Nursery school tour.

[rivka]

We had our nursery school tour today. And more than that: upon hearing that there were only two spaces left for the class that starts in May, we signed Alex up and put down a deposit.

*gulp*

All three of us really liked it, though.

It's a small school tucked into the second-floor Sunday School rooms at a Presbyterian church. (No religious affiliation, the director was quick to tell me.) Three classrooms, each with twelve kids. About half the kids stay for the morning nursery school only, and half stay on for daycare in the afternoon. There are three teachers in the morning - a 1:4 ratio, which is way higher than state requirements. I think they manage that by supplementing the full-time staff with interns from the art college down the street. Several of the full-time teachers are art school graduates.

The classrooms are kind of small. They're well-supplied with toys, art supplies, and child-sized furniture. Little nooks are blocked off with bookshelves, so that there are some smaller playspaces and some wider-open areas. Each class has a big stack of cots for afternoon nap. The two-year-olds have a reasonably large courtyard to play in, and some outdoor toys. They also go for walks. Three- and four-year-olds walk one block down the alley to the Bolton Hill Swim and Tennis Club for outdoor play (there's a nice playground and lots of grass for running) and, in the summer, swimming. When it's too hot or too rainy to go outside, they put outdoor/large motor toys in the church parish hall and let the kids run around there.

There's what looks like a fairly loose schedule. The two-year-olds had a calendar on the wall with their weekly themes: this week is the five senses, next week they'll be talking about pets, the week after they'll learn about fall. It looks like there's a lot of art. Three- and four-year-olds go on a lot more field trips in the neighborhood than the two-year-olds do - one thing she mentioned is "Tiny Tots" concerts at the symphony hall, which is just a few blocks away.

The staff works with kids to solve their own social clashes, unless someone is in imminent danger of being hurt. They seem to use modeling, distraction, and environmental changes to solve most discipline issues. I saw a lot of cuddling and hugs in the two-year-old room. For potty training, "tell us exactly what you want us to do, and we'll do it." There's no requirement that kids be trained at a certain age - certainly most of the two-year-olds seemed to be in diapers. Naptime is a full two hours, which is nice, and kids who don't want to nap can look at books or do other quiet activities on their cots. The director said that the kids really seem to need a long rest, and don't fuss about it.

They provide morning and afternoon snacks, and we can buy a hot lunch for $2.75 a day. The menu looks varied, kid-friendly, and reasonably healthy: spaghetti, empanadas, tacos, stir fry, pizza, rice and beans, "breakfast for lunch," broiled fish, lots of veggies. They're not peanut-free, so we'd have to pack a lunch on the occasional PB&J days. Otherwise, $2.75 a day sounds totally worth it to not have to deal with packing a lunchbox.

The kids seemed busy, happy, and friendly, and they were eager to show us things. The director clearly knows all of the kids, which is nice. Kids made social overtures towards Alex right away. She clung to Michael for the first few minutes, but by the time the two-year-olds started singing she picked up the hand motions and went right along with them. Each time we left a classroom, she'd reach back and ask us to "open door," so obviously she saw plenty of things she liked. Out-of-home care will be an adjustment for her, I know, but I think she'll really like it there.

But it's a good thing we have seven months to get used to the idea.

Comments

[minnaleigh.livejournal.com]

Wow, it really sounds perfect! And 7 months is a long time to get used to the idea.

[ex-serenejo.livejournal.com]

Very nice!

[hobbitbabe.livejournal.com]

That sounds like a good place. I'm glad Alex isn't old enough to have the concept of it being somewhere she can go back but not for a long time. Because that always seems so hard for the 4yo who go on the Kindergarten Visit.

What does the ethnic balance look like (kids, teachers, parents)?

[rivka.livejournal.com]

My first reassurance that she really is old enough for nursery school came when we explained to her this morning that we were going to see a place where kids play. Her immediate response: "Kids? Leo, Ingrid! Friends!"

So yeah, for her I think it will just blend in to the general idea of "places where kids are," along with playgroup, church, and the library. Which is handy.

What does the ethnic balance look like (kids, teachers, parents)?

It's not as diverse as I'd like. I'd say that maybe 75% of kids and teachers are white.

[curiousangel.livejournal.com]

I'd say that maybe 75% of kids and teachers are white.

For the neighborhood, I think it is pretty representative, even if it might not be as diverse as one might like. I noted that two of the senior instructors were people of color, and since several of the adults will be interns from the art school, I expect they'll be a rapidly-changing bunch with a variable ethnic mix. It's also a pretty small sample size, both for the kids and for the staff.

[janetmiles.livejournal.com]

Can I go back to being a toddler and go to Alex's nursery school?

When I went to nursery school, naptime meant "on your back on the cot, silent, eyes closed, no squirming".

I don't remember what the lunches were, but I do remember we had to eat with our right hand only, left hand in our laps, we couldn't talk at the table, and we couldn't leave the table until we'd eaten everything on the plate.

And it was very important that we color inside the lines and with the correct colors. I remember being called down in front of the class by Miss June and told that I was a 'bad citizen' for using the wrong colors on the US flag. Granted, I was in kindergarten and attending the after-school program, so I suppose I should have known better, but still.

(Keep in mind, of course, that this was nearly 40 years ago.)

Alex is a lucky kid! I hope she adapts well to nursery school.

[nodakwriter.livejournal.com]

Man alive, I think Harry Chapin wrote a song (http://www.csee.umbc.edu/~mariedj/browse/serious/innocence) about that school.

[rivka.livejournal.com]

Man, that's crazy. Even 40 years ago, they should've known more than that about developmentally appropriate behavioral expectations. Certainly the nursery school I went to nearly 30 years ago was very much like Alex's, at least from what I remember. No naptime, though - it was purely a nursery school, with kids attending for a few hours a day, not a nursery school/daycare like Alex's.

I remember being called down in front of the class by Miss June and told that I was a 'bad citizen' for using the wrong colors on the US flag.

Fear and shame certainly do seem to be popular methods for instilling patriotism in the young. When I was a Girl Scout camp counselor, we'd have flag ceremonies to raise the flag every morning and lower it every night. Every week, I would inevitably find myself consoling some hysterical child who had been told by her peers that she was going to go to jail for accidentally letting the flag touch the ground.

[mjlayman.livejournal.com]

So, was your nursery school on a Navy base? I remember the left hand in lap and I remember (probably inaccurately) that we had tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches every day. But the reason I was expelled was because whenever we went outside or came back inside, I insisted on stopping in my baby brother's room and checking on him. I always caught back up, I didn't wander through the building, but I repeatedly disobeyed, so I got expelled.

[fairoriana.livejournal.com]

How delightful! Our church runs a non-religious nursery school too (ages 3 - 5), but not nearly that elaborate. That really sounds fantastic! I'm sure Alex will have a ball.

[wcg.livejournal.com]

This looks *so* good. I think she's really going to benefit from it.

[ailbhe]

Yay! I love hearing about good nurseries.

[therealjae.livejournal.com]

Wow, that sounds *wonderful*! How close is it to home?

-J

[rivka.livejournal.com]

That's one of the best parts! It's about five blocks from our house. We do have to cross a major street (6+ lanes) and then walk along it a little ways, so it's not as nice as most walks in our neighborhood, but there's no doubt that walking will be the best way to get back and forth to nursery school.

I can't even begin to describe how delighted I am that starting out-of-home care isn't going to make us more car dependent, or cause commuting hassles.

[therealjae.livejournal.com]

Whoa. You guys all lucked out!

-J

[raincitygirl.livejournal.com]

Sounds like a good solution. But yeah, Alex will be TWO next May. I'm boggled by that, and I've never even met her!

[iamjw.livejournal.com]

This sounds really wonderful, although I'm a little boggled about it not being peanut-free. I didn't think any kid-spaces were like that any more.

What I wouldn't have given for that kind of teacher:student ratio when I taught 3 year olds.

[juthwara.livejournal.com]

Oh, that school sounds wonderful. Several years ago, I worked as a reference librarian for a clearinghouse on early childhood education, and your preschool fits almost exactly what our publication on "What to look for in a preschool" said. I hope we can find a gem like that when we start looking for a preschool.

[rivka.livejournal.com]

I hope we can find a gem like that when we start looking for a preschool.

I mentioned to the director that I'd been turned off by most of the preschools that advertise in Baltimore's Child, and she said matter-of-factly, "Oh, we never advertise. We've never had to." And boy, I can believe it, because we got one of the last two spots in a class that doesn't even start for another seven months.

So keep that in mind when you start looking! Word-of-mouth is the best resource there is.