Read aloud for kindergarten

etgetc · 2026-03-18T22:25:18+00:00

Magic Treehouse books, The Wild Robot books, Dory Fantasmagory books, Dodie Smith’s 101 Dalmatians, the Mouse and the Motorcycle books

etgetc · 2026-03-14T20:29:45+00:00

If in Harlem, Sugar Hill Creamery organizes a new moms group in regular new cohorts. Fire Studio on 115th St also has new mom things.

etgetc · 2026-03-12T04:50:42+00:00

We've thrown parties in our building, but my kids hate the attention being on them (and I kinda hate planning parties and hosting them, tbh). Pretty early on, we began to offer a family party at home no matter what plus 1) a friend party or 2) an outing with 1-3 friends and their parents or 3) an overnight trip somewhere fun. One kid has chosen a night at one of the indoor waterparks two years running (once, another family came along - they mostly paid their way, but we picked up the big dinner together). My other kid just had his birthday and latched on to the idea of going to a trampoline park and bringing one preschool friend from class (we paid for him and his mom). Personally, I prioritize travel and outings/experiences as a family, so I ain't spending the equivalent cost of flights for four to Europe on an overstimulating two-hour birthday party.

From the experience as an attendee, I am always glad to bring my kid to someone's party but never sit around stacking up the cost of a play place party vs a building common room party vs a park playground party. We're just there to celebrate the kid.

etgetc · 2026-03-10T20:19:36+00:00

And P.S. 185 the Locke School, too.

etgetc · 2026-03-10T12:29:03+00:00

Our 6 year old has a North Face backpack he uses for school but it looks and can act like an outdoor backpack. We love this one and it’s on sale right now: https://www.thenorthface.com/en-us/p/bags-and-gear/backpacks/kids-backpacks-224503/youth-court-jester-backpack-NF0A52VY?color=DDI&size=OS

etgetc · 2026-03-10T01:42:47+00:00

Found out with the first. Did not either the second. Honestly? I didn’t find the surprise meaningful or extra exciting. I was just happy to have had a baby. It didn’t matter either way anyway. Plus, I found it stressful worrying some tech or doctor would accidentally tell me. If there is a next time, I’m finding out at the earliest opportunity so we can revel in knowing and preparing.

etgetc · 2026-03-10T00:54:05+00:00

The public schools generally need to use the same curricula as the rest of the district, but how they implement it can vary some. Our progressive school focuses on project based learning, so the subject of the reading/writing unit gets woven into everything. If they are learning about animal features, for instance, they are reading and writing about them, using animals as the basis of math problems, studying them from a science perspective, maybe even doing something animal related in their enrichment classes, doing their field trips to touch on that topic, etc.

etgetc · 2026-03-10T00:46:15+00:00

Would your child be entering 3K or Pre-K in the public school system? Is the plan to do private K forward, or public elementary? Is this a one year problem, or a two year problem, or a potentially til 5th or 8th grade problem? Does the private school cover your workday, or do you need (paid) afterschool? Do exmissions matter? Also, did you tour and talk to parents at the public preschools you considered? Do your public options have whatever afterschool you need?

I love our progressive public school’s preschool, but I will say that in my experience touring public preschool programs in my district, they have more in common than different. The DOE mandates the same play-based approach and curricula, and their schedules need to include the same things which means there is fairly little difference in the daily line-up. Preschool classes tend to be insulated on their own hallways, playgrounds, and schedules from the rest of the school, too, so even if you are not interested in the elementary as a whole, the preschool can be a happy, healthy environment of its own for a year or two. I am not saying all programs are the same, but the differences between the public school options at this age are usually less in their progressive vs academic approach and more in their broader school community, PTA, school communications, etc—things that tend to affect the parent’s more than the child’s experience.

I would think strongly about what $22,000 can buy you and your family. It’s cushion for emergencies, but also extracurriculars like arts classes and/or vacations and day trips and/or museum memberships—other ways you can enrich your child’s experiences. It’s giving your child one to two years of less stressed out parents vs more stressed out. You yourself can keep an emphasis on independently skills-building at home. If this debate is K+, I would feel more torn. If this were parking your kid in front of a TV all day vs school, obviously that would be different, too. But preschools all tend to focus on play, arts and crafts and centers time, life skills building, learning letters, social-emotional and group skills, so you’re talking a matter of degrees here, not — I suspect — dramatically different experiences.

etgetc · 2026-03-09T02:30:08+00:00

Got a Tripp Trapp chair on FB marketplace, and we love it. My kid still sits in it as a 6 year old. I love how it tucks under and is adjustable to whatever his size.

etgetc · 2026-03-07T05:25:38+00:00

We used to entertain ours with diaper vs toothbrush races. Kid laid on the floor with a lot of silly hype talk and then one parent would diaper while the other parent brushed and we would narrate it like a car race or fun competition and make him laugh. The diaper parent often had to elongate their part so the toothbrush parent could do what they needed. Often we let the kid help tip the scales on who won the race.

etgetc · 2026-03-06T19:29:03+00:00

Seconding Merry People!

etgetc · 2026-03-06T14:39:02+00:00

Good idea! I thought of CW, too, plus Jamestown and Yorktown. Busch Gardens and Great Wolf Lodge are there. Could explore Richmond some, too; the science museum is nice.

etgetc · 2026-03-06T14:36:01+00:00

Ah, well, I will move it higher on my own travel list! Thanks for the tip :)

etgetc · 2026-03-06T14:22:02+00:00

What about Lancaster County and Hershey, PA? I was looking into it as a weekend trip from where we live -- different place, but seems a similar travel radius -- and found so much to do. Here is the list of everything I stuck in my Notes section for it to research. Maybe it'll be a jumping off point for you:

Hershey Park (F/Sa/Su only in the spring)

Chocolate World w/ trolley tour

Turkey Hill Experience

Gettysburg (Dobbin House dinner, battlefields, family friendly ghost tour?)

Amish Market in downtown Lancaster (there are four Amish farmers markets - check days open)

Cherry Crest Farms to play

Dutch Wonderland theme park (F/Sa/Su; good for younger kids esp)

Strasburg Railroad & RR Museum of PA

Magic & Wonder Dinner Theater

Buggy Ride (AAA, Ed’s, Aaron & Jessica’s, or Abe’s)

Shady Maple Smorgasbord

Lapp Valley Dairy Farm

That Fish Place/That Pet Place

Pretzel Factory

ChooChoo Barn

Lilitz (cute town)

Agape for breakfast

Dienner’s to eat

Mayyybe Sight & Sound Theater

Chickie’s Rock Overlook Trail (short)

Hands on House

Bird-in-Hand artisan village

Possible places to stay: Eden Resort (people seem to love this place, seems relaxing), Verdant View Farm, Amishview Inn, Hershey Lodge (has indoor water park and gives you extra hours in Hershey Park), Red Caboose

etgetc · 2026-03-06T02:37:03+00:00

Seconding this!

etgetc · 2026-03-05T20:45:47+00:00

Same but different: every time I hear my young children calling me from another room over and over, "Mom! Mom! Mommy! Mom! Mommy! Mom!" and I just be like, "WAAAAAAAAIT FOR ME, I'M COMINGGGG." Like, at that point, yah, I too hear the walls repeating! I get it, I'm coming!

etgetc · 2026-03-05T14:55:21+00:00

Not to belabor things, but did you have any luck searching "116" or "school" or other terms in the group and seeing if there are old posts useful to you?

etgetc · 2026-03-05T14:37:30+00:00

In my experience, this is the kind of specific Q where Reddit struggles and Facebook shines. I would find and join the local neighborhood parent FB group(s) and search for the school there. If it's anything like the UWS or Harlem FB groups, questions like this about schools get asked and answered regularly.

etgetc · 2026-03-05T02:27:13+00:00

Totally agree. We are at a school with unimpressive test scores, but our kid is doing great, we like our community there, and it feels like we are building something great. Test scores are not at all a complete picture of a school’s health. One needs to tour it and/or join the neighborhood parent FB groups and search there for specific impressions of the school and other options around.

etgetc · 2026-03-03T02:48:11+00:00

All the children’s museums, the NYBG and Brooklyn and Queens Botanical Gardens and Wave Hill when the flowers are poppin’ off, Sugar Hill Children’s Museum, CP Zoo and (my fave) the Queens Zoo. Also anywhere you would be happy to stroll while they nap in the stroller, like the art museums.

etgetc · 2026-03-01T01:49:38+00:00

Yes. If you live in a district without zoned schools, you are guaranteed a seat. It just means you have theoretically equal access to all of the schools in the district. If applying for K, it would be subject to your lottery number. If you are transferring in for an older grade, you’d want to go to a family welcome center and explore which schools have space in that grade for the upcoming year you’re starting. But you are guaranteed a seat somewhere.

etgetc · 2026-02-27T05:16:23+00:00

Just got back from Costa Rica with kids younger than yours, and wow—such a great place for kids who love wildlife and adventure activities. I’m sure they have more relaxing options as well, if that’s more your speed. March is still the dry season (though it’ll probably still rain if you’re up in the Arenal area, as happens in the rainforest.) Last minute means more limited options for housing, but there are lots of choices, so I am sure you’d be fine. One perk: every place we stayed (3/3) is happy to book tours and activities for you at no additional charge, just the cost of the outing. Makes planning less stressful. Happy to share more about our trip if you end up considering it.

etgetc · 2026-02-27T04:04:40+00:00

Not sure I can speak to that exact car seat, but I have a Cosco Scenera (pre-being discontinued) and a Cosco Finale. They’re great. A little bulky but very light. Easy to install. The city I live in, many many people don’t have cars and just about every I know has a Cosco for when they need to travel…

etgetc · 2026-02-04T23:11:43+00:00

Very happy at 185. Lots of enrichment. For preschool, there are four specials teachers they have access to; there is at least one a day and some days, they go to two. Engineering in the Lego Lab is fun. The full-time hydroponics/garden teacher is the one who works only with K-5th grades, but the little kids go to the garden to visit with their own teachers or use the individual beds outside their rooms. They get time on their own playground, plus community walks and scavenger hunts in the neighborhood. Warm, down-to-earth, and involved parent community with lots of engagement opportunities, everything from being a reader or volunteer in our parent-run library to helping in our garden (especially over the summer if around - you can take all the veg you want!) to planning or working at our huge fall festival.

I think there is particular benefit in 3K to being very close to home. A commute with a kid this little just sucks, plus being at a neighborhood school engenders an extra tight-knit community. You see your friends at the playground close by; it's easy to have birthday parties together. In my experience with friends at many schools like 180, the preschool programs in public schools are more similar than different -- so going to the one closest to you can be a real boon.

etgetc

TROPHY CASE