Preschool

Getting into a preschool in NYC is harder than getting into Harvard. That's the premise of a new documentary about the preschool admissions process in NYC. Nursery University follows six families from different walks of life as they navigate, ruminate and, ultimately, dominate the preschool process.

Nursery University starts by drawing you in to the all too familiar drama of NYC preschool admissions, beautifully capturing every piece of "park bench wisdom" that's ever passed the lips of a distraught NYC parent. Beware: this part of the film made me so sick I almost stopped watching it, about to shrug Nursery University off as yet another piece of media hype feeding the fire of parent's anxiety rather than portraying a real and balanced picture of preschool admissions.

It turns out the directors had me just where they wanted me.

While searching far, wide and near for today’s roundup of links I’ve been reminded of the terrible stress of putting your kid in daycare for the first time.  There is a universal maternal (and paternal!) tension around this topic.  After the jump is a personal recommendation for my peeps in Brooklyn.  Also: exploring the fear of getting separated from your kids on the subway, a new tool for measuring the alcohol content in your breast milk, and listen sister – let’s make sure you’re not smearing one of the eleven worst facial moisturizers on your mug, OK?

The DOE has left 6000 Pre-K spots vacant this school year and is now scrambling to fill them. With a deadline of October 31st, the city is urging parents to apply for these free public Pre-K spots still available at some of NYC's top public schools. We've got the inside scoop on what's going on and how to get one of these free Pre-K spots.

This is traditionally the week that competitive preschools open their application process, but more and more parents, tired of vying for the same few spots, are opting out of the preschool rat race and looking to preschool alternatives. At the same time, some dedicated parents are creating their own alternatives by starting co-operative neighborhood preschools.

Preschool is a magical time and a lot of that magic comes from the warm, nurturing, creative environment of the school. Little neighborhood preschools and preschool alternatives, whether started by parents or well established can make the preschool years the most magical ones of all.

You know the main thing I worry my kids are missing out on in their education in New York? It's not so much math, social studies or reading. It's Creativity. I don't mean art. I mean just random, wacky NYC Creativity. This post is about a really cool new preschool, a hot educational philosophy, and a preschool parenting talk that are all aimed at putting more of that big C type of creativity back into childhood.

It's pretty much generally accepted knowledge that to get your toddler into preschool in NYC one has to sit on the phone with her fingers hovering over the redial button on the day after Labor Day in order to be one of the lucky few who will receive an application - forget about getting accepted.

While it's true that there are a handful of schools that really do seem to put their prospective parents through this absurd torture, for the most part this whole story is a big myth. I'm not saying that getting into preschool in NYC is easy (actually it can be), but there is absolutely no reason why schools should make parents do this and very few still do.

In the New York Times this weekend an article depicts Nutritional Sciences Preschool in Brunswick, New Jersey as a preschool on the forefront of a new trend - preschools with a curriculum focus on nutrition.

The NY Sun illuminates a new twist to preschool admissions madness (via daddytypes) by pointing out the apparent trend to supply resumes and custom DVDs of your toddler with their preschool application. They then go on to destroy the tactic with several preschool personnel weighing in on how this would essentially get your application disqualified.

The article doesn't hold any big surprises. Any sane human being should be able to figure out that preschools are not looking for toddlers to have media kits and that this is precisely the type of showing off that turns people off. (see Are First Choice Letters Nuts?)

What was interesting was the proclamation that parents are skipping preschool all together just to avoid the madness of the application process:

We received this Reader -Submitted Review for the Educational Alliance Preschool, but it's such an excellent under -the-radar preschool that we wanted to include it, with a little bit more background from the Mommy Poppins team.

If you would you like to review your child’s preschool or ongoing school, send it to Mommy Poppins. Or, if you have additional thoughts or questions for our readers about Education Alliance Preschool, leave a comment below.

The Educational Alliance is an organization which runs the Sol Goldman 14th Street Y and many other community centers, including two preschools. In addition to the Educational Alliance Preschool that our reader reviews below, they run the Gani Preschool which is located on 14th Street in Manhattan. Children at both schools learn Jewish studies, but the schools are very diverse and have many non-Jewish kids as well.

The Education Alliance is a very well-respected preschool in Education circles. I have first hand experience of hearing an ongoing preschool Director make an exception for a student based on the recommendation from the Preschool Director at the Ed Alliance - isn't that the holy grail for preschools? The Educational Alliance Preschools definitely fall into the Under-the-Radar Preschool category.

A Mommy Poppins reader who has a child at the school has submitted this preschool review for Chelsea Day School on 14th Street. It's not under-the-radar preschool by any means, but it is a wonderful school worth looking into for your children.

If you would you like to review your child’s preschool or ongoing school, send it to Mommy Poppins. Or, if you have additional thoughts or questions for our readers about Chelsea Day, leave a comment below.

Chelsea Day is a fabulous preschool, held together by its principle, Jean Rosenberg, with some exceptional teaching staff. Unfortunately it too is in the ranks of the "very difficult" to get in to. But its certainly worth trying.