create a similar stress and anxiety, but I am fairly far away from that, so I can not offer any suggestions on it.  But would love to hear from Moms or Dads that have or are going through that also.