DS (2 yrs 8 months) is at preschool 2 mornings a week at the moment but it is a good 15 minute drive from our house. Things that currently impress me about his preschool are:
- Staff are young and energetic
- Location is very safe, set in off the road in a former primary school
- They have great facilities, large light rooms and new equipment with a whole art studio that children can take art classes in. I've been really impressed with the art work produced by the older kids.
- Can offer full-time daycare so once I go back to work next year it'll be easy to extend his hours
- Has a good reputation among the parents I know
- Director was friendly, bright and professional
Downsides are:
- DS doesn't seem that well-settled there. He has been there for six months now and says every school morning 'I don't want to go to school, no I don't like school'. I asked his teacher about how he's doing and she said he seems fine, no problems with his behavior. He hangs back when he gets to class though, doesn't want to join the other children in what they're doing and doesn't seem himself. With friends and at the park he is outgoing, happy to say hi to anyone and chats away.
- Daycare - downside is that the kids who are there full-time seem to have the best relationship with the teachers (understandable). There are 4 or 5 little girls that the teacher sits with all the time while other kids seem to mill about a bit. Also parents are not friendly, there is no chatting at the school gates. Again though it could be because we're only part-time there
- It is a 30 minute round trip and we are due another baby in the autumn so I'm thinking it will be a PITA taking the baby with me 3 mornings a week (am increasing his hours once he turns 3) to drop him off and pick him up.
So I found a new preschool close to my house. Had not heard of it before, possibly because they only take potty-trained children. They offered me a place for 3 half-days a week and we have done a shadow day there. I was impressed with:
- Teachers - experienced and relaxed with the kids, positive attitude
- Children - very well behaved, friendly and kind to my son
- Outside play area with little garden and lots of different play stations based on different sensory activities to suit each child
- DS seemed happy there, enjoyed the shadow day. It was only one day though and he liked the current preschool too when he started.
- More traditional preschool - lots of opportunities to get involved with school, come onto premises during school hours and interact with kids, e.g. read stories, whereas current preschool is more like a daycare.
I was under impressed with:
- Toilet training - seemed kind of rigid on this. It made me wonder how they would deal with a child that is struggling. Toilet was just one big room with 2 toilets and no doors so kids were peeing in front of each other. Seemed a bit intimidating to me for a child that is just learning to use the toilet.
- Age group - normally here (am in USA) the preschools take based on age. Children have to be 5 on or before September 1st to start school so with a birthday in October my son would be one of the older kids in class. This preschool takes from 2 years 9 months so my son would be one of the youngest in the year as he will only be 2 years 10 months starting.
- Facilities - it was an older building, smaller and with fewer toys than his current preschool, everything looked well-used.
- Director - she was late to meet me twice. Once was a family bereavement where I turned up and she wasn't there so we had to reschedule - fair enough, I didn't think anything of this. The second time I turned up though, no-one was there to meet me. She was at a doctor's appointment apparently. Didn't seem professional to me.
So... thoughts? WWYD? I'm torn as it seems 50-50. If I change him to this new preschool, I need to stick with it rather than have him change schools too much especially with a new sibling arriving.
Christ that's long... so hard to explain the details and background, avoid drip feeding etc. I'm grateful if anyone answers!