nanny vs creche

YEAH Memo - it seems Jude has found his "home"!!!!!

memo, I saw J this morning when I dropped off Liam and he was perfectly happy. He raced thu to Christelle's class when he heard a new voice, checked us out and charged off back outside, so whatever his reaction when you dropped him off, he was fine.

I believe he is in Natalie's class and she is awesome - soft and gentle and adores children and her class seem to loe her, so much so in fact that she has to carry one of the little girls to her mom's car every afternoon cos the LO does not want to go home. Natalie is actually the reason I originally sent Liam there.

And Emma the class assistant has the patience of a saint !

Gosh Memo sounds like you are having a rough time

Finding the right school can be a challenge.

On the structure - I am with Julz. Kiara would not function in a school where she could do her own thing. She needs the structure. Holidays freak her out a little. She will be fine but after a few days she gets very ratty and acts out - I have to make sure she knows the plan for each day and that there IS a plan for each day! So the structure works well for her.

It also helps them prepare for "big school" if they know that they eat breakfast, then draw/paint, then snack, then play etc etc.

I cant really remember how much play time they had at their schools but I am sure it wasnt much more than an hour if you take into account the things they do in the day.

Kamilah certainly needs the structure else she can really get unruly and she does nothing constructive

My nephew is at Montessori and they also do not have any sort of structure to their day. Let me just say that I do not like what I saw when I fetched him one day They were the most unruly group ever and even at home, him and his friends behave just like that. I am not sure if its the principle of teaching or just them being kids.

At K's school although they do have structure (which I like) they are also allowed free play. At school, they will have to have structure to their day so why not at creche? As long as within their structured day, they are having fun and learning, am all for it

Memo remember many schools have structure but they can educate through play. Dylans school while not Montesorri (I am not into Montesorri) does teaching through play and activities. I realise that structure seems less than ideal for young kids and I would love Dylan to be a free spirit, but ideally it is great to strike a healthy balance.

I guess some kids do well in a structured enviornment where others don't. I think Dylan is better off with Structure to be honest.

@ memo, have you not looked at any of the montesorri schools? I hate "structure" for young kids and always said that for preschool I'd probably go the montesorri route if I wasnt able to keep James home.

wow, what a hideous post as I just reread! I'm not much of a writer today... A little all over the place, lol.. luckily I'm liked here.
Anyway,, Nayeela. Your school also sounds AMAZING! I'm in TAble View though..