ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The public school kindergarten cut-off is September 30, is that the date St. Matthew’s uses?

No, for purposes of class assignment, we consider a child to be a 3-year old if they were born before 12/31/05, a 4-year old if born before 12/31/04, and a 5-year old if born before 12/31/03.

How are the children divided into classes?

We first try to get an even mix of boys and girls in each class. Some years we have a preponderance of boys or girls, and the groups are lopsided, but we do the best we can.

We have found that the 2-day, 3 year old classes function better when both “young” and “old” 3’s are included in each group. The youngest children profit from being with the older 3’s, who can respond to oral directions, are more social, and may have more self-control. And what could be better for the older 3-year old than to be able to integrate and apply what they know by communicating it to someone who’s littler than they are?!! It feels great to be a friend and a helper!

The 4’s have worked well grouped by age. We usually have a group of older fours and a group of younger fours. In addition, in the afternoon, we have included some “old” 3’s who, alas, are no longer napping.

How will next year differ from this year.

Of course, the most dramatic difference will be in the children themselves. Do you remember the first day of school this year? Since then your child has developed in significant ways, learning from their experiences with people and things, becoming stronger, more controlled, and more self-confident. Stimulating interactions with teachers, the challenge and complexity of the world of children, the relative independence of life in school, all have contributed to their growth intellectually, emotionally, and physically. Take a moment to appreciate their achievements! They will be different from the start.

Your child's "growing edge" and the ways he learns most effectively will not be dramatically different. Her brain is so complex that it can handle, and in fact requires, rich and varied experiences to keep it learning optimally. To learn, she (actually her brain) looks for the sense of things, how new things are related to known things, what it means to her. To do its best work, the brain (your child) requires a safe harbor, and permission to use the tools of learning that they have been honing since birth.

That means being able to explore, experiment, reflect on, and enjoy materials, relationships, language, surprises, coincidences, and constants first hand. We don't want to let go of the wonder and fascination of the sea of opportunities the world affords just because the child has turned another year older. Academic tools such as color names, names of shapes, alphabet letters and number names are part of that world; but you can see what a slim bill of fare they would be to set before a child who is such an accomplished learner and who has the capacity to learn so much more.

My child will be going to kindergarten in the fall of 2009. Should he be in a “pre-kindergarten” class?

Yes, and in both the 3 and 4-day classes children will acquire the behaviors, skills, and dispositions needed to be successful school children. The classes traditionally called “pre-kindergarten” classes meet 4 days per week, and were begun to accommodate children who “just missed” the kindergarten cutoff, or who were waiting to enter kindergarten as young 6's, rather than young 5 year olds. Meeting an extra day each week allows for more experiences together, but both three and four day/week children will have the same preparation.

Whichever class you choose, be attentive to your child’s reactions at home, and keep your teacher informed. Your teacher will be able to inform you about your child's "readiness" as compared to his peers, and to suggest ways you can work together to keep both areas of strength and weakness moving forward.

My child will be 4-years old by December 31st. How about a 2-day?

 We have found that fours are particularly eager and able to enlarge their circle of friends and bring more complex ideas to symbolic and socio-dramatic play. We believe it is for these reasons that 2-day programs prove less satisfactory for some. The continuity afforded by more frequent meetings, enables the children to develop their ideas from class day to class day, making a more satisfying experience for 4’s and young 5’s.

Young 3’s are getting their feet wet, so to speak, learning to be more independent, to enjoy greater autonomy, interact with other children and adults and experience the ups and downs of living in a group - in society. Two days a week are “just enough” for many.

What are the differences between the 3-year old program and the 4-year old program?

You know as well as I, that there is a big difference between the ideas and abilities your child had at 3 years and those she has as a 4-year old. Teachers take into account these differences, and also the similarities, such as the continuing need to feel safe, to feel big and important, to be active, to feel loved.

In the 4-year old classes, we continue to provide a broad range of experiences to add to the children’s store of understandings. The preschool peer group is worth its weight in gold as far as intellectual stimulation and growth is concerned. They add to the day's complexity and increase opportunities for the children to use their language functionally - to tell their story, to repeat favorite stories, to explain, to describe and solve problems. Children learn with the teachers' help to see a variety of acceptable means to the same end, to successfully regulate their own behavior in relation to others, to grow with their friends into responsible citizens in the classroom.

Words, words, words are central in other ways, too. The children’s expanding vocabularies and communication skills, their ever growing experience with literature, with the printed words all around them, their increasingly effective use of materials for representing ideas and objects - in picture and in words - continues to draw them into the world of readers and writers. Just what we all want! The writing center, which brings the opportunity for growing awareness and exploration to many threes, is the site of purposeful exploration and utilization of that knowledge among the fours and fives. Since our intent is to stay at the leading edge of the children’s emerging capabilities, whatever they are, we have our work cut out for us everyday. Familiarity with letters, numbers and their function are on the agenda.

What will the pupil-teacher ratio be?

We have found that wonderful learning happens in groups of 9:1 (3-year old classes) and 10:1 (4-year old classes). This affords us a large enough group to ensure diversity among its members, bringing a range of ideas, interests, experiences, and abilities. When the group is in “center time” the children disperse among the six or more centers according to their interest. It’s a fine time for teachers to engage them in meaningful “small group” interaction and instruction about the materials or situation at hand.

Having 18 or 20 children in the group usually assure us that there will be friends to interact with in each center - not too many, not too few. This is one of the most potent avenues for learning for young children, because communicating with another child, getting another child to coordinate their ideas and efforts with yours, can be more of an intellectual challenge than communicating with or gaining the cooperation of an adult! It requires the child to “be all that he can be,” to organize their resources, to persist, to try one way and then another in order to accomplish their goal. Peers are an invaluable resource in the education of young children.

Our teachers are still our greatest resource. We try, however, to make our classrooms cooperative societies, to give the children a voice in making the rules and decisions that govern the class. We want them to see themselves as problem solvers in their own right. To that end, teachers are careful how and when they decide, when and how they intervene. The result is a community whose members are encouraged to show initiative, and be self-directed, and self-disciplined in their behavior. What does that have to do with class size? When the teachers’ presence is too pervasive, children defer to or rely on her rather than summoning their own resources for problem solving and decision making. This doesn’t mean that we stand aside and “let ‘er rip.” It means that purposefully, in appropriate ways everyday, we pass the baton to the children - for generating alternatives, making decisions, asking questions, solving problems.

My favorite example of this happened in a 4-day class. It was spring, and the teacher had put jonquils in a vase next to the easel. The children were invited to do a “buddy painting,” that is, paint with a friend. When one pair of friends finished, it was a fine work indeed. And as one might imagine, both girls wanted to take it home. Without coming to the teachers for a solution, they arrived at an innovative solution of their own. Taking a piece of easel paper from under the easel, they laid it over the “original.” After some careful rubbing they pulled the papers apart. Voilá! One print, two happy painters.

The ability and confidence to be a problem solver is one of the greatest skills we can help our children develop. Too often in our formal education, genuine problem solving is discouraged as adults handle every decision. These two girls had learned in their three years at St. Matthew’s that their ideas were valuable and valued, through the years their ideas had grown in strength and originality, and on this school day their problem solving impressed every teacher on the staff.

May I request a teacher?

Unfortunately, there is a limit to our ability to accommodate “all of the people all of the time.” If you have a preference for a particular teacher, you may write that teacher’s name on the back of the registration card. Your request will be honored if possible in the order in which they are received, but the considerations for placement outlined above, the recommendation of your child’s current teacher, and other factors will be considered in the final assignment.

Other questions? Please, call and ask to speak to Mary-Catherine Deadman, Ph.D. .