Tyler's Progress

I'm trying to figure what would be the best fit for Tyler next year. The two choices are Bright Beginnings through CMS or church preschool. Rick said I'm jumping the gun but I'm actually not when you consider you typically sign up for church preschool in January. As in most life situations there are pros and cons to each scenario. Your feedback is appreciated. This is how is I see it based on what I know thus far.

Bright Beginnings is for children with disabilities and/or from low incomes. It's an all-day pre-K. It's five days a week and is free. The idea is to prepare these children in such a way that they will be ready for Kindergarten. I just don't see Tyler as having any disabilities anymore. In fact, his teacher, Dr. Moore told me a few weeks ago that the only reason Tyler qualifies for BB is because of the fact that he's already in the 3 and 4 year old program. In other words, he's caught up a lot and has achieved most of what we've set out for him to achieve. That's good news.

Furthermore, when I met with Dr. Moore for Tyler's annual IEP (Individualized Educational Plan) last week she kept saying how well he's doing. A lot of the things she's not seeing Tyler do at school we're actually seeing him do at home. For example, one of the goals for his new IEP is for Tyler to be able to answer "wh" questions such as, "What is the cat doing?" or "Where are you going?" There were some other things that he's not doing at school that he'll do at home. So that leads me to believe that he can DO them but just doesn't sometimes. She also commented on how bright Tyler is.

His speech has improved considerably since the school year began. I'm more inclined to think that this is because of the socialization he's receiving at the church preschool. He's with mainstream kids there as opposed to with Dr. Moore he's with children with disabilities. Please understand that I do not mean that in an unkind way. It may help to state that Tyler goes to CMS twice a week for six hours each day and church preschool three days a week for four hours a day.

If we decide to put him in church preschool next year we'll need to find a different one. The only reason is that that their four year old program is only three days a week. I would want him in a four day program. As most of you know, it's hard to get into any preschool around here, especially the four year old programs.

Something I really like about church preschool are the God and Jesus teachings. He sure as heck won't get that at public school. Wherever his Bright Beginnings school would be, it certainly won't be close by. The CMS school he's at now is 12 miles away. Not a huge deal but that will be difficult next year taking him five days a week with a newborn. A bus is available but I'm not putting my four year old on a bus.

But what if he really DOES need Bright Beginnings and we jump the gun by not enrolling him in it? Do you see my quandary?

I think the best thing to do is to continue to pray about it and get my hands on the Bright Beginnings curriculum. Based on what I already know about it, Tyler has already mastered those skills. Heck, he's mastered a lot of Kindergarten curriculum. :-)

At least there are choices. I'm thankful for that. :-)