New School - Houston,TX

Updated on April 25, 2011
L.A. asks from Houston, TX
6 answers

Hello Mamas, My daughter would be starting her kindergarten in a private school on August 15th this year. she is now going to a different private school for her pre Kindergarten.we will be taking a 7 week vacation out of the countrystarting first week of May and will be back in the last week of june. and the new school's principal suggested that upon our arrival it is better my kid starts summer school at their school( called kindergarten preparation programme). This way she will get to know her teacher and her new friends( i doubt that all those who will be starting kindergarten in this school may not attend this summer program).so my question is that do you suggest that upon arrival in last week of june , should i let her continue in her present school for the remaining month and a half and then proceed to her kindergarten school in August. Or do what the principal said.

FYI : she already is beyond kindergarten academically so please consider this also . I feel that since this is a cross country trip , in the first place she will be having trouble getting used to this place again and will be missing her school friends and if i put her in a new school.soplease advise what is btter for her

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So What Happened?

thank you very much for all your responses it will definitely help me to take a good decision. However i would also like to add that this new private school i am talking about has a last day of summer school 10 days before the actual kindergarten starts and also in the middle of the summer school there are like 2, 3 days of holidays. so on the whole we are looking at having 14 days of no school for my kid. i and my husband both work full time, so this is my problem where to put her for those 2 weeks. if i continue to send her to her current school till her kindergarten starts i do not have to look for other sources as there is no vacations for this one.

on a side note i would also like you to know that the new school summer progarm is a weekly one i mean you pay for only the week you send your kid. so i am thinking why not try to send her for just one week so she will have a oppurtunity to be around her new teacher.

More Answers

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R.J.

answers from Seattle on

I used to move quite frequently. (at least once every 2 years).

From a child's perspective... I very much agree with the principal of the new school. For ALL of us, it was "easier" to have short goodbyes (followed by a trip and moving) and then entry into a new school, than long drawn out goodbyes and immediately into a new school.

Even when we moved mid year, my mum (almost) always made sure we had a bit of vacation (2-5 weeks if not over the summer) to "transition" us into our new environment. I say almost, because there were 2 times early on when we traveled over the summer, came back to our old school for a month or two, and then moved and went directly into a new school.

It sounds to me that you have the "perfect" opportunity. You're travelling for a few weeks... which supplies the transition to starting something new (aka "closure"), and then the summer program is going to introduce her to a small section of her upcoming class in a more 'relaxed' environment.

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A.C.

answers from Washington DC on

I would agree with the principal, especially since you'll be taking time in between for travel.

We're a military family so moving has been a part of our lives for all of my children's life. In fact they actually changed how they did transfers to make it easier on kids. Almost all transfers are done in the summer now. It gives kids time to get settled into their new home and neighborhood and make friends before school starts in the fall.

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S.N.

answers from Minneapolis on

I agree with everyone so far.. a nice good by to the old school, transition of a vacation and then a soft landing in to the 'new' school during the summer.

Have a great trip!!

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A.C.

answers from Boston on

IMO taking her out for 7 weeks and putting her back in just to take her out again will be more traumatic then putting her in the new school when you return from vacation.

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A.B.

answers from San Antonio on

I'm assuming you need childcare for the summer and that she will have to go to one of the two schools.
No, I don't think they NEED the extra preparation in kindergarten. However, if she's going to be in a school anyway, and it works out for you to get her there, etc., I would send her to the new one for social reasons. Let her meet kids and begin to make friends there before the school year officially starts.

My daughter started private school for kg last year but I didn't move her to the school early because it was in a new town (where I work), and did not work out for us because I wasn't working every day when my own school wasn't in session, so the drive was too much The kids only go part-time in the summer because I do a lot of work from home. But if I'd been closer, the extra time to get to know the school would have been beneficial.

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L.G.

answers from Austin on

Summer school for kindergarten? Are you kidding me? My kids loved the freedom of being home and doing our own thing during the summer. We took little trips and played with the neighbor kids, too, so they got to know a lot of kids and they learned to make new friends wherever we went.

She will have to go through the phase of getting to know the teacher and her new friends either in June or in August. What difference does it make if it is later?

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