On Tuesday Jenny and I visited one preschool, and on Tuesday Jenny visited two more. We were looking for a preschool that:
- Teaches and operates with Christian values
- Offers class two days a week, preferably with an option for more days as Brenden gets older
- Doesn’t require two-year-olds to be potty-trained, since B probably won’t be by September (although we can hope!)
- Has teachers and leaders who LOVE preschoolers
- Is a mix of fun and learning
- Is within 10 minutes of our house
We liked all three that we visited. Each had strengths and weaknesses, but we would have been happy at any of them. However, Colleyville Christian Preschool really stood out, and Jenny plans to enroll Brenden on Friday for this fall. A few things stood out at CCP:
- Much more than the other two, CCP is an actual school. All three provide plenty of fun activities and recess, but the other two saw fun as the primary goal and learning as optional, an outcome they hoped for but didn’t pursue very hard. CCP has a solid curriculum based on the Montessori model. The preschoolers learn a ton while they are having lots of fun. We think Brenden will do very well in that environment.
- They offer class year-round instead of only during the school year. We might or might not enroll him during the summer, but it’s nice to have the option.
- They offer class five days a week for very young children through kindergarten, whereas the others offered a more limited set of class options. This way, assuming the boys like it and we like it, they could both stay there until it’s time to start first grade at our neighborhood elementary school instead of having to switch preschools along the way. Right now we hope to gradually increase the number of days they spend at school to ease the transition to first grade. After Brenden turns three next summer, we might start sending him to school three days a week, and then four days a week the next year, and then five days a week to kindergarten when he’s five.
- More so than at the other schools, the director who gave the tour really wanted to interact with Brenden. At the other two, the tour guide talked to him a bit, but primarily talked to us. I can see why they did so, but we were impressed by the CCP director’s focus on him.
We are very excited and think he will have an absolute blast at school this fall.