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I remember when my daughter was a baby and took forever to sit up, to stand, to crawl, to walk - how anxious I was all the time. She had no obvious physical disability, but at times I'd despair that she might never walk. One friend used to joke that I'd probably have to carry her to college. But some wise person reminded me that walking is the hallmark of homo sapiens - walking, and the opposable thumb - and that when she was good and ready of course she'd walk. And of course she did.

Transitions are tricky. For those of you finding yourselves on the cusp between preschool and elementary, elementary and middle school, middle school and high school - or even high school and college - this is a nerve-wracking time. You might be waiting for an acceptance letter to your school of choice, and waiting is never fun. Waiting can remind you of all the highly-charged moments in your life, when you were awaiting outcomes for something you wanted, whether it was acceptance into a school, a job, a proposal of marriage, a pregnancy test result, the call about that baby you've been wanting your whole life. Waiting can make you feel like you are powerless, and must rely on someone else's decision about what happens in your life.

The good news is that you're not powerless. More on that next week when we talk about that dreaded subject - the waiting list. In the meantime, though, you need to keep busy, if only to reduce your own anxiety about the next stage. There are lots of things you can help your child do to prepare themselves for the next stage. It can be as simple as making sure there is continuity in their life by planning activities over the summer with current friends, while attending events at their next school; or as methodical as reviewing subject matter with them or signing them up for an enrichment activity so they feel more confident going on to the next level. It can be about just being there for them as they learn how to dance through transitions, those big unknowns that will be happening the rest of their lives.

Waiting isn't really waiting, it's life - everything changes, and this is just another change. A bigger change, maybe, but you can help your child transition through it just by being there for them and not getting engulfed in your own anxiety. It will all work out. Everyone winds up in a school, unless they choose not to (but that's another subject).

In the meantime, for those of you moving on from public schools, and interested in applying to private middle and high schools, you may have learned that there is an entrance exam involved, called the ISEE (Independent School Entrance Exam). This test is part of the application process for most private  schools, after 2nd grade. In order to gear up for the test, you might want to use this summer for some prep time.

Academic Success Coaching is offering a summer ISEE Prep Course, a two-week class preparing students for the 7th and 8th grade version of the ISEE. The classes will be taught at St. Matthew's School in the Pacific Palisades, during the weeks of June 28-July 9 and July 12-July 23. Call Academic Success Coaching directly for more details, at 310.823.4398. And please do tell them that I referred you!

For those of you contemplating a major transition the following year, there are still school tours this spring. Check out my school tour calendar at www.LAschoolscout.com.

And for those of you looking for summer activities, we get notices daily of everything going on in the greater L.A. area and beyond, including specialty camps, family camps and sleep away camps in California and elsewhere, and summer abroad programs for ages 12 and up.

There is so much going on in L.A. that you can find almost anything you might be looking for in a camp, for children as young as 4 and as old as 18. For a summer camp program tailored to your child's interests, contact me directly.

 

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This morning I was watching that distinctly California phenomenon on TV - the freeway car chase. As I watched the car raced on, as if oblivious to the armada of police cars looming behind her. I say her, because suddenly I felt deeply sympathetic with that lone driver, frantically trying to get somewhere. I knew that driver - it had to be a mom, racing to get her kid to school on time. Who else would have that sense of urgency? That mom - that was me!

And it will, at some point, be all of you. Yes, sad but true, we can't stay in preschool forever, and big kid school expects you to get your child there on time. Kindergarten is not preschool, there are actually rules about these pesky things like getting your child to school on time. In Kindergarten they expect all kinds of other things too, some of which strike terror in your heart, not knowing if your child is up for the level of independence, focus and social savoir faire required of even Kindergarteners.

In preschool they help your child with all kinds of developmental and learning tasks; in Kindergarten they teach, and expect your child to rise to the occasion and be ready to learn. For some of you the daily routine and the longer hours will be new. For some, your child spent more time in preschool, and now you have to figure out what to do about that whole second half of the day. Whatever the issue, it will be a transition.

And transitions can be challenging. There are some simple things you can do to prepare for them. Chief among them - expect that your child will rise to the occasion, that they are ready and eager to learn. You may not be quite ready for them to be more independent of you - but they are ready. Trust me on this. They will always be one step ahead here. The best gift you can give your child is the knowledge that they can do this and be brilliant at it.

The other gift you might want to give them, and your family, is more family time those first couple of weeks of Kindergarten. I'll be reminding you of this later on, but for those of you already planning your vacation time, consider part of that time being the first week or two of school. In fact, this is just as true for kids transitioning to middle and high school as well - these major life steps are exhilarating, exhausting, and you'll want to be there for that time. There will be a lot to process, bugs in your schedule to work out. The gift of family time, mommy time - that always works. It always works.

And in the meantime - enjoy preschool, or elementary, or middle, or high school. The next transition is just around the corner.

 

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So here it is - you've done everything you need to do, put in your private school applications, sweated through the interviews, got the magnet application and charter apps in on time (or did you?), and now you're standing on the sidelines, twiddling your thumbs, praying for someone to want your child in their school. You might be feeling - how can I put this - helpless.

But you're not helpless. For one, spring is the perfect time to tour public schools, and I think you might be pleasantly surprised at what's out there, and which schools might really want you. So instead of waiting around for an answer, go ahead and take a look at some schools that might not have been on your radar. Yes, you might still get into what you thought was your dream school, but you might also find your new dream school.

Remember some of the priorities high on your list - excellent teachers, an engaged and responsive administration, a great new community for your family. You can find all of these things in public schools. Okay, not every public school, but there are some excellent schools out there. So instead of eliminating the option, get out there over the next month and take a look at those schools. 

First, visit your neighborhood public school. I can't stress this enough - you shouldn't eliminate the option before you even see what it's all about. Then tour the schools you've heard about, that you would need to permit into. This can include other districts, dual language programs - there are a lot of options out there. Public schools are all touring this month, so take advantage of it and get out there.

I'm a big fan of the Wiseburn School District, for example, touring this month (http://www.wiseburn.k12.ca.us/new/default.html); or the Glendale School District (http://www.gusd.net/gusd/site/default.asp), whose dual language immersion programs include Korean, Spanish, Italian, German and Armenian options. Santa Monica schools are having their Kindergarten round-ups this week (http://www.smmusd.org/). Just as a reminder, you can find most tours listed on my tour calendar at www.LAschoolscout.com.

 

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For all of you struggling with inexplicable teenage behavior, this NPR article is a story every parent should read about the development of the teen brain and how it works - which is not sounding very different from the 2-year old brain, or the 8-year old brain:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124119468

 

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Dear Friends and Clients,

I know that you're used to receiving my email newsletters on Tuesdays, so first, let me apologize for being a day late. It's not that I've been glued to the screen, watching the Winter Olympics. No, I had a far better reason - I simply had one of those weekends when my technology seemed to be in meltdown mode - first my printer, then my cell phone. Since I have a virtual IT department inconveniently located in another state instead of on-site, it took most of yesterday, and some of today, for me to deal with this, and get myself back up and able to communicate.

So secondly, let me apologize to anyone who has tried unsuccessfully to reach me from Sunday on. If you left a message, I didn't receive it, and apparently my phone company couldn't retrieve it either. Please try again - whether or not your message was time-sensitive, I would love to hear from you.

What does all this have to do with your search for the right school for your child?

I started thinking about being late, and what that means, and how many of you figure out sometime during the school year - like now - that your child's current school situation is either not working for them, or unsatisfactory in some fundamental way. You call in despair about being "too late" to apply anywhere for next year. But the truth is, except for some hard-and-fast deadlines - like those for charters and magnets - there is always a way to find a better situation for your child.

First, determine who is unhappy and why - is your child struggling either emotionally, socially or academically, or are you feeling unconnected to your new school? If, after meeting with the relevant school staff, you are fairly certain that the school isn't serving your child's best interests,  you might decide to look for another school. Don't listen to people who tell you it's too late, or that you don't have any other options. There are always options. True, you won't have the option of applying to a magnet school past the deadline for applications. Ditto for charter schools, each with its own timeline. But there are many schools that will welcome your application, late or not.

I sincerely hope that you're having a successsful school experience. If for any reason you need to talk out your options, I'd be happy to schedule a phone appointment with you. You can reach me on my direct line at 310.926.0050;

And now for upcoming events:

Sunday, Feb. 28 - MUSE, a Reggio-inspired Elementary is having the first of its "Sunday Fundays," this one about Math & Materials, from 10am-noon. RSVP to 310.455.4400. This event is free.

Sunday, March 14 - a MUSE "Sunday Funday," this one is about Bringing Books To Life, from 10am-noon. RSVP to 310.455.4400. This event is free.

There is a new parenting series with the great parent educator, Tandy Parks:

The Point of Parenting:  A Basic Course for Parents
   (text being used is: Easy To Love / Difficult To Discipline)

To register or learn more, contact Tandy Parks, MPH 310 396 9216.

Please let me know if you have any topics you'd like me to cover in future newsletters. And, as always, please pass this along to anyone you think might be interested.

 

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Dear Friends, Clients and Subscribers,

If it seems like you're receiving more emails from me recently - you are. What with all of the information to make available as we wind down the application and admissions season, I think it's only fair to update you on a more regular basis. I promise to scale back in a month or two.

In the meantime, some of you may have read the article in the L.A. Times this week, talking about the sudden plight of Beverly Hills permit students who are finding that they can no longer plan to attend Beverly Hills High. I was interviewed regarding the effect on students of Beverly Hills Unified School District's Board of Education vote last month not to renew permits for the eighth-graders and other elementary students. You might want to go ahead and Read the Article, but what has become abundantly clear is that for those of you who were thinking about permitting into Beverly Hills, this is no longer an option.

While some of you are already looking into your public options, or applied to various private schools around town, interestingly enough, in the wake of this article I've received a flurry of calls and emails from schools, and families at the different schools, which still have spaces available for high school students - and for other grades as well. These schools might not have been on your radar, so I'm going to feature them here.

 

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I know I've promised a bi-weekly email, not a weekly one, but sometimes breaking news takes precedence.

Some of you might be bewildered by the notice you received last week from LAUSD, indicating that you had zero magnet points - based on your neighborhood school, which is, as far as anyone can tell, a PHBAO school - shorthand for a school with students who are primarily from one non-white ethnic group. Suddenly, however, the rules have changed, and this is what the Magnet Division is saying:

PHBAO requirements have changed. To determine PHBAO status, the district now only looks at the students at each school who are from the neighborhood (for whom the school is their "home school"), not students that are part of a magnet or on permit. So, even if only 5% of the school's population is from the neighborhood, if those few students are primarily Caucasian, then the school will no longer be considered a PHBAO school.

This is a big change and has caused many Westside schools to lose their PHBAO status. This is, I know, a big blow to those of you who have been counting on getting those magnet points. You will still accumulate waiting list points, but for those of you applying to Kindergarten a magnet school might be out of reach for you this year.

There is still time to explore Kindergarten options - including charters, dual language immersion programs, and yes, your neighborhood public school. Please don't discount your neighborhood school until you've had a chance to tour it and decide for yourself. If you aren't sure what that school is you can find it on the LAUSD school finder, at: http://notebook.lausd.net/schoolsearch/selector.jsp.

 

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Whether you're looking for preschool or elementary school (or middle or high school, for that matter), there are so many great schools in Los Angeles - and so many types of schools -  that it can be confusing to figure out which school is right for your child. You will need to do your homework on what feels right for you and your family.

One way to do that is to tour different types of schools. You might have decided that you're only interested in one type of school, or in certain well-known schools, based on what you've heard around town. And yes, it's great to get recommendations from family and friends, neighbors, and anyone with an opinion on the matter. But what is good for one person doesn't always work for everyone.

I can't emphasize this enough - hearsay, rumor and opinion just doesn't cut it when it comes to finding the right school for your child. This goes for preschool, Kindergarten - even middle school, public schools as well as private. Based on some thoughtless words from an opinionated teenager, one family I know refused to even look at a school that is eminently suited to their child. Their loss, and so pointless.

So my advice to you is to do your homework and see as many schools as possible, and preferably different types of schools, and base your decision on your own opinion, and not that of others. Make sure you're looking at them for your child, not just yourself (this can be a challenge!).

If you need a checklist as to what to look for when touring a school, please contact me directly and I'd be happy to send you a checklist. You can reach me on my website at www.LAschoolscout.com, via email at sandy@LAschoolscout.com, or by calling 310 926 0050.

If you're thinking about or looking at preschools, you might want to check out this exhibit:

The Wonder of learning: The Hundred Languages of Children is an exhibit of the infant-toddler centers of the Reggio Emilia schools in Italy. The exhibit explores the Reggio style of learning, so if you're looking at preschools, this would be a good place to start to see what this style of learning is all about.
 

The exhibit is located on the Fairmont Miramar Hotel and Bungalows parking lot, on 2nd St. just orth of Wilshire Blvd., across the street form the Fairmont Hotel.

Address: 1129 Second Street, Santa Monica, CA 90401. 

Operating Hours: From January 31, 2010 at 12:00pm through April 25, 2010

The Opening Event, sponsored by First Presbyterian Nursery School, is this Thursday through Saturday, January 28 - January 30, and will be located at First Pres. For more information, or to register, visit www.reggioexhibitla.com.

Application update:

Applications for the Palisades Charter Complex schools' lottery will be available next week. Just as a reminder, you can only apply to one of the elementary schools in the group: Canyon, Kenter, Topanga, Palisades Elementary and Marquez.

For magnet schools, you can still put in a late application. The late application deadline is Friday, January 29. This is not a postmark deadline. You can still get applications in the Choices brochure, available at your local district office. Contact me directly if you need help finding your district office.

 

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With the private school application period at an end, some of you are now turning to the public schools to see what's out there. Please do check out the Tour Calendar on my website at www.LAschoolscout.com for schedules of school tours taking place now and throughout the spring. All of the charters hold their lotteries sometime in the next couple of months - the dates are different for each charter - so make sure you tour and apply if that is your preferred option. Not sure? Just give me a call at 310.926.0050 if you need to talk out your options. There are choices out there, including newly chartered schools such as WISH (Westside Inclusive School House) Charter Elementary, located in Westchester; and Citizens of the World Charter K-8, located in Hollywood.
Their lottery applications are available now.

You might also be interested in checking out another new charter, Citizens of the World, a K-8 charter. While they don't yet have an address, they plan to be located in Hollywood. If interested, contact them directly through their website at: http://www.citizensoftheworld.org/index.html

Some of you may be unsure as to whether your child is ready for Kindergarten, or whether they need another year of preschool, or a pre-K, DK, or TK. Birthdays aside, early childhood development takes the time it takes, and even children who might be "ready to learn" academically might not be developmentally ready for the social-emotional challenges of elementary school. And trust me, Kindergarten is not preschool. 

While the public schools accept any child into Kindergarten who will reach the age of 5 by December 2 of the year they would start Kindergarten, private schools are moving in the direction of  later and later start dates, particularly for boys. It is not unusual for a private school to have a June 1 cut off for boys, and September 1 for girls.

Of course what you decide to do is entirely up to you. No matter what your friends and relatives are planning, no matter what you yourself have been planning, you are the person who knows your child best. Will they be stressed or elated by the level of academics and personal responsibility that will be asked of them in Kindergarten? Seek a variety of opinions here if you're not certain - your child's teacher and preschool director will be your best resource to start. Not all Kindergartens are created equal, so before you make a definitive choice you might want to take a look at a variety of schools to see what would really work for your child.

As always, if the whole process of finding an elementary school - the right elementary school - is keeping you awake at night, please call me! I will do my best to dissipate that cloud of worry surrounding your school search. That's what I do.

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Kindergarten Readiness – Is It Time?

This is the time of year when some of you are quite anxious – is your child going to be ready for Kindergarten when September rolls around? Better yet, are they going to be prepared for their upcoming “child assessment day” at the private schools you’re considering? Should you really consider keeping them in preschool for an extra year? What is everyone looking for anyway?

While there isn’t one simple answer to these questions, I’d like to share some guidelines you might take a look at, in this article from the Child Success Center in Santa Monica. Hopefully their pointers about what Kindergarten readiness means will provide some answers. And hopefully this will help you in your personal quest to make the best possible choices for your child.

GiveYour Child a Strong Start to

Kindergarten!

(This article was excerpted and reprinted with the permission of the ChildSuccessCenter, 828  Pico Blvd. #7, Los Angeles, CA90405, 310.899.9597)

Helping children start school ready to learn is critical to their future success and to the well being of society as a whole.

Many parents worry that their child will enter kindergarten behind if he or she has not mastered all of the academic skills listed on various k-readiness publications found on the Internet. While there are many important skills that your child should know or be familiar with to start kindergarten with confidence (we will list these later), one of the most important indicators of a child’s success in school is readiness to learn! For example, children don’t need to know HOW to read before kindergarten, but they need to practice the skills to GET READY to read!

K-readiness or starting school “ready to learn,” may mean different things to different people. At First 5 California, the California Commission on Children and Families, school readiness means “making sure that all young children enter school physically, and emotionally healthy and ready to succeed.” (http://www.ccfc.ca.gov/Help/abc.asp)

We often fall into the habit of judging our child’s readiness to begin school by checking off a long list of academic skills. It is important to always consider the individual growth and development of our children both academically as well as socially and emotionally. While many children are ready to begin kindergarten at age five, age is not the only predictor. Each child is different and develops at a different rate.

Is My Child Ready for Kindergarten?

At the ChildSuccessCenter, we believe in focusing on the whole child and strengthening the basic underlying skills and sensory processing systems to help children build strong foundations for successful learning. These important stepping-stones for success in school include: (Click on each skill area for more information)

• Social/Emotional Regulation
• Attention
• Language and Communication Skills
• Reading Skills
• Fine Motor Skills
• Visual Processing Skills
• General Knowledge and Motor Skills

• Social/Emotional Regulation

• Makes needs known
• Interacts with other children
• Demonstrates independence in personal care
• Separates from parents by appearing comfortable and secure without parent
• Understands actions have cause and effect
• Starts to follow rules
• Labels and expresses feelings and emotions

• Attention

• When used as a readiness skill for starting kindergarten, kids should be able to sit still and pay attention for about 10 to 15 minutes at a time

• Language and Communication Skills

• Studies show that kindergarten teachers list communication skills as the most important indicator of kindergarten readiness
• Repeats many words, phrases, syllables and sounds
• Uses adjectives and adverbs extensively in conversation
• Knows opposites such as “on-off,” “big-little,” “heavy-light,” and “hard-soft”
• Counts to ten
• Speaks intelligibly (articulations may persist)
• Follows three step commands without help
• Understands simple time concepts, such as “morning,” “later,” and “tomorrow”
• Uses long sentences, including some compound and complex constructions

• Reading

• Knows the difference between print and pictures and knows that print is what you read
• Recognizes print around him/her on signs, etc.
• Knows that each letter in the alphabet has a name
• “Writes” or scribbles messages
• Shows interest in books and reading
• Can follow the series of events in some stories
• Asks and answers questions related to a story

• Fine Motor Skills

• Copy letters and shapes, such as circles and squares
• Ability to sit with upright posture at table and chairs
• Participate in drawing and coloring for 15 min.
• Consistent hand dominance
• Holds a pencil correctly with dynamic tripod pencil grasp
• Ease and successful scissor manipulation
• Ability to use fingers for small motor manipulation such as beading, craft activities, leggos, etc.

• Visual Processing Skills

• Ability to see similarities and differences in visual images
• A child uses visual perception to recognize subtle differences between letters such as “f” vs. “t” and “t” vs. “x”
• The visual memory system allows a child to give meaning to visual images and is used to recall letter formation and sight words
• Visual acuity - the ability to see clearly
• Ocular motor- tracking, convergence, midline crossing, quick localization

• General Knowledge and Motor Skills

• Identifies body parts
• Can draw a vertical and horizontal line
• Cut paper with blunt scissors
• Understands ideas of numbers, days of the week

 

 

Top 10 Indicators of K-Readiness:

Ask yourself these questions…

1. Does my child understand concepts of a story?
2. Does my child follow rules and respect the people around him/her and their belongings?
3. Does my child know the difference between work and play?
4. Can my child follow two or three oral directions?
5. Can my child start and finish a task?
6. Can my child listen to a story in a group setting?
7. Can my child get along in a cooperative learning environment?
8. Does my child make his/her needs known?
9. Does my child demonstrate independence in personal care?
10. Is my child curious and enthusiastic about trying new activities?

This article was excerpted and reprinted with the permission of the Child Success Center, 828  Pico Blvd. #7, Los Angeles, CA90405, 310.899.9597. For copies of the complete article, please contact the Child Success Center directly.

If you’ve done all the reading and gone on all the tours and still feel stymied, should you need someone to bounce your ideas off of, please feel free to give me a call at 310.926.0050. If you’re not sure if your child is ready for kindergarten and have questions about your child’s Kindergarten readiness, call Sandy Eiges directly at 310.926.0050 to schedule an assessment, or call the Child Success Center to schedule a screening at (310) 899-9597.