Looking for past experiences good/bad/indifferent on this program run thru the Park District at Main Street Rec Center. The eldest DTM is starting kindergarten this fall. According to the GEPD book, the T,Th morning and afternoon sessions are filled, but the M,W,F are still available. The cost is $1300/yr for T,TH and $1900/yr for M,W,F. Seems like a big chunk of change, so looking for input.
IMJ, I left out some important details. This class is concurrent with Kindergarten this fall and spring. That is the price per school year. So, if your kid is in the morning kindergarten, then they would be in this enrichment program in the afternoon.
Dan, since your child will go to kindergarten at Lincoln, I highly recommend that you contact the principal at Lincoln to see how the school feels about this program. I know two of the three kindergarten teachers and they are awesome when it comes to enrichment. However, if this is for daycare, the price is great.
I am fairly certain that given a cape and a nice tiara, I could save the world.
I know the kindergarten teacher who joined Lincoln from Forest Glen last year. I was in tears when I heard she was moving, because that meant our youngest would not have her. She is the best teacher and Lincoln is one lucky school to have her.
DTM: when i had baby no. 3 i would pick up a girl from wheaton college one afternoon a week and have a few hours to myself...a real life-saver. they (wheaton college) used to have a list of available babysitters (and COD may have one too.) doing that combined with some other enrichment classes for your 5 year old (park district, COD, ymca, health track?) is another idea. this program sounds pretty pricey to me. good luck. how's the baby sleeping?
Scotty, good point. It would be interesting to see what the principal says. This is bad, but at the Lincoln open house when I saw the principal, my first thought was, "Man is she young." Now, I am 36, but I guess I remember my old gray haired principal.
Yigo, I vaguely remember them introducing her. I think she used to teach at Lincoln a long time ago and had returned.
Howdy, I keep telling my wife to get the neighbor kid to watch our boys for an hour so she could get a ton of stuff done. As for the baby, maybe you are confusing me with the other Illini on the board, Fan. Our baby is 2 yrs and sleeps quite well.
HEY! Them's fightin' words! 36 is not ancient....nor is 40...or almost 41.
Yigo, which kindergarten teacher went to Lincoln? My son had Carapella and daughter had Sailor with Carapella filling in while she was on maternity leave....I know Mrs. Neals (sp?) was the other Kindergarten teacher. So, I'm curious who left. Now that I have no more FG'ers, I'm in the dark.
"The most valuable things in life are not measured in monetary terms. The really important things are not houses and lands, stocks and bonds, automobiles and real state, but friendships, trust, confidence, empathy, mercy, love and faith. " -Bertrand Russell V. Delong
Posts: 3234 | Location: Glen Ellyn, IL | Registered: April 04, 2003
sorry, DTM..brain freeze (i've been confused since i had the third kid...a long time ago!) hope the 2 year old keeps up the good sleep. sometimes it's more trouble than it's worth to get a sitter, but having someone to count on weekly sure helps. i've heard summer jobs are hard to come by this year...hopefully some kids still babysit. good luck.
Amy, Ms. Nehls' left because they originally thought that there would be 3 sections of Kindergarten; ended up with 4 before the school year started. This coming school year is another story as of now 3 sections of Kindergarten, 3 sections of 1st grade and 5 sections of 2nd grade. That is all I know. So far my oldest and middle child seem to have been born in boom years. They each had five sections for their elem. years (at least so far with the middle one).
OK DTM here are some of the responses I have received regarding the Kindergarten Enrichment program. I would like to add my 2 cents first. The park district follows the District 41 calendar regarding Pre-School and Kindergarten Enrichment. For example all district holidays and no school days mean that there isn't Pre-School or Kindergarten Enrichment. That includes snow days, winter break, spring break, Thanksgiving break and so on. So if you are considering this program as a daycare solution you may want to think twice. I personally do not think of this program as a daycare solution.
Response # 1 I have wonderful feedback regarding the K.E. program @ the GEPD. My initial concern was a 5 yr old (soon to be 6) being gone all day, my concerns were soon faded by the scope of the program. The teacher encouraged the kids to think outside of the box and to challenge themselves. My son was touching on topics I wouldn't have imagined at that age, and yearning for more. There was a great deal of writing, math and reading incorporated into the curriculum. Not too mention, their were core topics which touched on geography, science, travel, etc. He enjoyed the "crafts" which were relevant, and creative. He also was allowed to expand upon areas he was interested in and even conducted a "science experiment" for his class (complete w/ a hypothesis and summary)! The kids were allowed freedom to be apart of the teaching experience, which only enhanced their learning. Each kid was a "lucky duck" for the day and this title came w/ responsibility; they were the arbitrator, picture taker, had various classroom jobs for that day, and of course, show and tell (to name a few). My son was also really into reading and she had him develop a reading chart to map his interests and determine fiction vs. non-fiction. The enthusiasm level was so high it was contagious. I miss the program, the teachers and their energy level. I believe my son gained more through this program than perhaps at the public school kindergarten. Hope this helps and Enjoy the program!
Response # 2 This program gives the kids a passion for learning. She learned more in this program than in Kindergarten.
I noticed that both of my friends thought that their children learned more in this program than in Kindergarten.
I will let you know if I receive any more feedback.
My daughter really enjoyed the KE program. I think she got a lot out of it and was happy that I signed her up. The only downside is the timing. It starts at 12:30 and Kindergarten, as you know, gets out at 11:40. She had to wait to eat lunch until she got to KE, but often she'd just have a little snack when she got home from Kindergarten. Every topic they focused on was well thought out and thorough. My daughter talked about what they were doing in the afternoon much more than she talked about her morning class. She retained so much from that program.
I'll definitely sign my son up when he's in Kindergarten.
Thanks for the detail responses. Your friends comments echo others I've heard. Hard to believe, but the sentiment is they learn more from this program than they do in kindergarten.
