It’s never to early, never too late, the time is now

I often get asked, “When should I start thinking about Kindergarten for my child?” Or, “I don’t think my child is thriving at her current school. Should I think about a different school?” Or, “We are thinking about a different middle school or high school? When should we start looking?”

I don’t think it’s ever too early or ever too late to turn a curious eye towards your child whether you are considering a transition or not. Any time is a great time for a parent to be a keen, caring observer so she might nourish her child with just the right environment, at school and at home. Children are learning all the time and everywhere so really anytime you find yourself asking questions about your child’s education is a great time to engage in a process that helps you craft and create the right educational experience for them.

Of course, certain stages and times are more crucial than others. Entering Kindergarten, middle school and high school are some natural times of transition. For parents in these stages, I suggest a slow and intentional start the spring of the year before the child will enter/change schools. For a fall 2012 enrollment, the spring of 2011 is an ideal time to begin your exploration. In this scenario, a parent will go on admissions-focused school visits and open houses (both for public and private schools) in the Fall of 2011. Applications are due January following the visits.

Fall is an extremely busy time for schools and for most parents. Starting in the Spring before allows parents some breathing room to explore and consider their options more widely. It also gives them the opportunity to visit schools when administrators have more time. Such visits give parents a deeper feel for schools, in situations that are not as “primed” for admissions visits. These preliminary visits help parents gain a clear understanding of the many options available and weed out outlier choices so they can focus their search and visits in the fall. A second round of visit to “favorite” schools  in fall allows parents to prepare stronger admissions applications or plea applications for option, gifted and magnet schools in the case of public schools.

Consider attending the next Art of Education workshop this spring. The next workshop is in Bellevue on March 31 from 6-8pm. A Seattle workshop will follow in April. The Art of Education process is applicable to children of all ages (even babies if you are thinking that early) and in all places. If you don’t live in the area and would like to engage in an online webinar, email me with your interest. I plan on offering webinars in the coming months.

I look forward to connecting with you.

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