Preschool--more Important WHERE It's Located or the CURRICULUM?

If the first school does the Abeka arts and crafts, go to the school with the extra projects. Abeka fails miserably in the creativity department for arts and crafts. I was the school admin for a private school for 7 years and literally tossed the Abeka craft books and designed my own supplemental arts and crafts for the preschoolers.

I think you need to look at more than just the location and the curriculum. You need to look at the facility, the teachers, the director, the price, the hours, etc.

With regard to the location, there are a few things to consider: do you want to be able to get there quickly from work if something happens? Do you want to live close to his classmates for playdates and birthday parties?

As for the curriculum, I personally think they both sound too academic. Preschoolers, especially 2-3 year olds, do not need to do workbooks. They learn best through play, being active, having the opportunity to touch and explore. Make sure that wherever you send your son, he has the chance to play while he learns.

I wouldn't put my child in either. The best education for those under 5 is play-based. No work books, no "curriculum."

I would chose the one with less time in the car. I think the best thing about preschool is that children learn to socialize with each other, which your son will get at either school.

The one further away may have slightly better activities, but I think the extra time at home, with you, the extra time in the day you gain by losing the commute is a good trade off.

A no brainer? In which way (seriously..which way do you mean?) Safety, cleanliness, how I like the staff and their interaction with the kids/parents, and location are the most important factors for me as I am looking into preschools for my 3 year old. Honestly, curriculum is way down on my list. I want her to play, meet friends, be social at this age. There are so many studies that show kids need to play rather than be in an academic environment at this age. I know there are kids who maybe need the structure and may thrive better in such an environment....but for me and my kids, that is not a concern for me. Once they reach K and elementary school I will be strict with their studies, but not at age 3 or 4. Good luck!

I would stay with the one he's currently in. Preschool should be fun. There is plenty of time for academics in grade school. Also, I suggest that if he has too many academic experiences as a toddler/preschooler he may get bored in grade school.

And, he knows the people and has formed attachments where he is now. Social learning is just as important as academic learning.

I also think it's best to have less time in the car. How boring a 35 minute ride would be.

I do not think this is a no brainer. In my opinion academics isn't the most important thing to consider. In my opinion social learning to include bonding is much more important than academics at this age. A child needs to have developed a sense of security and begun development of a sense of self before starting grade school.

I have always liked my son close to work, I am that much closer to him in case of an emergency - should he have a spiking fever I can get him quickly and take him in myself. I could what if you on and on and on but you are a mother so you can what if in your own way. I have always gone with close to where I will be the majority of the day.

preschool should be fun.. warm loving teacher.. lots of toys. kids to play with. they learn through play. in our public school when kids get to kindergarden.. they start with colors and shapes. make sure everyone knows colors and shapes.. then they start on letter A.. so your child doesnt have to learn letters numbers in preschool..

My kids went to a preschool/daycare run by a public school and they learned all they need to know for kinder. pick a fun place with a warm and loving teacher.

For preschool, and especially since your LO will only be 2, curriculum doesn't really matter. You should put him in the school that you feel most comfortable with. Base your decision on the workers and the school setting - not on the curriculum. He doesn't need to worry about science and social studies in preschool. He just needs to learn how to learn and anything more than that is just added bonus.

He'll be in full time school and then full time work after that. Give him a break and let him enjoy his childhood - put him in the "fun" school.

My opinion - put them both in the same school. It is so much easier to have one drop off /pick up.

Curriculum - personally, prior to elementary school I've chosen the environment that seemed the most loving. Really, they have the rest of their lives to be pushed academically.

Commute - interesting question. When my oldest was a baby, I put him in a daycare that was super close to our house so he wouldn't have to be in a car too long. By the time #2 came along, my oldest was in a preschool 3 blocks from my office. I put the baby there also so that I had them in the same location (see above) and also so that I could continue to nurse the baby during lunch! As they get older, it is nice to be able to attend the mother's day events, valentine's party, etc that parents get invited to...and honestly, my children are used to our hour long commute now. It is amazing how much a 5 year old will tell you if he doesn't have anything else to do (we don't do DVD in the car)!

C.

Maybe I'm misreading your post, but if your oldest attends the school that is farther away, how will sending your son to the closer school save on time in the car? Isn't it a moot point if you have to drive the other son to the other school?

I guess if I were in your shoes, I'd pick the school that your other son attends. If it works and you've been pleased with it, then why question the curriculum? Especially if you have to drive both of them to school. One trip, same curriculum for both boys so you'll have the same expectations and hopefully the same results, and yes, curriculum does matter if you want them to have a good head start in elementary school. That to me is the no brainer.

My daughter is an excellent student and hated the ABEKA curriculum.
Paperwork, busy work, and boring.

I would keep the child where the brother is if you can't find something else.

At age 2, it would be a year for transitioning from home into school, and I wouldn't want the stress of being on a strict curriculum. He is not going to learn algebra at that age, so if one of the schools is close to home, fun and in budget, that's where I'd start. You can always move him to the school closer to your work the following year when they start beginning more kindergarten preparation work. Good luck! It's never an easy decision to make! I've been through it several times myself with my kids.

Is your oldest still going to be at the further place? It seems like if it worked for him, why wouldn't it work for the younger one...also wouldn't it be easier to have them both at the same place?
If you drop them off on your way to work, it's not really extra commuting.

Having said that, I'm not sure that most preschools really make that much difference in the big scheme of things (in terms of a child's long-term intelligence and learning ability). Most of what my dd learned was with me at home (we did lots of work books and reading outside of preschool).

If it were me, I'd go to the closer one, convenience and less communting is worth a lot.

I really didn't worry so much about the curriculum of the preschool until my oldest was about 3. But it was a huge deciding factor with her. She strives in a structured learning environment where other kids would not so a more detailed curriculum was better for her. My youngest will be 3 in May and is doing great in the same preschool at my oldest attended due to transportation issues as well but even if we were significantly farther away I would switch. I would see if you could do a "visit" day with the other school and go in and see how your LO does. Some kids need more structured learning, some need a more relaxed environement and it will be difficult to really decide until he gets in there and starts doing things.

I think Abeka is a good curriculum, so the school by your home may be fine. For the second school though, I wouldn't count it as a 35 minute commute if it's right next to your work. I'd consider it "right next to work" and that is incredibly convenient unless you work weird hours, like starting at lunch time or something. As a matter of fact, it may be even better: if he gets sick or hurt, it'd be easy to swing out of work and pick him up....or if work kept you late a few minutes, you wouldn't have to stress out on getting there before the "penalty time" starts.
To me, the social studies, science, and sensory activities ARE a real part of the curriculum, supplemental. (Although Abeka also has those in curriculums). Would I drive to a preschool 35 minutes out of my way if I didn't have a reason to go that direction (work or whatever)? No. But if you work out there, even 50% of the time, I think it'd be worth it.
The best school I ever went to, and truly loved (and was just rehashing some of the lessons I learned in 2nd grade---the year JR was shot and Thriller was the big record of the year, to give perspective to how LONG ago that was, lol---with my husband): I walked to a neighborhood school, where a school bus would pick me up and take me to the far end of town to a magnet school. We did a field trip every month (I learned so much! They made huge impressions on me!) and some neat experiments. It was worth it to be "far away". But preschool: if you don't have a reason to be on that side of town, I don't think it'd be worth the drive...but sounds like you do have a reason to be there. I have a real love for all physical lessons though---building things, experiments, that's how I learn.