3 year old kinder in 2013 - who else is going?

My son started at Montessori school last May just after he turned 3. He's been in the toddler program and he loves it. He goes 2 hours, twice a week. Next year he should be moving up into Cycle One, which is the next level, and when he does that my DD1 (who will have just turned 2) will start in the Montessori Early Learner's Class while DS is in Cycle One. Her class is with me in the room with her though, so DD2 will come along for a play on her playmat :) Actually, by then she'll probably need to be contained in a play activity table thing hehe.

If anyone over the Western area of Melbourne is interested in Montessori, the Bacchus Marsh Montessori (where we travel to twice a week) is having an open day tomorrow! :D

Well I just received confirmation of DD's place in the playschool for next year. It is all very real now and I am a bit scared!!! We have an open day to meet her teachers on December 1st... I really hope she loves it! I don't know if I will be able to handle tears and not wanting to go!

Got DD2's paperwork last week, fees due for first term next week... Awww my princess.
Still don't know days or orientation day yet :(

We have the meeting next week where we'll get all the info, days etc. I requested an afternoon session so hopefully that is what Moo gets, we got the first round though so should be fine. I don't think ours has an orientation but guess I'll find out!

We got DD's 2 weeks ago with her roster for the first 3 weeks of term next year. She has 2 weeks - 2 mornings a week - of 1 hours sessions then the 3rd week she goes to 2 2 1/2 hr sessions, we have orientation to hand in all the paperwork in 2 week but I'm still waiting to find out what the fees will be an when we have to pay them by.

We've already paid fees, filled in about 3 cm worth of paperwork and know all our days. We are Tues morning and Thurs arvo for 3 hours each. Parent info night next week, orientation starts late Nov with a one hour induction meeting for both parents with DS. Then we have orientation in Jan followed by a few weeks of shorter sessions.

I'm quite worried about how he will go as he hates change. It takes him a few months to settle into new child care rooms each year and I'm wondering if kinder will be that patient.

with any luck they're used to it fiona? hopefully they can put your mind at ease at the information session/orientation.

ds wil be going on tues & friday afternoons, both sessions are 2.5 hours. we have the agm on 26 nov which doubles as a parent info session and then orientation is on 6 dec. the first lot of fees are due by then - this is such an expensive time of year...rego,insurance, two family birthdays and then xmas!

Tell me about it Sloane insane isn't it - we just paid DD1's last term feesm her first term fees for 4yr old kinder in advance, DD2's first term in advance - will have to pay for the uniform (voluntary but it's nice for them to have it) ... money, money, money.

Our AGM is on the 22nd so hopefully they have set dates by then.

Fiona, there will be kids going to kinder who have never been away from mum or dad, so you little one has that advantage. i'm sure the teachers are used to helping kids adjust.

We had our AGM tonight, am so excited about Moo going to preschool next year now! Happy he got the time I asked for which is a 3 hour afternoon session on a Monday :) Am also pleased to see they have a uniform, makes things easier!

Have to take him to meet his teacher (who seems sooo lovely and motherly!) in a couple of weeks and the following week the kiddies have an orientation.

we have the agm this week, and hopefully find out days.

is there anyone else with a young one starting next year? My dd turns 3 in april. for the first term until she turns 3 i will have to stay with her at kinder. i asked if she could do one day first term, and then 2 days for the rest of the year but they couldn't guarantee her place for the rest of the year so i have booked in for 2 days.

Forgot about AGM, meet you there? Dinner before? Lol!

Looking forward to find it out more.

Our AGM is this week as well. I have had to remind and remind DH he needs to be home on time!
Can't wait. I can buy uniform as well if I want. Pretty sure I will :D

Busy busy next year.
Both girls got the groups I wanted - DD2 got a double which is Monday 9-12 and Friday 1-4

Orientation 30th Nov and starts 1 hr sessions next year from 4th feb.

She has 2 of her Besties in the group - HotI's DD and her big sisters Besties lil brother. :)

So is anyone going to join their Kinder Committee?
Does your kinder even have one?

I was thinking about it cheshire - ours has one - but I'm president of the playgroup we go to and I'm most likely doing it again next year and I don't want to take on anything else. I'd like to the next year though. how about you?

DS2 is starting next year as well. He'll be going to an early learning centre (which caters up to year 2). They have been talking about it quite a lot at his childcare centre (which is a feeder for the ELC) and he's super-excited.

We have a committee but positions were full & it's not something that interests me, I volunteer for kinder duty, bought in every fundraising & came for a working bee, will have both girls here next year & will basically be living here anyway ;)

We have a great committee so it's all good!

Yes ours has a committee but I didn't volunteer, even though a few positions went unfilled. Just a bit hard with shift working DH to commit to regular things like that.

Will not be joining the committee. It is compulsory to help out at least once or you get a $50 fine. Happy of course to do that and any fundraising help they need.

I am looking forward to it. It's the first time I have a child at Kinder and not had a younger one to look after...bit excited really.

We had the meeting on Wednesday night. I got DD uniform, T shirts and hat and I need to stock up on some leggings. It's not compulsory, easier though for me.

Now to get onto Toilet Training.....

I'm on the committee, i was this year & will most likely be for the next 4yrs lol
Our kinder is really lacking with helpers & it's sad, it's like pulling teeth trying to get people to help.
It's always the same people who help out.
We had 2 working bees & had less than 10 people show up to each one. That's out of 80 families.
We had no volunteers for the sausage sizzle & the committee family ended up doing that, after term 1 & 2 hardly anyone does Kinder duty.

DD2 is getting DD1 old uniform but DD2 is repeating it so i'm bit worried she'll be bored but i plan on doing a music class Mon, Dancing on Wed & Kinder on Fri.
So hopefully she'll be fine.

We don't have committee for 3yr old at DD's kinder as it is run by one large Community based organisation that does all the Kinders in Ballarat area.

I took all of DD's enrolment details in on Wednesday and got given the fee schedule for next year. For her doing the 2 days (2 x 2 1/2 hr sessions) in terms 1, 2 & 3 and just 1 2 1/2 hr session in term 4 - she will do a pre-pre school 1/2 day at her 4yr old Kinder in the last term next year the fee is $1,102. After getting that bill we have already decided that when the twins go to 3yr kinder they will only be doing 1 day a week as we couldn't pay double that type of bill for them to go 2 days a week.

I'll be on the committee again. I have been for the last 2 years and will be for the next 2. I refuse to take on an office bearer position though - as I just have too much on. As it is, I end up doing some of the larger fundraising jobs anyway.

DD will go on Tuesdays for 2&1/2 hours each week. Our fees for this are most likely going to be the same as this year - $150 a term. It will be nice only having one child at kinder! (DD did 3yo this year to make up numbers for our rural kinder program. SHe's a May 13th baby so missed out on being in 4yo next year by 13 days. She'll do 3yo again in 2013 and then 4yo in 2014. DS was in 4yo this year).

Our Fees are $1200 a year for 2x 3hr sessions a week - Mon 9-12 and Fri 1-4

I'm basically going to be living at kinder with DD1 doing 4yr old aswell as DD2 in 3yr old - (DD1) Mon 9:15 - 2:45, Tues 8:30 - 12:30 and Fri 9:15 - 2:45... Friday is going to be one very hectic kinder day with drop off at 9:15 then again at 1 then pick-up at 2:45 then again at 4.

Did kinder duty today, i love being there for the kids.
Committee would be hard here as DP's hours aren't really predictable and the friends i would ask to have the girls will actually both have kinder at exactly the same times as my girls or be at meetings i would be at anyway.

im on the committee this year and am again for next year, we have 180 families and struggle to get people to working bees :rolleyes: they think someone else will do it...yeah the committee!!

I'm not on the committee. I struggle to fit everything into my week as it is. Plus with DH's long work hours and constant travelling interstate/overseas it would make attending committee meetings difficult and I'd probably miss most of them.
I'll do my bit by participating in fundraising and of course with being on kindy duty (really looking forward to doing that without a younger child this year!).

Olive I'll come to the working bees ;) (or I'll send DH if he's around!)

No committee for me. I'm on the committee of my local toy library and that takes up lots of my time. (My role is to buy the toys - rad!)

I'd be happy to help for events though at kinder.

we had our agm last night. I managed to keep my hand down for any committee positions (an achievement for me) although there were a couple of grants subcommittee positions that weren't filled...they don't go to meetings so maybe I could fit that in?!

we received an info handout - all a bit overwhelming! and ds is in,the same group as the one other boy that he knows, which is nice. orientation on friday for an hour and then we apparently have interviews in january as well.

DS has orientation today for 1 hour. He's going with DH as I've had too much time off work lately. Bit sad I'm not there.

Orientation on Friday for Miss Z for an hour, works well as DH has a trade BBQ that day so he is going to stay home with DD1 so Miss Z can go to kinder all by herslef, no big sister around.

Am ordering her her very own t-shirt and jumper eve though the ones DD1 has will fit, but it will mean they both have 2 each (she can use the old one aswell) but it gives her something of her own to wear.

She's really looking forward to it, she loves helping with kinder duty so going on her own is going to be awesome for her.
She's very excited to be going with her friends and i think 1 of the girls at her gymnastics class might also be in her group.

FF I hope your ds has a great time. :hug: sorry you can't go with him.

zf sounds like your dd2 will be really excited to go to kinder like her big sis! I think I'm going to order some uniform as well. we have tshirts, ls tshirts, polo.shirts and windcheaters. and so many colour options. I don't know what to choose!

Color options, really?
Ours is blue jumper with yellow writing, yellow polo & a blue bucket hat. Lol

DD has orientation on Friday too, she's so excited! She has picked out a special outfit she wants to wear lol! So different to her brothers who wouldn't care less what the wore there. Our kinder doesn't have a uniform, just as well because DD only wants to wear dresses :lol:. No committee joining for me, I have enough on my plate, but good on those who do join :D

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DD has orientation on Friday too, she's so excited! She has picked out a special outfit she wants to wear lol! So different to her brothers who wouldn't care less what the wore there. Our kinder doesn't have a uniform, just as well because DD only wants to wear dresses :lol:. No committee joining for me, I have enough on my plate, but good on those who do join :D

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We have a litle girl at kinder who will only wear dresses too, it's very cute, the teachers were working on getting her to try the uniform etc randomly so when she gets to school she would try and wear the uniform, she was adament she was NOT wearing pants or a jumper :rofl:

Hahaha, that's so cute ZF! I wonder if I'll have the same problem in the lead up to school? I'm so over wardrobe trantrums!

My DD had orientation this morning. She seemed comfortable straight away and i think she checked out everything that was inside (did a painting, played with play dough, made some craft .... 'thing', played in the kitchen, dressups, books). we also got her a tshirt jumper and hat, and they all had to be tried on. just have to decide on a lunch bag or backpack and we are sorted. dh was home too, so it was nice that he could check it out too. we already know one of the teachers which also makes it a bit easier.

sounds like she enjoyed it hoti :)

ds had his orientation this afternoon. he seemed fairly overwhelmed at first (lots of activities set out, lots of noisy children :lol:) but he settled in when he discovered a table set up with dinosaurs :) he also did some painting and played with a doll that was in a highchair - I think it reminded of dd cos he was telling me he couldn't pick it up because he's too small. bit of a meltdown when we got home over something
but I figure that's to be expected.

they gave all the kids a little booklet they'd made that was called 'in 2013 I'm going to x kindergarten'. inside it has pictures of the teachers, where they'll put their drink bottles and lunch box, of the playground, inside etc. I thought that was really cute and a good idea. they also got a brown paper bag with some craft stuff - a couple of crayons, paper circles, couple of feathers etc.

interview is on 1feb and then they ease into the year.

I know there were a few orientations today, how did everyone else's little people go?

DD loved orientation :D. She chatted confidently with the teacher and assistant and had a ball playing there knowing it was for her this time. I also realised how tall she is compared to some of the kids! People keep telling me she's tall, but it's hard to gauge without other three year olds around.

When we picked up her biggest brother from school this afternoon, she proudly told him she went to kinder AND did a painting - too cute!

DD2 enjoyed herself. she was finally at kinder without her big sister and walked in hand in hand with her bestie.
I wasn't sure whether she would just stick with A or go off and do her own thing and she just went and did her own thing which was quite good to see.
She did painting, play dough and lots of gluing.

She already knows the teachers and has a great rapor with them so it was a hug and a kiss as she left and she called daddy the minute we were in the car.

DS has his 1 hour orientation today. How exciting! I"m leaving work early to go with him.

How are all of your little ones going?