We spent a lot of time looking at preschools. We made a list of what we wanted and what made Mr W happy, read the good and bad on here, then visited a lot schools.
For us the one thing we wanted the most was for Mr W to be with older kids AND to get things he was not getting at home.
We started looking when he was 14 mos, but were just shocked at the differences between Mr W and the other kids his age or even 9 mos older. We also cringed at the toddler rooms that had no books, no puzzles, etc. Mr W did keep us amused by allowing us to observe the staffs' reactions to his antics...ultimately, we realized that Mr W needed a few more months and that it would not be fair to expect him to be in with kids who were not in diapers.
We chose a in-home daycare where the parents were homeschooling their kids. He was able to spend time with boys older than he was - and was around the same kind of things he was used to.
He became bored with this after about 4 months as he was not learning anything new.
-continued-
We then did the whole pre school search thing all over again with the same goals in mind and, based on what we've read on here, accepting that what we find may be good for a year or two or less.
We did not ask specifically about acceleration, but looked for a place with an administration and staff that were flexible and realistic but with some structure and that had access to both stuff he was getting at home as well as stuff he was not.
It took us a while to find a place where he fits in.
Mr W loves his Montessori school right now and cannot wait to get in the car to go. They do a wide variety of activities plus music, dance, computers, etc - as well as the typical Montessori stuff, so he is engaged for now. The staff has come to us telling us he can read a few words and knows his numbers and they think that is great. He is allowed access to all the books he wants and every day when I pick him up, he is "reading" one.
So far, so good.
Last edited by Austin; 02/24/10 06:06 AM.
