VPK registrations are due at the end of the month at my son's school. There are 5 different VPK teachers, and you can request certain ones. There are only 2 I'm interested in; the one I really want and the other that's a close 2nd. They're both great teachers, but one's a little more loving, and my son is pretty sensitive. But my son's closest friend, who's been in class with him for K2 and K3, has requested my #2 pick. Would you go with the class you child's best friend is in (still a great class), or the class you really want? This year was pretty tough on DS, and he cried almost every day at drop off until last month. The one thing that always perked him up was seeing his BFF waiting on him. I'm just worried that moving him to a different class than him would be even rougher. But they aren't going to go to the same elementary schools, so I don't know if I should just break it up now?
-
I would probably do the teacher you think would be the best fit for your son - so not the one his friend is in. But I'd try to balance it by making sure there were opportunities for him to play with his friend outside of school so things don't change too much.
-
@BananaPancakes: do you think the friendship will be maintained through play dates and such? If so, it makes sense to keep them in the same class to help your son acclimate. By the time he starts K he will be one year older and have another year of this boys friendship to build him up.
If not, then it makes sense to just put him with the teacher you like best.
-
@regberadaisy: We're friends with his parents, so we see him often outside of school. I feel like preschool friendships are pretty fluid, though, so while he says he's his best friend and they are attached at the hip in class now, I don't know if it will really matter. I wouldn't even be worried about it if this year hadn't started out so crappy. He did so well last year, but he had such a hard time adjusting to a new teacher and new students this time around, I'm just stressed that he'll be broken-hearted if they aren't in the same class. Even my husband is like "we can just use my sister's address to put them in the same elementary." Ha ha. We're fostering co-dependency up in here.
-
I would break them up now, because if the first teacher is really loving, she'll help him through it. I typically go the past of least resistance with my son, but I would look at it as skills building. Once he learns how to deal with something, he'll have that in his toolkit for next year.And I'd rather he do that in a physical environment he's familiar with, rather than new school, new teacher, new friends all at once.
-
I would pick the teacher I prefer - they will probably still see each at school and you can always have playdates
-
Can you ask his current and potential future teachers what they recommend based on their knowledge of your son? This can't be the first time they've seen this situation and they might have some insight. Also, do the classes ever get together for activities or outside time or whatever? If he'll still see his friend regularly even though they aren't in the same class, I'd probably vote for going with the first choice teacher.
-
@looch: Ooh, good point about him having to cope with everything new at once for kindergarten. I know they'd still see each other in school next year since they'd likely end up on the playground together.
-
@PurplePeony: I'll do that! I can talk to his teacher tomorrow. My #2 pick is actually in an adjoining room with her, and I know they're close, so I think she'd know for sure if I should request the other teacher knowing my son's personality well.
- Google Plus
- Stumbleupon
- Twitter
- Facebook
- Pinterest
- Favorite0
8 comments