[sak9645]

Here are my thoughts:

1) They have a big, fenced yard, with lots of little tykes equipment. Very appealing eye candy for the kids. BUT, they don't go outdoors, they choose to do music & movement indoors.

I've seen a lot of day care centers like this, and I don't like them. Frankly, it takes more effort to get children ready to play outside, and more vigilance to supervise for safety. So some centers skimp on outdoor exercise for the convenience of the staff, even though it would really benefit the kids to be outside as much as possible. I would urge you to shop around.

My daughter started out in a day care center that had less outdoor time than I thought appropriate, even with great playground equipment. And when the kids were outside, some of the staff seemed to stand around and talk, rather than interacting with the children and supervising for safety.

Later, however, I put her in a day care center that had long morning and afternoon outdoor play sessions as long as it wasn't raining, snowing, or below 35 degrees out. In addition, during the summer, it had water play sessions where children changed to swimsuits and played with water tables, garden hoses, and a small wading pool that was drained and washed every day for hygiene. Three staff were on duty at all times.

Parents should be expected to send children with weather-appropriate clothing. Frequent notes should be provided, outlining what clothing should be sent, especially if some parents are forgetting. If a parent consistently forgets to send the right clothing, the day care center or preschool may not be the right place for that family.

If a child does not have weather-appropriate clothing, staff have various options. First, they can call a parent and ask him/her to bring what is needed. Second, if that isn't feasible, because the parent is too far away or unavailable, they can see if there is any suitable clothing in the lost and found box; they can also establish a little "back-up" box where extra sweaters and such are kept. Third, one staffer can stay indoors with the child, so that the others can play outside.

2) They sent my daughter home on day 3 with a runny nose- called an hour after she got there & said she was sneezing & wiping her nose. Then, yesterday, the secretary of the church, who should know all the rules, was dropping her daughter off with snot dripping down to her mouth. (I didn't see it- my husband dropped her off)

All day care centers should have written illness policies, which are given to the parents when they enroll a child, and reinforced with notes as needed. As an example, a policy should say that a family may not send a child who has fever, until 24 hours after the temperature has returned to normal. It should say that a mild case of the sniffles is OK, but that a child should be kept home if he/she is clearly uncomfortable or likely to infect other children. Policies should also cover things like head lice, vomiting, diarrhea, strep, etc.

Remember that germs are passed more frequently by hand than by mouth. If a child is constantly wiping his/her nose with his/her hand, and has a cold or sinus infection, he/she is going to pass germs to others every time he/she touches a toy, a railing, etc. A good day care center should emphasize frequent handwashing as a way of minimizing germ transmission. It should also advise the parent of a really drippy nosed kid that, unless the drip is allergy-related (in which case the parent should be encouraged to seek treatment), the child should be kept home because he/she can infect others easily.

3) They have mailboxes for the kids. They are supposed to check their own mail & put it in their backpacks. My daughter is a little shrimp, the shortest by far in her class, and hers is the TOP mailbox, she can't even see or reach it.

Kids should start learning responsibility at an early age, but they cannot be perfect about it at an early age. It is reasonable that teachers should expect preschoolers to check their mailboxes for notes at the end of the day. But they should not expect preschoolers to do this without a reminder at dismissal time. And a teacher should be observing to make sure that each child, indeed, picks up the notes and puts them into his/her backpack.

If a teacher was observing, he/she would have seen that your child could not reach her mailbox. Again, I think that this school is being run for the convenience of the teachers, and that some folks think that having kids check their own mailboxes absolves them from the necessity for supervising. I think you should be shopping around for a different center but, meanwhile, just be sure to tell the staff that your child can't reach her mailbox.

4) We went in today, and they had moved everyones cubby's over one, because a new girl was starting, and they wanted everyone to be in alphabetic order. How important is that, when the kids are used to their cubby by now, on week 3? How many times will they move them during the year as new kids come & go?

I think it's great if kids are being taught to recognize their names, written prominently on their cubbies, as well as the alphabet in its correct order. However, my guess is that the reason for moving the cubbies around has nothing to do with the curriculum. Again, it seems to be a matter of teacher convenience. It's easier for teachers to find a cubby if its location corresponds to the child's place on the class list.

Personally, I think that kids like having a cubby that is "theirs" for the year. It gives a sense of security. I remember one little girl in my daughter's class who actually liked to stand by her cubby for several minutes, after her Mom dropped her off, just to feel secure before joining the rest of the class. The cubby became her security zone.

5) When we pick up the kids, the assistant is at the CLOSED door, sees us, dismisses the child, then shuts the door. It's like she's the secret service for the teacher, her body guard- so noone actually gets to talk to the teacher or go in the classroom.

Again, this is a classroom run for the teachers' convenience.

Yes, arrival and dismissal times are often very chaotic. In the morning, the teachers want to get the children in and settled, and the parents to leave, so that their routine can begin. At night, the teachers want the children to leave with their parents as soon as possible, so they can clean up the classroom and leave. That is THEIR goal. And I can sympathize with it.

HOWEVER, there are more important goals. At night, many children want to show their parents their latest drawings, which are on the bulletin board, or their latest Lego creations, before they are taken apart. This should be encouraged, as it shows that the children are learning and creating.

At night, some of the kids who had the hardest time separating from their parents in the morning will have the hardest time finishing up their play and leaving. They simply have difficulty with transitions. The parent should be allowed to come into the classroom to help the child move through the transition, put away his/her toys, gather up his/her belongings, say goodbye to the teacher and the room, and so on. It will make for a much happier departure.

No, teachers won't have time for extended parent conferences at arrival and dismissal time. The teachers simply have to focus on the children, and on having BRIEF interactions with parents -- like, "Johnny didn't eat his lunch today," or "Susie did such a great job of sharing today." Parents who want to have a sit-down conference should schedule one for a time when there will be enough teachers in the room that one can spend 15 or 20 minutes outside the room with a them.

But otherwise, the classroom should always be open to parents. Parents need the openness to assure themselves that everything is safe and welcoming, and that there is no hint of abuse. And those brief interactions with teachers can also be very important. For example, if the teacher says that your child seemed very tired, you might want to keep an eye on her to be sure that she isn't coming down with some bug. Or if the teacher says that your child showed lovely table manners, you can be sure to praise her -- and pat yourself on the back!

It is possible that the teachers are keeping the door shut at dismissal for security reasons. For example, they want to make sure that a child leaves only with the parent or guardian -- not with a stranger or by himself/herself. Security is very important these days.

However, there are alternatives to a closed-door classroom. As an example, most good day care centers have an outside door that can be opened by someone from the street only if he/she knows the code to enter into a push-button device, or rings a bell for admittance. And many large day care centers have a front desk, where a parent must sign in.

In addition, the teachers in a good day care center should know all the parents by sight, and should have an emergency card listing anyone else eligible to pick up a certain child. If they are supervising well, they should be able to notice if a person who enters is not a familiar one, and should be able to go over to that person and find out who he/she is. And if they are supervising well, they will notice if a child starts to leave the classroom without a parent.

6) (Apple juice given to a child, when the teachers were told she was allergic).

This is totally unacceptable.

While I've never heard of a child dying of apple juice allergy, kids have died from peanut allergy. Some kids can go into anaphylactic shock and die after even a tiny taste of a food containing peanuts. Kids also have died from things like bee stings.

A day care center should not just ask parents about allergies. It should make sure that all teachers are aware of the allergies of the children in their care, know what to do to prevent a reaction (e.g., not give a child certain foods), and know what to do if an allergic reaction occurs (e.g., use an Epi-pen provided by the parent to inject lifesaving medicine).

Sharon





As I am writing this- I am laughing at some of it- thinking I should be the first one to say CHILL to myself, ha ha, but on the other hand, we pay good money for preschool, it is her first experience outside of the house, as well as our first experience giving up control, & letting someone else be "in charge"
So, ladies & gentleman of this board, is this NORMAL preschool, and I need to chill, or is this weird, and I am justified in thinking it's a little off?