Has anyone been disappointed in the preschool your child attended? Any stories of being pleasantly surprised by one?
Mr W went to a well regarded Montessori from 1.7y to 3.1y.
The first day, the teacher came up and told us. "Did you know he knows the entire alphabet?"
So we were pleasantly surprised by this attention to detail.
They moved him up early at 2.5y to a "primary class with 3-5 year olds. And it went downhill after the first few weeks.
They expected him to be content with 10 piece puzzles when he was doing 50-100 piece ones at home. They expected him to be happy with picture books when he was starting to read. When they "assessed" him they stopped at anything beyond what is typical 3 year old stuff leaving most of the form empty when he knew just about everything on there through K. When we suggested he might be bored, they said that no way was he bored. We started to have behavior issues at home where Mr W would not listen to us or interact with us well on the weekdays but by Saturday night he was fine.
We determined that they were just letting him randomly fill much of his time there. And since nothing there was remotely challenging or interesting and nothing new was introduced, he was withdrawing into his own world. And we did not think through what he needed.
So, we moved him to a structured academic private school that agreed to place him with his academic peers. We decided on PreK and not K simply because there are zero options in the DFW area for a 4.5Y old who finished K.
They have a daily lesson plan with about 4 hours of instruction. They still do the letter of the day, but they do have a word of week and they do have simple books. And the stuff changes each week with just one repetition during the year. Not bad.
The big thing is that we talk to the school director and the teacher on a weekly basis to make sure that there are no problems or to nip anything in the bud before it becomes an issue.
We are worried that his age will become an issue. We have not told any parents how old he is. We have already gotten one comment from a staff member that seemed strange. We are also worried that he will become the object of too much attention and he has already gotten a couple of stares from parents when he starts talking.
Mr W is very charismatic and can speak almost like an adult. When he had a nanny and when he was in home-based care, he came to rule the roost. We are careful now to make sure he is not the center of attention and/or is allowed to snow people. But I already see signs or one of his teachers drinking the Mr W kool aid. Its important for him to treated like everyone else.
We are also worried about kids bullying him because he is smaller. We have had two incidents with this - one at Montessori and another at this school. He told me about the one at Montessori with a 5 year old girl on the playground and that the teachers had talked to her but she still did it. I told him to hit that person back and then scream as loud as he could. LOL. That got their attention. The second case was at the current school which was resolved when Mr W clearly described what occurred. The school took steps and the kid and his parents apologized - this was handled very well. Mr W is no body's fool and is quite capable of dealing with situations - he just needed some guidance.
The thing to keep in mind is that all of these places deal with normally developing kids on a regular basis and most have no clue what to do with a GT kid. Your kid is but one of hundreds they see each day. You child's advanced behavior will be seen by those who do see it - as "disruption" not "advanced." The kids in the class will not be on your kids level and will appear as dull and infantile to you and to your child. The preschool is in the business of dealing with that kind of kid and yours is not that kind of kid. There will be things you do not like. That is just the way it is.
So, I would observe the school and the various classrooms and levels and imagine which your kid would like to be in and thrive in. Look at the lesson plans and think about what is appropriate. If you find a class that you think will work, then lobby to get your kid in there. Keep in mind that while a class lasts for a year, your kid may go through the material in 1 month. Just be prepared to make an adjustment in a few months. And then another. And another.
The other thing to add, is that if you have a receptive audience, then your kid will sell themselves. A mature and obviously advanced polite kid will get air time when you want to move her up or make other arrangements.
Don't drink the kool aid about how great a school is or a teacher, yada yada. We've seen so much of that. Don't assume that because your kid is happy one month that they are happy the next. We've seen Mr W thrive one month then head downhill the next.
