Editor’s Note: If you missed the Sunday Morning Walk post, you can read it HERE. The forests are alive with mushrooms and fungus and other coolness this time of year. Now, we dig into Kindergarten options here in the Comox Valley. Please jump in on the discussion.
It’s the hot buzz among preschool parents in the Comox Valley right now. On the trail, in the grocery aisle, even on Facebook the conversation, indecision and debate about kindergarten options is off the charts.
There are more options for kids and families than ever when it comes to education, which is making all of our choices about what education suits our kids and families best a bit more challenging. For many, it’s down right mind boggling.
The different education options in the Valley are clear on one point – they all best suit certain types of kids and family situations. The reality is that some – as much as you may want to love them – just plain won’t work for you. Others that you may not have necessarily considered before are a perfect match.
That doesn’t help much, does it?
Well, let’s talk a bit about the different options and get into some personal stories about choices parents are making for their kids in the Valley right now.
This next Fall, parents of kindergarteners will have the following choices:
- Traditional full- and half-day kindergarten public school education
- French immersion public school education
- Francophone public school education
- Montessori public education
- Homeschooling with the option of doing so through the SD71 NIDES program (many other options here)
- The Beachcomber Community School
- The Saltwater School (Waldorf-inspired education)
- Comox Valley Christian School
It makes my head spin just looking at all the choices, not to mention taking a look at the tiny person’s temperament, the realities of our household budget, the family schedules and work that comes into play, where her friends go as well as the whole whack of social issues like what do I think is important for my kid to be a certain way, have certain education opportunities, hang with a certain crowd.
Whether we want to admit it or not, a lot of our education decisions for our kids come from our own personal preferences, ideas on education and who we want to be seen as. When it comes down to it, choices about education come down to a bit of a challenge with our own ideas and our kids ideas – like pretty much everything else when it comes to parenting.
I admit that sometimes I gasp at the reasons why people put their kids (or not) into certain kinds of schools. But, what it comes down to is what works best for you and your family.
When looking at kindergarten options, there are definitely some things to consider.
MONTESSORI:
With kindergarten registration right around the corner for this popular option, I asked the Comox Valley Montessori Society what parents need to consider. They said:
“The Montessori approach must fit your child’s needs as well as your family’s values, beliefs, and expectations about how you want your child to experience education. Ideally, your child is self-disciplined, accepts responsibility, and is an independent worker who is able to follow directions and focus for long periods of time. Additionally, you must be willing to embrace the Montessori philosophy at home and be active in your child’s education. It is a commitment – choose Montessori not simply as an alternative to the traditional classroom but because you believe in the Montessori approach to education.”
Parents looking for an alternative public education experience really do need to know what they are getting into with Montessori as I have known many families for whom this program has done wonders for and others who needed to rethink their direction.
Montessori families really need to learn the philosophy and be an active part of the program that keeps Montessori running in the public schools. We’ll have a great piece about what a Montessori family looks like on Thursday here on OBE.
CHRISTIAN SCHOOL:
A friend of mine, who is not exactly what I would call religious, put her kids into Christian school early on in their education for one reason – stability and quality of education.
If having a solid Christian base is a priority for you in terms of education and homeschooling isn’t a good option, Christian school can be a solid option. This school, which has been in the Valley for years, is well-established and now more central after having moved to the former Comox Elementary location.
It is private education, so the cost factor is there. But, if you are looking for a neighbourhood school option with a less secular take on education, look into this option by calling the school, setting up an appointment to visit and interview staff.
HOMESCHOOLING:
There is a lot to consider when deciding whether to homeschool your kids or not. One of the most critical factors is understanding the time, expense and planning that goes into this educational choice.
The School District 71 NIDES program is more or less “school in a box” and offers families the option of having children in the classroom occasionally. So, this is a great way to go about homeschooling without having to buy expensive curriculum, develop your own learning process or worry about not having the skills to teach.
Many families we know have started with NIDES and then, after getting more comfortable with educating at home, found a curriculum or learning philosophy (such as unschooling) that suits them.
The reality is that homeschooling can be expensive, is time-intensive in terms of planning, but offers a wonderful opportunity to let your kid lead the direction of learning every step of the way. You can build experiences, hands-on projects and travel into your learning process and it is very flexible for families who need or want that.
Rosina Huber wrote a great piece for OBE on how to get started homeschooling HERE.
WALDORF:
New to the Valley this Fall, the Saltwater School opens its doors to families looking for a more creative, nature-based Waldorf approach to education.
Families suited to Waldorf need to consider many of the things that Montessori families do – home life needs to reflect school life, the focus in the early grades will not be on book learning, but experiential learning through creativity, storytelling and ritual.
Although Waldorf has a more nature-based approach to education, it is a VERY structured educational environment. Children with intense temperaments who have a tendency to whirl are not generally suited for Waldorf, although many children find it a very soothing environment as well.
Learning the philosophy behind Waldorf is key to a successful educational experience.
There is always the reality of money as well. This type of education with its hands-on, natural base tends to be on the pricier side.
BEACHCOMBER COMMUNITY SCHOOL:
Also new to the Valley this year, Beachcomber is a community school in Fanny Bay that combines the Reggio, Montessori and Waldorf traditions to create a hands-on, interactive educational experience that is focused on getting kids outdoors, keeping them moving and letting them work at their own pace.
It has gotten SO much attention from Valley families for its wonderfully combined philosophy including organic gardening, yoga, sailing, outdoor ed and more. This is definitely a school for busy kids who need to be in constant motion – not that it’s unruly, but that it engages children from the hands-on philosophy of learning.
Most people I talk with are concerned with the drive to Fanny Bay, although car pool groups are already starting to form.
This is a start-up school and parents are expected to be heavily involved. So, price and involvement are something to consider as well.
FRANCOPHONE AND FRENCH IMMERSION:
Francophone education is pretty straight up. French-speaking families have a dedicated educational resource that is core French. For families who are not primarily French-speaking, there is an interview process.
French immersion has long been the “accelerated” track for kids in public education. There are two French immersion public school programs in SD 71 that are popular and have their own set of considerations when deciding whether to put your children on that track or not.
Many parents I know have found that French immersion is not something that suits all of their children. A child who is struggling with reading, has trouble concentrating or dealing with a learning delay often struggles in French immersion. Children with speech concerns such as a lisp also find themselves struggling.
On the other side, children who have longer attention spans and are early readers often excel in French immersion.
The issue often revolves around the reality that most families will have to drive their children to school if they are in French immersion and the kids are away from friends in their neighborhood. As well, learning concerns are often not discovered until a child is already on this track and it can be challenging to move a child into a new learning setting.
TRADITIONAL KINDERGARTEN:
This is not to say that a traditional kindergarten setting in your neighborhood school isn’t the perfect fit for your child. In fact, for most children this is the choice that works best.
With traditional kindergarten settings kids are going to school with their friends in the neighborhood, have the opportunity to meet other kids from all walks of life, get to learn the basic skills and make a transition into school that keeps them close to home and hopefully not stressed out.
Things to consider with traditional kindergarten settings are the learning issues or accelerations related to your kiddo, their temperament (big classrooms and less personal attention can deeply challenge some kids) and their learning style.
STRAIGHT TALK FROM MOMS
There are lots of moms who have been blogging about this issue lately.
- Right here in the Comox Valley, Blue Bird Mama’s Alison Wurts recently chatted about her kindergarten indecision in a great 3-part series.
- Vancouver Island mom Melodie gives us some really great insight into why she’s sending her kids to public school, even with some very serious reservations HERE.
- Nanaimo unschooling mom Krista gave her kids the option of homeschooling or public school, with a combo in place now. Check out her perspective HERE.
At our house, we’re going the homeschooling route for a couple of reasons:
- The tiny person is dealing with a neurological hiccup that will make public school challenging at best.
- We have a great family set up for homeschooling with both of us working from home.
- We honestly want the flexibility that homeschooling will offer us and our daughter as she gets older to explore, take on long-term learning projects and travel.
- Reading and science are something the tiny person is seriously into and I want her to be able to roll with that at her own pace.
- Personally, my early public school experience was lousy. I was like our daughter – reading well ahead of myself and wanting to really focus on music and science. But I sucked at math and really needed to be with my peers in terms of social skills. By sixth grade I was so far ahead in reading and science that the teachers put me in a classroom with special needs kids for three days a week because they didn’t have any options for me to move ahead.
It was a wonderful experience that created an incredible, loving bond for me with children who are physically and emotionally challenged. But, it left a huge hole in my education that I never really recovered from. I would love for our daughter to have that same experience with children of different abilities and still be able to learn at a pace that suits her.
Yes, I may be overcompensating. I have long been on the fence about this choice because we are not religious at all and homeschooling resources tend to focus toward religion-based materials. Although I’ve since found many excellent secular homeschooling resources, we fell in love and actually had made the decision late last year to send our daughter to the Beachcomber Community School.
But, life has a way of making your decisions for you sometimes. The testing results from the end of the year made it clear that homeschooling was the best route for our family.
There’s so much to think about, and so many reasons for the choices we make when it comes to school for our kids.
Please jump in here and start the discussion. I have a feeling we all have a lot to say.
Second photo courtesy of Karen McKinnon. Third photo courtesy of Rebecca Watkin.
Thank you for the informative article.
Just wanted to clear up something up about the the Francophone District.
We are very motivated to be French-Speaking in our household. My husband and I took French in High School and when we moved to Canada it seemed like a great idea to re-learn the language. We had a French tutor teach us last year and I listened to French while cooking, running, etc.
Last year we contacted the Comox Valley Francophone school (école Au Coeur de l’île). The principal said that we could meet her in January to discuss our daughters attending the school. It seemed promising. So, we contacted her in January and we were informed that the principal had changed. The new principal said in no uncertain terms that we are not eligible according to the laws of the district and she saw no point in meeting us. She directed us to the superintendent who confirmed that our kids are not eligible to attend.
As I understand it…you are only eligible to attend Francophone if at least one of the child’s parents’ had their primary education in French or their primary language understood is French OR if the child has a sibling who is attending a Francophone school.
So, we have decided to attend French Immersion next fall and are happy about that. We have so far been extremely welcomed by the principal, teachers, and staff at ecole Robb Road. We are happy that our daughters will be attending this school.
Finally, one interesting thing that the KG teacher said at the info. meeting at Robb Road was that kids who are good at reading English may actually have more trouble in French because the are used to letters sounding a certain way.
Just wanted to add my two cents to the homeschooling option.
This year there is a new home learners interaction day that is run by a SelfDesign learning consultant, although you DO NOT need to registered with SelfDesign to attend.
The kids meet every other Tuesday between 9:30-3:00 in the Comox Community Centre on and often have guests come in to share their skills and knowledge with the kids. On alternate Tuesdays they are out in the community on field trips. Activities this year have included yoga, a visit from MARS, manga drawing, skating, watershed walks, swimming, rock climbing, farm tours, museum trip and beachcombing. There has been a real diversity in activities but these are just the ones that come to mind right now.
SelfDesign is one of a few places around to register with that provide funding to cover the the learning materials that your child will use in a year. I agree that homeschooling can be expensive, but it doesn’t have to be.
I am thrilled that the valley is starting to provide more options for children whose needs will not be met in the mainstream system.
Oh. My. Gosh. The indecision.
Our lad is already *in* Kindergarten but the public Montessori K/1 is only now starting to be a better fit. After vacillating for a while, we all, kid included, seem to be favouring a switch to NIDES after Spring Break. 98% sure, anyway. Like you, Robin, we fell in love with Beachcombers and believe it would have fitted our lad’s needs in quite a lot of ways but also like you, we had to take a good look at the kidlet and not just his challenges but his strengths. He learns SO much at the new programme at the Museum for homeschooling kids, he loves following a theme of interest because it suits his obsessiveness, and even though we have reluctantly turned to medication to take the edge of his explosive energy, at home we’ll be able to tap that energy as and when we’d like, rather than to a fixed timetable.
As a Bi-National family, we can whisk the kids off to England or Australia and not worry too much about converting from one system to another, or one level to another, and we can continue to work in summer as we feel like it.
For all the mums who have children about to start Kinder, I wish you luck with your decision and hope everything goes smoothly. We didn’t know we’d be in for such a rocky ride!
p.s. The public Montessori is WONDERFUL: the teachers and parents are great, the staff at Queneesh are great, and it does observe the majority of Maria Montessori’s ideas. Our experience is unique to us and should not put you off exploring Montessori if you think it might be right for your child and family.
Deepa, Thanks for giving us the scoop on Francophone education. Congrats on French immersion, should be great for you guys.
Cakesniffer, I hadn’t heard about the Self Design programming. Fantastic. We’d been looking at that as a curriculum option.
Robin, I think seeing how things roll out for our kids is where the challenge sits. Your little guy is amazing and intelligent and constantly on the go…he will thrive beautifully in a home school setting, I’m sure of it.
Thanks for jumping in to talk about this!
You would say that, Robin, he’s in love with you. Don’t tell Ken, but David is inviting you for a sleepover. Just you.
Boy, do you know how to hook ‘em with science!
Thanks for this article. I’m on the indecision rollercoaster and it helps to read the pros and cons and other people’s comments. One thing I wanted to add is that one shouldn’t assume that traditional kindergarten classrooms are your biggest class sizes. Kindergarten classes district-wide are capped at 22 kiddos (correct me if I’m wrong, could be 23) and popular programs like offered at Ecole Robb Rd and Montessori tend to fill most of their spots so therefore classrooms are full. One of the biggest challenges I’m having with the decision is trying to choose one school for both of my kids (ideally I’d like to see them both at the same school), when they are so different in their personality and behaviour.
One option that has been missed here is choosing to not send your children to kindergarten at all. Kindergarten in BC is still optional. So, if you feel that your child is just not ready, you are free to keep them home for the year. They will start Grade 1 the year they turn 6 however. It is not a decision to take lightly, but it is an option.
We are already involved in public school, so much of the debate I have heard from parents is full day kindergarten vs half day kindergarten. My daughter’s school will not be offering full day until Sept 2011. Some parents are upset that they will not have access to full day kindergarten here this year, others are upset that there will no longer be an option for half day after 2011. Thank you Robin, for highlighting the other options for those who wish to pursue them.
Just a quick reminder that kindergarten registration for public schools is coming up Feb 22-24. Register early to ensure your space in your local school.
Since Kindergarten is optional, I have every intention of pulling my daughter out of public school after half a day most days. She is not ready for a full day. I’d rather her have some quiet down time with me than be stressed out and stimulated by classmates after lunch. I heard that they were going to have a quiet time after lunch in kindergarten – but there is no way she can relax in a room of 18 of her peers! I think full day kindergarten was a political decision and I’m voting with my actions. Let children be children. The teacher might think I’m whacko when I first start doing it but I’m sure she/he will get over it.
Stacey, I had no idea K was optional. Thanks for the heads up.
Helen, I agree that much of what happens can be political. Knowing our kids well and honoring their limitations keeps the politics at bay as much as possible.
Marcie, I think your dilemma is very common. Kids don’t all fit one mold…and how much can a parent take on without freaking or stressing themselves out. Finding that balance is crazy sometimes.
This is definitely a subject that gets my house thinking and debating. We have until 2011 before the wee dude sinks his teeth into full-time school, but education has been on our minds almost since day one. The battles have been public Vs private and then early french immersion Vs late immersion.
Public school was good enough for both my spouse and I, and (after much debate) we feel that it’s good enough for our children. Other reasons to send our son and his sibling to public school are location (the school is up the street, alleviating drive-time), it’s free (private school just isn’t in our budget although the Beachcomber school is very appealing) and we stay within our community and support our community school.
The french immersion debate is ongoing – early immersion is definitely out, but late immersion is still on the table. Our children’s learning styles will be better known once they are in school and we can make an informed decision then. Although I do want both kids at one school.
It’s up to the parents to be involved with their child’s education, catch issues before they hinder the child’s education and supplement at home when and if necessary. This would be the case with any school, since you find problems with the education system everywhere.
Luckily the choice you make now isn’t permanent and changes can be made along the way to make it work for the child.
I have a daughter going into full-day kindergarten this September, she’s not been registered as of yet. I’ve heard mixed stories about full-day kindergarten. Some have told me that it’s 5 days a week and others have told me it will only be 3 days a week. Can anyone give me the goods on what is actually happening? Thanks!!
Colleen, there’s a kindergarten brochure for download on the SD71 website: http://sd71.bc.ca/
Not sure if it has all of the information you need. But, I do believe it gives specific school information.
Colleen, I didn’t see that particular info in the full-day Kindergarten brochure found here http://sd71.bc.ca/pdfs/district_news/142.pdf, so I would contact your school for details.
Something that might help some parents come to their decision is a classroom visit. It is part of most Waldorf schools’ application process to have a classroom visit by the child but it is also common to have the parents sit quietly at the side of the room for the morning.
I am not sure about other schools but it is worth asking. To be in the classroom, even for a day gives you an idea of the flow, the teacher, the type of discipline used, the acivities, the time given for each part of the day, the type of community involved in the class, the equiptment, and the general feel of the program. This way you might be able to imagine your child there rather than reading only the brochure and basing your decision on what you imagine.
It is not easy to make a decision that will shape your child’s future. Peaceful thoughts to all…
I made a mistake in my almost last sentence, it’s late for me:) I should have said, you might be able to imagine your child there rather than reading only the brochure and basing your decision on an idea. Ok, goodnight.
To elaborate on Rebecca’s point about visiting the class, a great suggestion I read recently in Raising Your Spirited Child was to pick the child whose temperament seems to match your own child and watch them during your visit. Watch how they move around the classroom, how they interact, how the teacher responds to and deals with them. This will help as you imagine your child there and give you a really good idea if it’s a good fit.
By the way, Robin, thanks for the shout-out! My 3 Part series is getting much longer. Too difficult to shut up on this topic. Loving reading all these comments by the way. It’s great!
I have also been meaning to suggest Self-Design to you Robin. It’s among the front-runners on our list right now.
@cakesniffer – thanks so much for the info on the homelearners day at Comox Rec centre. I’ve been trying to find info about similar activities. Do you have contact info for this program? Is it open to younger kids too?
Beachcombers looks fabulous but the drive is a huge huge deterrent, not just for me, but for the boy to be sitting in a car that long EVERY day (even in a car pool or bus). Waldorf and Montessori are also fairly captivating but I have a feeling that I really am a homeschooler at heart.
Another thing to keep in mind with the full day/half day debate is that BC is not the first province to implement full day kindergarten. Ontario has had it for years. I have friends who schooled in Ontario and loved the full day kindergarten, as well as the junior kindergarten for 4 year olds. There are already full day kindergartens in our district, even. The Aboriginal kindergarten program is full day.
I think that it is easy to resist change, but the children are probably more resilient and flexible than we give them credit for
As for pulling your child out after half a day, the teacher and principal of your school may have an issue with it, as it will be disruptive to the class as a whole. Please chat with the teachers and administration before deciding on this as a course of action. Our principal has said that he doesn’t have an issue with it, however your child will be missing out on half the curriculum… the half day program is being stretched out to fill the full day. Many schools have a kindergarten orientation session in May or June for the children and parents to meet the teachers. This is a good chance to chat with the teacher about your child’s readiness, and/or your concerns about their readiness.
If your child attends pre-school or program such as Strong Start, the teachers there should be able to give you a fairly good indication of your child’s kindergarten readiness as well, including whether or not they are ready for the longer day.
Thanks ladies for all the great info. We’re so lucky to have so many amazing options for our kids
@cakesniffer – I, too, would like a link or contact for Self-Design and the group at Comox Rec, if that is possible. I can be contacted at rstalbans at yahoo and then com. Thank you.
Hi Stacey,
Thank you for your words of caution on the full day, 1/2 debate. My last posting was brief but I have not made my pro 1/2 day decision lightly.
Full day kindergarten in BC is going to be 5 full days. I might be less concerned if it was 3 full days.
I have looked at the IRPs for kindergarten, I am confident that if past years of children can accomplish them in half a day then my child can too.
I spoke with a couple of early elementary teacher friends of mine. They said that kindergarten is all about socialization. Yes, it’s a generalization – but that is what they emphasize in their classrooms. In fact the BC government is putting out directives that grade 1 curriculum should not be pushed down into the kindergarten years.
I am a Master’s student at University and have done an extensive literature search to see the benefits of full day kindergarten. I was unable to find any that showed that kids like my daughter benefit. There is lots out there that shows ‘kids at risk’ benefit considerably. However, I don’t see my daughter in the at-risk category. I have also read all the HELP studies that show the number of kids who enter kindergarten who are not prepared for kindergarten is rising – including some scary numbers in the Comox Valley. But again, I believe my daughter is well prepared.
My daughter’s preschool teacher does formal testing of each student and has told me she has no concerns about my daughter’s kindergarten readiness.
What I do know is that my daughter is VERY energetic and VERY dramatic. Most of the time that means she is totally delightful and sweet to be around. However, if you do not respect her need for scheduled down time at 1:00 pm, you are at your peril. Due to her energy, even if she is exhausted, she will push herself to be alert and elevated if there are other children in the room. Her behaviour escalates VERY quickly and predictably – right after 10 minutes of clingyness and whining! Routine meltdowns would be the most disruptive scenario around for everyone – including her.
But, September is a long ways away. And certainly June 2011 is a very long ways away. As my daughter shows signs of being capable of taking on full days, I will gradually implement it.
Whoa, yes. This is a hugely hot topic over the past few weeks, with registration dates coming up! I met a woman in a cafe the other day, and when we realized our children were the same age, the conversation immediately shifted to OMG WHAT ARE YOU DOING NEXT YEAR? It feels like such a huge decision, picking the road your child will start down with their education.
On the language front, it should be mentioned that Beachcombers will be offering French and Spanish, and possibly German, if there’s interest.
And one other point not mentioned in the article, is- and Rebecca can correct me if I’m mistaken- I believe the Saltwater School will also have sailing instruction made available to its’ students, which is super cool.
It’s great to read these comments, and hear that I’m not the only one that’s been going a little crazy making up her mind!
You can learn more about SelfDesign at http://www.selfdesign.com & http://www.selfdesign.org and you are welcome to email me if you have any questions about the it. janegadsby(removebrackets) @shaw.ca
The contact for the Comox Valley Learning Circle is kateblyth2(removebrackets)@gmail.com
Its one group of mixed age kids.
Wow, love this discussion. I’m pretty sure we are homeschooling, but there are days when I ask myself, “Can I (we) take this on?” “Can I be with my children all the time?” ” Can I really provide them with everything they need to head out into the world?” ” Am I depriving them of some really great opportunities the schools and teachers offer their students?” “What about the pressure from extended family?” And then there’s the feeling I should put them in the french school to promote and safeguard my acadian heritage”.
But then I remind myself. I don’t have to take it all on myself. There are so many resources here in the Valley, I haven’t even discovered them all yet. I can do alot of outsourcing I’m not really worried about socialization, especially having recently read Hold On To Your Children by Dr. Neufeld. Besides, I can’t believe how many active homeschooling families there are here.
I have also found some really great inexpensive material. I love the Miquon Math program and I’m looking forward to reading The Story of The World by Susan Wise Bauer.
Thanks Robin for this article. Keep the comments coming.
Helen, I didn’t mean to imply that you were just saying “half day is not for me” without thought. I apologize if it came across that way. My frustration is not with you, but with resistance to this just because it is different and new.
My husband and I are deeply involved with the PAC (Parent Advisory Council) at our school and I have come across the attitude that “it won’t work for my child” a lot already, and I freely admit that it frustrates me. I wish that more parents were willing to work *with* the teachers and administration to ensure success for their kids and others. The teachers haven’t done full days either, so they will be open to suggestions. If the rest time isn’t working for your child, try working with the school to find another solution. If your child needs more time for snack or more snacks throughout the day, work out an agreement with the teacher. If you are concerned about outside supervision, speak with PAC and the principals/district to make sure it is addressed. We all need to remember that if it concerns you, it probably concerns 80% of the other parents in the class too… someone has to be the one to voice it though.
All that being said I do understand that the all day kindergarten model is being forced upon us and it will not work for all children. But this is our chance to make it work in a way that does suit the majority of children. And if it does not suit the majority of children I am sure that the government will realize this. It is our chance to get properly involved and make this into a model that works best for all of us.
Alison, after reading your series on education, I feel Rain and my lad might be peas in a pod, too. Perhaps if we add Robin’s Ms M, and put all three in a room together, we can create a volcano of knowledge that can power the world!!! *s*
P.S. I went to school on two different continents but I started Kindergarten at 4, 5 days/week, full days 9-3.15pm. It didn’t do me any harm but then I was that kid that was just itching to get to school rather than stay home (at least for the first year or two). Also, the rooms were set up so that gym mats could be pulled out and everyone had a nap after playing after lunch, just like in nursery school. We also did a LOT of physical education / sports stuff each and every day – minimum of an hour/day – plus recess and lunch. Perhaps that made the difference?
Ah, greeeeeat topic. My husband and I are both teachers (I actually taught a full-day K for eight years) and we are homeschooling our children. It works for us now, may not always, “needs” change. I haven’t yet found it to be expensive to obtain resources, but the fact that I am working only part-time to enable this scenario is a $ sacrifice that many homeschoolers make. I love that the valley’s options for education are increasing. Robin R, hiccups or not, you are obviously an educator at heart and I bet that your little one will flourish! Any homeschoolers, current or potential, should check out this this group: http://cvhomeschoolers.ning.com/
Good luck with your decisions:)
Another Robin – the thought of that volcano both exhilirates and terrifies me. I have a way lower energy level than Rain and the thought of being closed in a room with three similar kids makes me want a glass of wine and a nap RIGHT now.
Stacey – I disagree with full-day Kindergarten on principal, not because I am resisting change. For my son this year I am ONLY looking at schools that still offer half-day and when this comes in at every school for 2011, I will choose to keep my daughter out of Kindergarten altogether rather than send her all day. I feel like our society is way too wrapped up in achievement and success and academics and I really don’t believe that 4-5 year olds need to be in school that many hours a day. Sure, most of them will be fine and will adapt. But I still don’t think it’s right.
I appreciate that you are so involved with your PAC – that is awesome – and I understand how frustrating all the resistence much be. I also really appreciate that you are suggesting concrete solutions for parents who have concerns and feel that they have no choice in the matter.
Alison
I appreciate that you only believe in half-day kindergarten, but one thing that you should note about finding a half-day program for this coming school year is that would require a cross boundary transfer if you do not live in the catchment for the school you would be attending. For example if you were going to go to Valley View but live in the catchment for Queenesh you will need to request a cross boundary transfer before you are able to register for kindergarten at Valley View. Then once that is approved you can register. And provided that works for you then you will need to keep in mind that you child is then committed to that school for the rest of their education. So after kindergarten you will need to request a cross boundary transfer to go back to the school in your catchment.
It is all a little bit confusing but definitely worth considering. The district is trying to make it difficult for people to pick and choose their school based on the kindergarten program offered for September 2010. And they are saying that if you decided to pursue your kindergarten of choice they will make it difficult for you to get back to your first choice school. I don’t know 100% how this will stand up if someone tries to fight this policy but basically they want to make it difficult for everyone to register for the only half day programs available for September 2010.
Good luck.
Thanks David. I was aware of that boundary issue and that they say you’d be committed to the new school for the remainder of the child’s education.
I’m actually in the catchment for French immersion at Puntledge, looking into the Montessori at Queneesh (no catchment issue) and considering either Waldorf or homeschool. All of these are half day programs.
Alison – ack! The 3-child volcano? No Way are we parents going to be in that room! I need a glass of wine and a long nap NOW just from thinking about it.
FYI Saltwater School is intending to offer many wonderful programs (like German, Eurythmy, Kayaking, -hopefully sailing – Christa
etc but not at the Kindergarten level, the programs will be established as they are required (beginning in Grade 1) 
Also, if you’d like to mail a letter requesting that half-day Kindergarten remain an OPTION or begin a petition here is a place to send that info to:
Honourable Margaret MacDiarmid
PO Box 9045 Stn. Prov. Govt
Victoria, BC
V8W 9E2
(250) 387-1977 fax (250) 387-3200 email: minister.educ@gov.bc.ca
And, if you wanted to know more about Waldorf education in general, there are going to be speakers at Zen Zero on the 20th and 27th of this month! That might help some people find their path (or maybe just more mind boggling!!) Happy searching
I’ve been going in a full summersault for at least 6 months now, and I still have 19 months to make my decision! I’ve narrowed it down to continuing on with the Francophone school here in Powell River or homeschooling. (There are quite a few anglophone children in our Francophone school, although that may be to top up the enrollment).
Public School just isn’t an option in my mind anymore. I want to be able to show her so much more than a desk and notebooks. This is solely to do with the type of Fundamental public school education I received. It wasn’t very complimentary to my personality. The only downside of the Francophone school, is that it is already a full time 5 day a week kindergarten and I’m not keen on that for my daughter. If I lived anywhere but here, Waldorf would be the amazing first choice for us! In my perfect world in Kindergarten, I’d send her 1/2 to the francophone K and homeschool the other half and then continue on with homeschooling after that. I have much soul searching to do before that point, and I love reading all of the inspiring posts here! Thank you for leading such a great conversation!
Hi all, I want to thank Robin again for presenting all the kindergarten options and being respectful of their individual pros and cons.
I feel it needs to be said that public school and mainstream education is NOT just desks and notebooks. There are some amazing public school teachers in this district that are doing great things with kids and that work very hard to be innovative and child centred.
Plus, one shouldn’t assume that language-based schools (francophone and immersion) are highly interactive and hands-on. In the primary years, they are very oral based and there is a lot of sitting and listening in order to learn the language.
Thank you Marcie…… I agree completely with you.