Sun79

Hello all,

This is my first post and I'm hoping it will be clear and make sense.

I am moving to Los Angeles from London in September (2015). I will be moving with my husband and three year old daughter. My husband is being transferred by his company for a year. My question is really about my daughters education. She will be starting reception here in the UK next year September and currently attends a preschool/nursery part time. Can anyone tell me what are the preschool options or equivalents in LA. Would I sign her up to a nursery or a kindergarten? I am worried that she will not have any preparation before starting primary school when we return.

We will be living in the Manhattan,Hermosa or Redondo beach areas. Are these good for preschools?

I hope I'm making sense as I'm very confused when looking at how the school system works in the US.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

sir_eccles

I have a 3 year old. At that age you are looking at preschool. Probably for two more years. Kindergarten is often for 5 year olds.

Many preschools are church/temple/faith based. If you want something secular they can often be hard to find, perhaps consider Montessori or those that style themselves after that organization.

Sun79

Thank you for your reply. I'll start looking into preschools in the areas we are thinking of.

Pulaski

Many of them operate under franchises of national companies, such as Bright Horizons, Kids R Kids, La Petite Academy, and The Goddard School.

In our experience the standard that each location operates to can be highly variable, so it is essential to visit several and see the location, the quality of the facilities, and meet the staff. The one we chose had a daily program that closely mimiced a kindergarten day, with a clear schedule and daily timetable, as well as time set aside for reading, counting/ numbers, and learning the alphabet. Transition into kindergarten for my daughter was seamless and totally painless.

The relative price is also important as you may find, as we did, that the quality of the establishment increases much more rapidly than the price i.e. six years ago we found that $800/mth was the base price for anywhere we would be comfortable trusting our two year old daughter to, but $950/mth paid for an extraordinarily well equiped custom built facility, much better equipped than most state schools.

Also be aware that when your husband starts his job he will be given various papers to complete that will likely give him the opportunity to take some money out of his salary pre-tax and be able to use that to pay for pre-school. Be careful to take enough to pay for most of the cost, but not too much because the money is taken out on a "use it or lose it" basis, and typically (though not necessarily, so check the small print) can't be rolled over to the next year.

Lion in Winter

A NAEYC accreditation is some guarantee of quality.

Also check out YMCA preschools. There is no "C" in there at all, they can be NAEYC certified, and they tend to be cheaper than the for-profit options.

rbackhouse

+1 on YMCA. Both my 2 went to a YMCA preschool. They had great programs and I would say both of them benefited significantly socially. The only prereq was holding a family gym membership and the fees were pretty reasonable.

Lion in Winter

The prereqs vary from Y to Y. some only require a "youth membership" for the child, cost negligible. The Little Lion went to a Y preschool, and got fee subsidies since at the time I couldn't pay full fee. He got to go to school with every kind of kid, and was also well-prepared to enter kindergarten.

AmerLisa

Be prepared for the expense, the best ones won't be cheap.

Sun79

Thank you so much for this info. We will definitely shop around once we get settled and take your advice on board 😀

Sun79

Thank you all for taking time out to reply. It seems our first few weeks will be filled with paperwork, driving issues, finding a place to rent and all sorts! When do you get a chance to sit on the beach and enjoy!

bewildering

In San Diego $800/month would get you a family daycare place - mostly a house with backyard converted with some toys. $950/month would be the bare minimum for a preschool. A good Montesorri will start as $1000/month.

I imagine LA will be at least as expensive as San Diego - probably more expensive.

Also look out for times. Some end at 3pm and you pay certain amount per hour after that. Some go to 5pm and you pay certain amount per hour after that.

There will be a waiting list as well. The best places are expensive, and have a waiting list.

samiam1066

As a retired UK and USA special education teacher with many years in elementary schools I find the UK primary school better than USA. USA schools teach to the middle and can be frustrating for higher and lower IQ students. There is way to much time sitting and doing paperwork which goes against Piaget. In my opinion they push academics early and do worksheets instead of integrated projects like in UK schools. No wonder the kids are bored in school.

I would send your kid to a Montessori school that has a lot of gross mother movement and very little formal education. At 8 years old you can then transfer him/ her to a regular school if you wish.