Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Age or Ability Specific Forums Pre-school Daycare vs. Preschool for a 2 year old

We'd let them get into their spiel, then wait for an opening.

"What is your approach to moving kids from one level to the other?"

Bad Reponse: "Our program is the best in the area and kids develop at the same rate so we use age."
Good Response:"We don't have a fixed criteria. We leave it up to the teachers and parents and kids to make that decision. We see some kids move up fast, others not so fast."

"What are some challenges you face with different levels of ability?"

Bad Response:"All our kids are bright, so we have very little issues." ( A bit later she free associated about a 5 year old with 10 year old math skills and how they did not know what to do with him as he was socially a baby. Can you say Aspie!!)
Good response:"Some kids are more advanced than others and it varies in both intellectual and social skills. Our teachers try to make things interesting for all the kids. It can be hard."

"Have you had some disagreements with parents and how did you handle it?"

Bad Reponse:"Oh, we rarely have any issues."
Good Reponse:"We have cameras in every room and we use these to resolve questions about what the kids have done. I try to talk to parents one on one and then get the other side of the story as well. If I cannot resolve it, I'll get my supervisor to help or sometimes the PTA can help out."

"What are the biggest reasons kids leave?"

Bad Response:"The parents don't see the value in what we are doing."

Good response:"Lots of reasons - moves, finances, etc. But most of our kids just go onto Kindergarten."


We looked for someone who was going to listen to us, saw the kids as humans and individuals, and who lived in the real world.

Thanks Austin for those questions!!!

We actually called a Montessori school today and both of us feel like it would be an amazing fit. The director spoke to DH a long time on the phone today explaining everything in detail (she also discussed the methodology quite a bit with him since he's not as familiar with it). We asked a lot of Austin's questions and were quite please with the responses.

Basically, they said that the first month they would evaluate here and if the 0-3 group was not a good fit they'd be happy to move her up (he got the impression that that wasn't too uncommon). If at any time she outgrew the group they'd also be willing to move her up later on too. Also they are flexible about providing more advanced activities in subject areas (like math, for instance). The director put a lot of emphasis on trying to go at the child's own pace.

Another selling point for us is that they are much more flexible with starting dates (you just have to make a deposit and can start whenever you want without paying ahead) and you can pay monthly so if it doesn't work out it's not like we're stuck there the whole year. The biggest problem is that it's really far from our work and is more expensive (although the hours are better) so it's something we have to think about still.

Looking ahead long term it seems that there are some private gifted schools that DH wants to check out (basically you need to get 95%+ on an IQ test, not sure what one..) and they would be closer to home but don't start until elementary school. The Montessori also has an elementary school so if we liked it she could continue there too.

It looks like MIL *might* be able to help out for awhile so that will buy us some time! We still have to iron out the details but it looks like we'll probably have a chance to visit the places first. (insert HUGE sigh of relief)

Yippee! Great news! Go MIL!

Great news!