Pre-School for Ky-An

We've been looking at pre-schools for Ky-An because he seem so bored at my babysitter's house.  He also so bright (our pediatrician made the same observation I am proud to say ^_^) that I want to make sure he's challenged and stimulated.  Two of my friends highly recommend Primrose and after all my initial research, I am a little biased toward them as well.  I took Ky-An with me to tour their school and he just fell in love with it.  He loved all the toys in the classroom and I left him there while I talk with the School Director.  He happily waved bye to me and hardly notice when I came back.  Hieu got out of for lunch so I asked him to meet us up at the school while Ky-An hung out some more in the classroom.  When Hieu and I came back, he was sitting at the lunch table with the rest of the kids and was showing them the whale he was holding.  He tell his new friends "this is a whale" and they all go "oohhh".  He then make the whale swim and said "it swim like-a this".  It's really cute and sweet to see him interacting with kids his own age and you can read from his face how happy he is.  Of course he cried when we made him leave and I promise him we would come back. 

I want to keep an open mind and choose the best school for Ky-An that fits our budget.  I went to visit Kids R' Kids two weeks later.  Hieu knows the owner at this location and so he's a little partial to it.  I gave it a chance and took a tour at the school with the School Director without telling Hieu's friend.  I want to see what the experience is if I am just a regular parent.  The School Director gave me a quick tour, thrust a brochure at me, then ushered me back to the front and I was out the door 10 minutes later.  You got it..10 minutes to tell me about the school's curriculum and tour it.  I was offended at the amount of time she spent with me. The school was not crowded and I came before their lunch time so there was no excuse.  I didn't even get to walk into a classroom, didn't get to see the bathroom, didn't see the lunchroom that Hieu raved about, nor see the state-of-the-art playground.  She didn't even ask if I have anymore questions before she shook my hands and said "nice to meet you."  This is someone we'll have to interact with if we have a problem with a teacher or the school and I was not comfortable with her at all. On top of that as I was walking into the school, two parents were in the front talking to each other and cussing while their kids sit in the car.  I know the school can't help that but it makes me wonder the type of parents and kids Ky-An would interact with if he attends this school.

The school is also built to be like a regular school so it's very institutionalized.  It's very clean, very big, and very cold.  The school environment would help Ky-An adjust quickly when he gets to kindergarten but he's too young right now to be in a classroom environment.  He needs a little more attention and nurturing than I feel this school can give them.  I am also concern about the teacher to student ratio of 22 to 2.

Since the tour only took 10 minutes, I had time to stop by the Sugar Land Montessori school before meeting Hieu for lunch.  Hieu's co-workers raved about this school and said their kids are very happy there.  He did admit that he didn't hear any of them talk about the curriculum so he's not sure if they are any good.  I met with the Director at this school and she was as sweet as could be.  I feel welcomed and important as when I tour Primrose.  She took the time to answer all my questions and we hang around the classrooms for a while.  She even invite us to an open house they are having.  Unfortunately I am a little turned off by their outdated facility.  She opened the bathroom to show me and I am a little appalled at how grimy it is.  The playground is very small and the apparatus seem like they are for toddlers and not for pre-schoolers.  The biggest drawback for me is that they don't serve lunch and we have to pack it for Ky-An every day if he goes here.  Because of this, it also make them the cheapest out of the 3 schools with Primrose leading the pack.  The school's excuse for not serving lunch is that it's healthier if the parents pack it and some kids can only eat their ethnic food.  I can understand that and can see their point but having to pack his lunch every single day is going to be an added stress for me.

Hieu and I met for lunch and discussed the three schools and my findings.  Primrose's curriculum is accredited by several academic organizations and their classroom ratio is 12 to 2.  Their facility is new, clean, and nurturing at the same time.  My impression of Kids R' Kids is that they model after a regular school; Montessori is similar to home school where everything is unstructured; and Primrose is in the middle .  Ky-An has a very laid back and mellow personality so he needs a little structure to help him move along.  He is also sensitive and affectionate guy who would crave attention and someone to nurture him.  I won my case and we enrolled Ky-An to Primrose.  Too bad he's on a waiting list and may not be able to attend until possibly June. 

There will be a lot of adjustments we'll have to make once Ky-An starts school beside the huge blow to our finance.  Our current babysitter cooks and feed the kids 3 meals a days plus snacks so we don't have to worry meals at all.  Hieu and I will just eat whatever for dinner and we are done.  Once Ky-An starts school then I'll have cook more to make sure he has a good dinner.  I will also have to change my work schedule so I can be home an hour earlier to pick him up and prepare dinner.  Everyone will have to make adjustments to this new milestone but I am excited.  I just hope he end up liking school and that we made the right choice for him.