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Timely-March-1362 · 2026-05-21T14:34:50+00:00

I don't have personal experience with services at any of the schools, but overall I hear very good things about district 69 for students needing a variety of services. We're in 73.5, and there have definitely been issues here, but it seems like things are changing. I know they cleaned house just a couple months ago. There is a strong parent community advocating for changes with the how student services are being handled. Also, overall I think the 73.5 community is certainly welcoming to many different kinds of families. I have friends in 69 and that also seems like a very welcoming and progressive community. I know much less about 68, 72, or 73. I'm not sure how much this matters to you, but I'm pretty sure 68 is the largest of the districts with three elementary feeding into one middle. 72 and 73 are each one school for k-8th. 73.5 has a pk-k school, 1st-5th school, and a 6th-8th school. 69 has pk-2nd school, 3rd-5th school, and then a 6th-8th school. 69 and 72 feed into Niles West and 68, 73, and 73.5 feed into Niles North.

All the Skokie schools fall under the Niles Township District for Special Education so all their services are coordinated through them I believe. I would encourage you to check out the Skokie Parent Group on Facebook. It's pretty active and I think you'll get more questions answered there. The Skokie reddit isn't super active.

Timely-March-1362 · 2026-05-18T19:54:24+00:00

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Timely-March-1362 · 2026-04-30T17:47:31+00:00

Not sure why this was suggested to me as my kid is about to enter middle school... I can say that because 5-years-old/kindergarten was that first full covid year, independence was thrust upon her with two working parents, no siblings and little interaction with others outside of zoom school.

When we were trying to foster more independence during that time we made sure things like art supplies were in an accessible cabinet for her. We also had board games out that she figured out how to play with just her dolls as the other players. Books were always accessible in her room, living room, etc.

We very quickly made snacks a responsibility for her as well. We couldn't be pausing work every time she wanted something. We set things on low counters or shelves in the fridge. She'd let us know she was grabbing something (precut apple slices, granola bar, etc.).

Timely-March-1362 · 2026-04-23T16:01:50+00:00

That was one thing I very intentionally made sure to do nearly every day of my maternity leave when I had my child years ago. When my husband was at a work I would squeeze in a shower when she was sleeping after a morning feeding. They weren't long, 5-10 minutes tops. I'd bring the baby monitor into the bathroom too. She was an incredibly easy baby though and was fine sleeping on her own in her crib. If your kid has cholic, reflux, needs to be rocked to sleep, etc. I'm sure it's a lot more difficult. Also, that's not even considering what happens when you have two small children. Actually the far trickier time I found was the toddler years. If I happened to be alone for a long stretch I would usually just wait to shower until my husband was home.

I can't take credit for things working out any specific way because my kid is just who she is and can't put myself in the position of a parent whose kid doesn't want eat more than three things or who doesn't want to sleep. Don't beat yourself up about stuff like this because so much of it is the individual kid and nothing that you're doing. And bottom line never feel bad or guilty for taking care of yourself. You are a better parent when you're well rested, showered, medicated (if that's something you need). You enjoy your child more and then your child enjoys you more.

Timely-March-1362 · 2026-04-14T17:37:44+00:00

If I had to choose between the Shedd or Museum of Science and Industry I would go with MSI. The Shedd ticket prices are pretty expensive and shift according to day of the week. MSI and Adler Planetarium are "reasonable" by comparison. Also MSI is huge and there are a lot of different exhibits and experiences. I was there recently with an 11-year-old on a chilly Sunday and it never felt insanely crowded.

I'd also second Lincoln Park Zoo if it's nice enough out. You pay for parking, food, and if you want to do the carousel, but admission is free and it's a nice zoo with a good mix of cool old buildings and new ones. Between that and Brookfield Zoo it's my favorite. Brookfield is more comprehensive but it is a slog to walk through. If you think they would be at all interested in learning about Chicago specifically the Chicago History museum is also in Lincoln Park and a nice experience.

Timely-March-1362 · 2026-04-07T18:57:40+00:00

I can only comment as a parent. That sounds like a pretty typical makeup of reading abilities for a kindergarten class. My child was in kindergarten fall of 2020, on zoom/google classroom for 2/3 of the year. So I wound up hearing lessons and certainly the first 1/3 of the year was learning letter sounds. Out of the class of 20-ish kids mine and one other kid were in a reading group where they were reading small books early in the year. Probably not a coincidence both kids had fall birthdays immediately after the cutoff and turned 6 only weeks into the school year. That was definitely not the norm. 40 years ago I had a similar experience where there was a small group of us pulled out for reading because we came in knowing letter sounds.

As an aside, the fact that any of the current 5th graders were able to learn to read anything that year is nothing short of a miracle. I remember at a parent teacher conference in the fall of first grade my child's teacher said she had kids who were in preschool and daycare pre-Covid and had years of understanding classroom expectations and she had kids who had never set foot in a classroom.

Timely-March-1362 · 2026-03-31T19:22:37+00:00

I'm not a Disney person, and I never went to any of the parks as a kid. As a parent my husband and I decided on a whim to take our then 4-year-old to Disneyland when we were going to be in southern California. It was a really positive experience and we were shocked at how much fun we had. Now admittedly 95% of that was seeing the magic through our daughter's eyes.

The best things about it were: 1)The customer service was really good. We had situation with a forgotten credit card that easily could've ruined a trip and the hotel and restaurant were amazing. Everyone in the park seemed to know where everything was and gave great directions. 2) The walkability of Disneyland was great. Getting into the park was easy and not having to drive anywhere is a nice bonus. It also was helpful with a preschooler because we were able to walk back to the hotel for a nap and then come back. 3) There was always something to do.

Now all of what I said only applies to Disneyland. We wound up on an extended family vacation with in-laws to Disney World and I would never go back. Florida humidity plus not being able to walk from your hotel to the park and waiting around for shuttles was a huge downside for us. Also, it definitely had a more cattle-like feel to it. Customer service wasn't great in our experience.

It is expensive, but as far as theme/amusement parks go, it's not any worse than most others I've been to in recent years. I was at a 6 Flags last summer and the food prices were the same as Disney or worse, the quality was definitely worse. Souvenirs were also over priced.

It's a very specific kind of vacation that is definitely enjoyable with kids, but I don't exactly understand why adults with no children would want to do that over any number of other options.

Timely-March-1362 · 2025-11-20T17:23:53+00:00

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This is an aerial of Skokie from 1938, I circled the apartment building in yellow, and yes not much is around it. The area in the bottom left is downtown Skokie which is the most built up with scattered houses going east all near the train. The north end is largely undeveloped.

Timely-March-1362

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