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//23 but looks 17// Photographer// World Traveler// Ocean Lover// Adventurer //

This is a blog about my life and about traveling. My goal is to inspire others to travel to expand their way of thinking.

Pre-school Hunting

My little sister is 3 years old, and will be 4 soon in September. I went shopping for pre-schools for her on Friday. My dad and step-mom work all the time and they don’t have the time to put much forth energy into it. I began by just driving around Milpitas and tried to recall places that I have passed by in the past. I ended up stopping by 4 of them.

Monarch Pre-school: The first one was interesting. There was no one in the office so I had to talk to the kindergarten teacher. She gave me a quick tour of the class as the kiddies doodled. When they saw me, they call screamed “STRANGER DANGER!!” Haha. At least the kids were taught well! Then, the teacher asked one of the 4 year olds what 11 x 11 was.. and he at first was a bit hesitant to respond in front of me, and then responded 121. WOW SERIOUSLY? I DID NOT KNOW THAT WHEN I WAS THAT YOUNG. Props to that kid. Overall that school seemed education oriented and really strict. I think too much.

Dreamland: The 2nd school I went to was near where I took my SAT class. I loved that the facilities were very welcoming and spacious. As I  was getting a tour a group of the toddlers surrounded me, stuck out their hands as if they were dinosaurs, and all bug-eyed like started growling and RAWR’ing at me. Haha.  I liked that they attempted to even teach the kids SPANISH! WOW! They start em young now [and rightfully so in terms of the critical period hypothesis]. I only disliked the way one of the teachers was talking to the students. It was a bit more authoritarian. 

Montessori Preschool: This school was very modern. You had to punch in a code into a keypad to be able to enter. The building itself was new but it definitely is an office building. Because of this, it didn’t feel as friendly or welcoming. When I entered one of the classes, one kid pointed at me and started laughing, which started a chain reaction throughout the whole class. WOW. Then outside the play area was awesome. They even had a wet/sprinkler play set going on where the kids were running through the water [happens once a week]. The Montessori method pretty much believe that kids will teach themselves through their own curiosity and pace naturally…Given that you provide them enough stimulation and an environment to discover/learn things from.  It’s definitely less strict and lets the kids kinda be free. I think TOO free.

Academia something something: I forget the name. The place wasn’t the hugest but it was sufficient. While I was waiting to speak to one of the afternoon directors, I got to observe one of the classes. I LOVED the way the teacher taught and spoke to the children. It was very kind and gentle but effective. I also had a long conversation with the director about traveling. When she was younger she traveled a lot and even taught English in different countries. She even knows about Cuernavaca, where I went to study Spanish!! Overall I thought the teachers were great. The place was OKAY. And the prices for the program were EXPENSIVE.

Things I learned: