Cha's school is closed today for Presidents Day. My office is open. We were closed for Martin Luther King day, which her school wasn't. We need to fix that.
I've been talking to many of my working mom friends lately about how to handle the transition from daycare to school. Cha will be starting kindergarten this September She misses the cut off for public school so we had to decide whether to hold her back a year or put her in a private kinder. That was the easy part. She's been going to a school-like daycare since she was 9 weeks old and I'm fairly certain she's mature enough socially. She is familiar with being in a classroom and listening to teachers. She knows what's expected of her and what she's allowed to get away with. So, holding her back just doesn't seem right. She'll miss a whole year of learning simply because she was born 29 days late.
The school district offers testing for those who miss the birthday cut off. However, from what I've heard they expect the kids to test at least two years ahead. Cha is a smart cookie but she's not on the level of a second grader. The other hiccup with the testing route is that our school district only offers half day kinder so we would need to set her up with before and/or after school care. I contacted the places that our elementary school works with and I am far from happy with any of them. (For instance, I heard the Y offers before/after school care which I was excited about. I love our Y and think they offer great programs. However, the Y that is assigned to our elementary school is in the basement of a church that's not in the best neighborhood. I just don't want Cha going there.)
Considering that private kinder was my only real option I gathered information from local facilities. That was a real eye opener and caused me to have a near panic attack. How is it that I am a total over-thinker but am just now worrying about what to do for child care when school is out? How could I have completely forgotten summer vacations?
We've decided to keep her at her current daycare. They offer private kinder which will allow her to start 1st grade in Sept 11.
I'm curious what other working moms have planned?
I have NO idea what I'm going to do, but it breaks my heart to think that my poor kid is going to be looking down the barrel of a 10 hour day with before and after school program when the time comes! I think I'm going to keep him out of school for as long as possible. Philly does full day kindergarten, so that's not a problem here. But the poor boy is DYING to go to school. too bad for him, I'm keeping him out, and he will be 5.5 years old in kindergarten.
ReplyDeleteLots of kids are held out of school until first grade here, but I think you can actually be 5 in 1st grade, which is weird. It's all a mess, no matter what you do.
I'm dreading school. Thomas can start school in September and would go for 1 term about 8 weeks and then it's summer holidays 7 weeks to find school holiday care. I have decided he will start in Feb 2011 at the start of the year and stay in daycare till then, but I might change my mind as we get closer to the event. I'm also unexcited about the 9am start when I start work at 8 and the 3pm finishes when i finish at 4. How do working moms do this and stay sane?
ReplyDeleteNathaniel will stay where he's at now that does private kindergarten. It'll be a painless transition for him and Audrey is in the same building.
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