Mom Needing Advice on Preschools

JCYS at Grace and Sheffield.

Excellent program, they build on learning one year to the next and will take kids that aren't potty trained!

Yeah!

E. Baren

Hi J.! I am totally with you. I live in Lakeview and have a 2 year old daughter (2/2/07).

We would like to sign her up for something 2 days a week in the fall. But, the only "good" schools that friends have recommended are insanely expensive...such as Black Bear Academy on Byron.

I am not sure how I feel about spending $3,000 to send my 2 year old to school to play and eat glue :) I am anxious to hear the other responses.

www.actforchildren.org

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You have a lot of options, and as others have said, you need to act soon for next year. I've only seen a couple of specific schools mentioned. I would think about what your goals are for your child in preschool, because schools have widely varying philosophies and priorities. As an early childhood teacher, my feeling is that the social piece is the single most important part of the preschool experience. I would look closely at what the teachers' social goals are for children, because this is the arena in which they will be given support in learning to resolve conflicts, accept and respect differences, and develop negotiation skills. These are life skills that also contribute greatly to academic success and once they get to kindergarten, there is often so much academic pressure that there is little time left for helping kids with developing social skills.
You also want to consider your particular child's skill set and temperament. You might look into cooperatives (Park West, Families Together, Lincoln Park), which expect a lot of parent participation, or Montessori schools, which have a very specific method. You might also consider the public schools, many of which now offer preschool for all or tuition-based preschool classrooms. I know that Jahn at Wolcott and Belmont has a prek, and Burleigh on Barry might, too. The public schools usually have regularly scheduled tours for parents and you can view school statistics online at the cps website. Tours are usually run by other parents, so you can ask them questions about their experiences, and you'll get to see the classrooms. You usually don't have to be in the school's attendance area to enroll in preschool.
Another thing you might want to think about is the parent population - it sounds like you don't know a lot of other moms, and preschool is a good place to develop friendships with other parents, so you might want to be somewhere where you feel comfortable and can relate well to the other parents. I know lots of families who formed close friendships that lasted a lifetime while their kids were in preschool.

Hi J.,
The best way to get into as many schools as possible, especially this late in the process, is to apply for the afternoon sessions. Even though your child is napping, the afternoon sessions have the most room. Years ago, I applied to 5 schools, got into 4 and was 1st on the wait list for the 5th because I wanted the afternoon session.

My kids went to St James Lutheran which is at 2101 North Fremont. It's not terribly expensive and has a great pre-school program starting at age 2 and goes thru 8th grade, so you can stay as long as you want. The number is ###-###-####.

Northside Parents Network is a MUST! They publish a book on all the school options in the city. The number is ###-###-####.

Good luck!

Check out the Chicago Public Elementary Schools and the Chicago Park Districts in your neighborhood. Many have great preschool programs. Good luck!

I hate to spread bad news but you should act quickly!!! Our top choices closed registration two months ago. We had to apply early winter. And that is for the two year old program! The 3 yr old programs are even more difficult because they obviously take their current 2 year olds first.

As a teacher and now a mom seeking out preschools for her 2 1/2 year old, I hope that you don't look at it like spending money to eat glue and cut. It's insulting and as a mother, you mother's should know there is plenty to be taught at this age, mostly in the social realm. You're lucky. There are plenty of great preschools with good reputations. Some are expensive, but they're worth every penny. It's expensive to pay salaries, buy snacks, materials and overall run a good school. I think this is a great site to start. Personally, I'm very happy with Chalk at Clybourn, but they have one in Lakeview. Good luck. m

It is overwhelming but do not fear...I have a 3 and 5 year old. First decide how far you are willing to drive. Preschool is only 2 1/2 hours so you need to consider your baby and their nap times. Then decide how much you want to spend on preschool.

I recommend checking out your local public school (no tuition). Most preschool teachers will meet with you and your child and give you a feel for them and how they run their program. We had great experiences for my son at Andersen Academy (now LaSalle II (Division/Honore) and my daughter at Pritzker (Damen/Schiller). Sheil Park District (Southport/Addison) also has a preschool program that I thought looked interesting.

Remember, preschool is about socialization, learning to follow directions, making friends. So, that can be done in ANY preschool program! You'll won't need to make a more permanent school decision for your kids until the 1st grade. Good luck!

The other posters gave good advice, that's a good place to start.

When I was doing my search, I looked at the CPS website and book (the book has all of the CPS schools scores, it's usually available at the schools, the library, Chicago Parks).

I visited my local public school during an open house.

I talked with every parent I could find on the playground who had kids older than mine.

I enrolled my child in a Chicago Park District class called "Preschool" to get her used to a classroom setting (it was SUPER CHEAP!) - it got her socialized with other kids as well as used to being away from me (ours was at Chase Park).

I checked out the private schools, most of them had preschool. The Catholic schools can be found at : http://schools.archchicago.org/

Call ANY school you are interested in and set up an appointment for a tour, NOW! I also created a spreadsheet with all of the questions I wanted to ask each school (what is the teacher/student ratio? How long is the school day? What is the tuition? If my child starts in Preschool, is she guaranteed a spot in Kindergarten - grade 8?)

Hope that helps. Good luck!
M.

My 2 year-old goes to Chalk in Lakeview (on Lincoln) and we LOVE it. I spent a lot of time doing research and scheduling tours of other facilities before choosing Chalk. But they can have a lengthy waitlist, so I would call now. ###-###-####. Parents at the preschool are now turning in their enrollment for the fall, so it's probably a good time to get your application in. And if preschool/daycare is a must this year, then I would apply at a few different places, in case you don't get a spot this fall. I also liked the Kindercare on Marcey behind Clybourn (just east of Racine and Clybourn) - liked it a lot, just didn't love it as much as Chalk. They sometimes have a long waiting list too. I also really like the Transitions program at St. Andrews in Roscoe Village. They take 2 year-olds who won't have their 3rd birthday before the start of the fall session, but they can only go for a couple of hours a day, and I think the amount of days they can go is limited too. The preschool program there starts at age 3. Good luck, I know the process can be frustrating. I'm from a much smaller town and was blown away by the competetiveness of getting a spot at a good preschool here.

YOu definitely need to start applying now for the 2 year old. St. Benedict has a great program. They have 8 preschool classrooms with all certified teachers. It is on Irving Park, between Damen and Western. YOu can send your son either 3 or 5 days/week and you can choose a full or half day option. Religion is part of the curriculum but not overwhelmingly, so if you are not Catholic your child won't feel excluded or uncomfortable. The public schools also have programs. I don't know as much about those but I've known people who are pleased with them. There are also several "day care" centers in the area that have preschool programs. Concordia has 2 campuses with preschool programs in the area. They have one campus at Irving Park and Seeley (again Seeley is off of Irving Park between Damen and Western). Their other campus is a little further west on Whipple (roughly Roscoe and Elston). The Whipple campus has a day care also for children as young as 6 weeks. I don't know much about the actual preschool program there but my 2 year old daughter has attended daycare there since she was 8 months old. I am very pleased with their infant and toddler programs. I wouldn't imagine that the preschool program is any different. I hope this helps. Your best approach is to just start calling places, fill out applications, and get on a few waiting lists. It is a little overwhelming but don't let it stress you out too much; he won't be behind his peers if he doesn't start preschool until 3 1/2 or 4.

Check out JCC of Chicago - there is a north side location. My kids go to camp and love it; a friend is starting her 2 year old there for preschool. Also, for Chicago Public Schools, there are a small number of tuition-based preschools. Go to the CPS web site and search for preschools on the site: http://www.cps.edu/Schools/Find_a_school/Pages/Findaschoo...
My oldest attended a tuition-based preschool and we were very happy with it.

Join North Side Parents Network - they have a preschool list that you can review and use to research programs. There are MANY preschools in the city.

Like another poster, I agree you need to act quickly for next fall! The NPN preschool fair is in November and preschool registrations normally vary from January to early March.

That said - even if you don't start next fall your child will likely have 2 years of preschool before kindergarten, which I imagine would be sufficient! Join some classes next fall a couple days a week (say at Little Gym, Chicago Park District, etc, etc) and that should help socialize your 2 year old.

Good luck!