SO I found out that Play and Learn are having an open house for anyone interested in attending and looking at the school. Doesn't hurt to go check it out.


Abbott Preschool Program

? September 2009 Enrollment ?


OPEN HOUSE
Play & Learn School
2606 Kennedy Boulevard
Wednesday, March 18th
9:30am through 11:30am
201.435.6042

Your child must meet the following requirements for enrollment in the Abbott Preschool Program:
? Your child must be three years old by October 1, 2009
(Original Birth Certificate required for registration)
? You and your child must be residents of Jersey City
(Utility Bill Required for registration)
? Your child must be immunized in accordance with Board of Health Regulations
(Immunization required for registration)

I am also looking for Nursery School options for my son who will be 3 in Sept. I am trying to find a decent Abbott program because the $$ for private school may be prohibitive (my neighbor by the way had her son in Garden Preschool Cooperative and highly recommends it). I live in the Heights and am looking at Parkside Preschool and St. John's Nursery School (both Abbott programs, both in Heights). If anyone has any opinions on these or any other programs (including Play and Learn School) I would really appreciate it! Thanks!

I've heard wonderful things about Garden Preschool as well as the Hamilton Park Montessori School - also in the same location.

I would highly recommend sitting in the classroom and observing to see what the environment is like. Most reputable schools will allow you to do so. It will give you a flavor of the environment.

Another often overlooked item when considering a school is parental involvement. Ask if parents are encouraged to participate in the decision-making of the school. Is there a parent board, PTA, or other parent oriented group that is active in the school? No parental involvement (if it's a school environment - not daycare) is usually a sign of a dictator-like director and that is bad news, in my humble opinion.

Have you checked out the Garden Preschool Cooperative at Hamilton Park? It was started by a group of downtown parents in 1995. Formerly located at Grove and York, it's now 1 McWilliams Place. They just had an open house yesterday, and application deadline for next year is Feb 16. Both my children went there.

http://gardenpreschool.org/

She is going to be 3 in Sept. so I know schools will be registering within the next few months.

How old is your daughter?

That sounds like really old school stuff. Perhaps before abbott or it could've just been a mean teacher.

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I never saw that.

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I really hope that they are not doing that as punishment. As a preschool teacher myself I find that highly unacceptable. Abbott programs are good because they get a good amount of state aid, but definitely stay on top of everything that goes on in the classroom. Also, ask what curriculum they use and what there method is of dealing with children who misbehave. Time-out can be used successfully, but making a child stand in a square is not an appropriate use of time-out.

Do they still make the kids stand in a square that's taped on the floor as a punishment?

I used to volunteer there when I was a teenager. It was a lot of fun! They do all sorts of educational activities, sing, dance, draw, make arts and crafts, and even have a nice nap time.

I also volunteered during their after school program for the parents who got out of work late. We would do more arts and crafts or watch fun kid videos while waiting for the parents to show up.

Though the building itself isn't really the greatest, the staff are pretty nice and down to earth people. I think they still get a lot of volunteer help from St. Dominic Academy during the school year, so a lot of the younger ladies that you may see there are actually high school girls doing a service class (Which is how I got started.)

I'm looking for a school for my daughter. I've heard some good things about Play and Learn on Kennedy Blvd. Has anyone had their child there? I know they have two locations and they are part of the abbott program


I'm not crazy about some of the private ones I've seen. The directors and staff seem so fake and pretentious.