I am looking for options for next fall for my 4 year old. His birthday is in November, but he is currently enrolled in 4 year old pre-school. He is one of the youngest in his class and keeps up ok with the others, but I am not sure he is ready for regular kindergarten next year. The optimal thing would be something more advanced then pre-school, like a young fives program. I am having a hard time finding any however. We are in the Farmington Hills area. Does anyone know of any programs? Thanks!
Hi J.
We stay in Troy and the school district offers Dev kindergarten. Troy School district is very good for later on school years. The housing prices had lowered down and so many people are moving in for the school district. The environment in the school helps to learn about the diversity we have.
C. Sengupta
Hey J. ( It's me -- A.)
I recently got the community ed brochure from Walled Lake and noticed their early childhood ed has a class called Pre-K Academy. It's at the Community Education building (Maple and P-Trail) from 8:30-2:30, five days a week. It is for 4-5 year olds. I am going to check into this after school break. They do have before and after care -- Here is the link. I will let you know what I find out...
http://www.wlcsd.org/files/392045/Pre-K%20Brochure2.pdf
Scroll down to the second page.
I recommend keeping in communication with your son's current preschool teacher as he/she will also be able to guide you in this decision. They see more of what is occuring in the room than you do, and I really feel our kids behave differently when they are away from us.
Hi J.,
I am the Director of a Preschool with a Young 5's program in Northville. I would love to have you visit our program. We are also having a Kindergarten Readiness meeting in February to help parents decide whether or not to send their child to kindergarten and how to prepare children for kindergarten. If you would like to contact me, I would be happy to give you more details. There are several good programs out there, I'm sure you will find the right fit for your family!
Hi J.,
Farmington Public does have an Early Fives program but it's not cheap. We tried enrolling our son in Livonia's FREE program because we couldn't afford Farmington's but Farmington won't sign off because they lose their precious money. You also have the option of half day Kindergarten IF they get enough people to participate, AND they usually won't tell you they even have a half day program. We did end up putting our son in full day Kindergarten. He is currently in First Grade and is doing so-so. We weren't happy with the district because we were pretty much told we didn't have control over our kid's education. It was all their decision. Go with your gut feeling. It's a hard decision. Good luck!
Merry "Day After" Christmas, J.!
There is a fabulous pre-school in Walled Lake that all 3 of my kids (and next year my 4th child!) have gone to. It is called Peanut Patch Preschol. (Their website is www.peanutpatchpreschool.com ) I just heard through the grapevine that they started a young 5's program last year in response to parents (like yourself) who wanted an alternative to the all day every day kindergarten for the younger kids who needed another year. While this is a new program that none of my kids have been able to participate in, I have no reason to believe it would be any less fabulous than their 3 and 4's programs! So you might want to check it out!
Also as a fellow parent of a November birthday, I wonder if you are still open to him going to kindergarten next year? I had to make that decision with my second child and it wasn't easy!! Even though she struggled in some areas, she was always a hard worker and would eventually figure things out. So even though she wasn't "the top" learner we sent her, and it was the best decision for her. For we found (and continue to find) that in the public schools the teachers are really teaching to the middle of the class. If your child is at the top of the class, there is the potential for them to become bored and pick up some bad habits. My daughter always has friends around her who challenge her and she is able to rise to the challenge.
My oldest, on the other hand, was one of the top kids in his class. He was always done first and would get in trouble because he had free time and was bothering the other students, then he got in some bad study habits because the teacher didn't watch him as closely because he always knew the material and did his homework. They didn't help him as much learn those foundational study skills, because he always knew his stuff. But now that he is in Middle School, he is struggling a bit more because the material is more difficult and he doesn't have the study skills mastered to be able to handle it.
Just something for you to consider! I'm finding that children in public school get the best education if you are one of those learners in the middle. If you are at the top or the bottom, you don't seem to get as good of an education. It will probably get worse next year to, if all the class sizes are going as high as their are predicting!!
Hope you found this helpful!! The bottom line is that you know your child, and you will make the best decision for him!
Blessings,
B.
My son (November 27) went through headstart, preschool and kindergarten. His teachers all felt that he was a fast learner, their only concern was that he may get bored with larger class sizes. So my advice would be to communicate with his teacher and if you can, sit with his class sometime. It will give you the chance to see where he is in comparison to his classmates.
I know that Lollipop Co-op in Walled Lake (right behind the Community Ed. building) is looking to offer a young 5's and the teacher Jan Weston is amazing
My son birthday is in November also. I had him do a young 5's program. He was very ready academically and every kindergarden teacher thought he was ready and his pre school too. I knew he was emotionally immature and not ready. I am soo glad I waited he is the leader in his class and does very well and is more mature than many of the kids. Most parent wait to start their children now a days and you can really see the difference in the classroom. I was also told that the judgment is much better when they are in highschool and developmentally in puberty is less stressful because they are older. I see how terrible it is for my friends son who struggles with everything he is a october birthday and is a year younger than most of the kids in his class he is in tears frequently because the demand is so much higher today in school. Just wait the year he'll be fine.
