Preschool choices

Today we went preschool hunting for Maya for September. We visited three schools, all of them very different. One thing we discovered is that Maya is ready for preschool now. As in NOW! As in right this minute!!

At the first preschool we visited, Maya immediately went in and started playing with the other kids (it was free play time when we arrived). She played house and tea party with some older girls, and talked to the teachers, visited all the rooms by herself, and generally was not at all concerned about being in a new place. When they sat down for circle time, Maya announced that it was “teacher time” and sat down with them. So now we are rethinking if we really want to wait until September or if we should just start her now. We are planning to do about 2 mornings a week of preschool, and she will be with Tibby the rest of the time.

So I would appreciate everybody’s thoughts on the various preschool options. All are walking distance from our house. Here is a summary of what we found at the school, in the order we visited them.

1) This is a small preschool that seems very play-based. They seem to have different activities going on in different rooms, like art, Arabic, etc. The main room has different stations like a house area and a puzzle area and a block area. The toys are educational. The teachers seem very attentive and are down on the ground at child-eye level interacting with the kids and sort of directing the play. The director spent quite a bit of time talking to us. The day starts with free play, then circle time, then snack, and then I kind of forget. The hours are 8ish to 1 p.m.
· The kids are not separated based on age level, but sort of intermix.
· The director seems very warm and all the teachers seem warm and kind.
· Very clean.
· Small to medium sized outdoor playground with climbing toys, a swingset, slides. The ground is sand. Some toys look a little old but all are age appropriate.
· Lots of diversity including one African teacher, and several African students, which is good for Maya. But also diverse in other aspects as there are also Asian, Arab, American and European kids there. But the dolls I saw the kids playing with were all white…(maybe if we enrol Maya we can donate a black doll).
· A bit cramped inside compared to the other schools we saw.
· They teach the kids some Arabic, although the language of the school is English.
· Maya’s friend Bug (also Ethiopian) goes there, and her friend K. is probably going to enrol as well.
· Kids all seemed happy and engaged during our visit.
· No wait list.
· The overall vibe is very maternal.

2) This preschool is one of the main feeder preschools to the big international school here. It is a large preschool in a big two-story building with the littler kids on the first floor and the older kids on the second floor. Each class is in one room, and the rooms have stations, like an imagination station, house station, art station, etc. The teachers seem young and enthusiastic, and the director spent quite some time talking to us. The schedule is similar to preschool 1, and the learning is also play based.
· Kids are separated by age and there is a 2-1/2 to 3 year old class, and a 3 to 3-1/2 year old class. The director immediately said she would be flexible about where to place Maya (because she is between age groups and will be a month shy of 3 in September when the school year starts) and seemed to think she would do better in the older class due to her verbal skills. I was impressed she was paying attention to Maya and showed an instinct for flexibility.
· Pretty clean, but not as clean as preschool 1. It looked like there was some water on a mat in the imagination station (maybe an accident or a spill) in the little kids room that had not been cleaned up.
· Large playground outside with big plastic climbing gym and a bigger playset for older kids (though it is the same stuff that is at every other playground in Egypt so not really unique). Playground is on Astroturf over a hard surface, so maybe not so good for bumped heads.
· Lots of diversity in the student population, with multiple black students in each class and lots of Asian, Arab, American and European students as well. Actually saw a black doll on offer.
· Spacious inside, although the kids were all in outdoor play when we saw the little kid classrooms, so it’s hard to say if it would feel cramped. But the classrooms are larger than in preschool 1.
· All English with no Arabic.
· No friends at the school that we know of.
· We are number 5 on the wait list for September for the older class, with two of those before us not expected to take a seat if offered. So we could probably get a space if we want one, especially since we only want part time.
· Kids seemed happy.
· The vibe is very school-like although still warm.

3) This is a brand new preschool that is just opening. It is in a big house and has a spacious outdoor area. It was very well decorated, and lots of money and effort has clearly been put into the facilities, but the place seemed cold and sterile. The hours are from 8ish to 2 p.m., with no option for just coming 2-3 days a week, even for a 2-year-old.
· It’s hard to say if this place would be very diverse. But I noticed a wall display of the world included exhibits on many countries including Egypt, Germany, Britain, China and Canada but not a single country in sub-Saharan Africa. That was not encouraging.
· The director explained the reason for not allowing part time is that the kids might fall behind if they only come three times a week while others come five times. (Really!! These are 2-year-olds we are talking about. It’s not like they are teaching algebra, and it’s not like the kids just turn their brains off when they leave school)
· It’s significantly more expensive than preschools one and two, although still affordable for us.
· Vibe is very status-oriented.


OK, so what do you all think.? Mike and I are leaning toward preschool 1, although some elements of preschool 2 seem really nice as well. And I feel like Maya might “outgrow” preschool 1 before she starts kindergarten, and at that point preschool 2 might be a better fit. But I like the kind of small atmosphere for a 2-year-old at preschool 1. Anybody want to give some advice?