Parents of Preschoolers  Discussion Forum

Hi,

I am a monther of a 3 years old boy. We are planning to shift to US from Bangalore in March next year. Can anyone please tell me about the education system there. My son goes to a pre-school here. I am expecting him to go to a similar set-up there.
Most probably we would be in bay area. Any directions/views/information on what I should expect there in terms of eduction system and what would be expectation of school from a child would be very helpful. Also what are the good pre-schools there and if I should stay in some specific part of city. What is the admission process there and should I prepare my son for anything specific. Any directions would be a great help.

Thanks in advance for taking out the time to help me.
bea replied. I teach in a preschool in the USA. A three year old would definitely go to a private preschool, la Petite academy is worth trying, kindercare, and Chesterbrook academy are worth looking at too. These are large chains and follow the same curriculum all over the USA. So even if you move your child will follow the same method. They mostly follow the creative curriculum. The program is child centered and age appropriate. Nothing much is demanded from the child and there is NO interview for the child. Just an informal walk through the preschool, and an informal interview with the parents.
Good luck. A replied. Hello,
Bay area is a good place to be for Indians in the US. Due to lot of Indians/Asians here there are umpteen number of good schools in the bay area. Some schools after kindergarten have waiting period for admission due to heavy demand. But since your child is going to preschool there should not be issues.
Preschools in US are very good. The teachers are very friendly ...lot of kid orineted activities. Everything is play based , they do not force kids into anything. Usually its for 3 hours and depending on the wheater they have outdoor play also. All the preschools are equipped wiht lots of books, colouring activities ,puzzles and crafts. Please do not expect that like india your child will start writing/reading very soon here.
As far as the education system there are private and public schools. Public schools are free and extremely good. To be able to go to a public school u shud live in a house/rent an apartment in the jurisdiction of that public school. The public school also provides free bus transportation.
In private schools there is geneerally huge fees plus u have to do drive urself and do the pick/drop for the kid. Private schools are little better in terms of academics. Most people opt for public schools since u dont have to pay fees and yet get good education, and use this money for teaching other activiities like swimming/tennis to your child. Once u have ur address u can search in the internet for preschools in ur area ,all schools here are registred so u will gete the entire list.Hope this was useful.
Good luck
A