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Forum -> Parenting our children -> Preschoolers
Interviews for kindergarten



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amother
Brown


 

Post Fri, Nov 13 2015, 9:45 am
Ok, so I'm new to this whole thing so please help....

I want to send my two kids (UPK and kindergarten) to a yeshiva next year and they require an interview before. They require both kids and BOTH parents to come. First of all, why in the world do they require interviews for such an early age? I don't know what to tell my kids before we go because they might get scared...I want them to have "fun". So what should I expect? I know some schools are different, but how do they conduct a school interview? I just find it a bit ridiculous (I guess that's mainly because I grew up in Israel and didn't have this nonsense).
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Chayalle




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Nov 13 2015, 9:54 am
For the most part, they are trying to see that your kids are normal and up to par, and to get a feel for whether you and your DH are a good fit for the school. Just tell your kids that you are going to visit a school and meet the (Morah, principal, or whoever the interviewer is) and he/she will ask them some questions, etc...

My younger sister remembers being asked how many lights there are in the room, and they were impressed that she was able to count them.

My DD's school does not require bringing the child along to an interview, but I remember they asked me is she has ever required any interventions or therapies, etc..because they need to make sure the program they have is suitable for the child. I have heard of people who try to enroll students requiring special services into schools that don't have those services, without disclosing the situation.
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amother
Brown


 

Post Fri, Nov 13 2015, 9:59 am
OP here. Well, my kids are shy/quiet with people in the beginning, so not sure how this will work...
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Chayalle




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Nov 13 2015, 10:01 am
amother wrote:
OP here. Well, my kids are shy/quiet with people in the beginning, so not sure how this will work...

That's fine. Experienced educators should be able to work with shy/quiet kids.
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amother
Pearl


 

Post Fri, Nov 13 2015, 10:02 am
- Want to see if parents are a good fit for the school (I.e. father wears a hat for interview, haircut style, mother's general style, etc). Of course, this criteria depends for the school. In general I think its worth it to go the extra mile. So if a husband only wears hat to shul, it is worth it to wear it to interview even if you normally wouldn't.

- some kids behave and some don't. I recently heard a story of a kid that REALLY behaved very poorly, someone called the principal later to explain, and the principal said the kid is 3 - do you think I expect much more? A good principal will expect a child to act like a child.

- They may ask basic questions. In one school they just wanted to see that my daughter (4) acted mature to start primary (not hiding behind my skirt, etc). She didn't want to say her name and they were fine with that. Another school did a whole aleph bais test until were she was up to, wanted to see if she could recognize the first letter of her name (she couldn't) and do 2 piece puzzles that was a matching game (she didn't know the bird went with the nest).

- I'd suggest just putting your child at ease. Explaining that they may ask your name and how old you are.

Good luck.
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lfab




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Nov 13 2015, 10:12 am
It's mostly to get a feel for the family and see if they are a good fit for the school (think of it as more of an interview for you then the child). Bringing the child is so they can see where the child is holding/if he/she is at age level or will possibly need some extra services. No one expects the child to be perfect. We just went recently for an interview for my daughter for UPK. It will be my 3rd child in the school and we still had to go (but this time my husband did not need to attend as it was more of a formality). They usually just ask questions about colors, shapes, maybe some ABC or aleph bais for the older one. It's ok if they don't know the answers or are too shy to answer. Unless the administration is crazy they generally understand that kids this age are not always going to be perfect (case I point, my 3 year old was rolling around the lobby floor while we waited for our interview) and they know what children that age should or should not know.
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amother
Brown


 

Post Fri, Nov 13 2015, 10:21 am
ok, thanks for the replies, I feel a bit more at ease.

I get it that the school wants to meet the parents, but I just didn't understand why they have to meet the kids that are so young! How could they assess if the child needs services or not just from one meeting? Like I said, my kids are quiet with people they don't know in the beginning, so of course that's what I suspect will happen (hopefully they won't cry!).

By the way, I also find it very irritating that they school doesn't do the interviews in the evenings or on sundays for parents that work and can't just take a day off during the week! My husband is using all his days for the holidays and can't just take off!
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mha3484




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Nov 13 2015, 10:57 am
My child is in Nursery which is 4 year olds. Its mixed boys and girls in the girls building. Pre 1a will be with the boys. When we were deciding on schools, we had two meetings one with DH, Myself and the head of the boys school who asked us about ourselves, our child, what we liked about the school they told us about their philosophizes etc. It was pretty relaxed. Ours was actually a Sunday morning.

The second interview was with DS and the head of the early childhood dept. She did activities with him, showed us the classrooms, tried to get a feel for his personality. We got to learn more about the curriculum. It was really nothing to stress over.
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Chayalle




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Nov 13 2015, 1:46 pm
amother wrote:
ok, thanks for the replies, I feel a bit more at ease.

I get it that the school wants to meet the parents, but I just didn't understand why they have to meet the kids that are so young! How could they assess if the child needs services or not just from one meeting? Like I said, my kids are quiet with people they don't know in the beginning, so of course that's what I suspect will happen (hopefully they won't cry!).

By the way, I also find it very irritating that they school doesn't do the interviews in the evenings or on sundays for parents that work and can't just take a day off during the week! My husband is using all his days for the holidays and can't just take off!


They aren't looking to do any major assessments - they can tell if the child is normal.

School staff also need time off from their jobs, like evenings and Sundays. They don't have to work overtime to accommodate those who want to come to their schools.
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seeker




 
 
    
 

Post Sat, Nov 14 2015, 7:10 pm
My first child entering kindergarten was very shy, normally. So I tried to prepare her for the interview a lot. She was in nursery so she had some frame of reference for school. I told her we were going to visit the school for bigger girls and meet the morah, and that the morah will probably talk to her and ask her questions and she should answer the morah.

I got the shock of my life, I guess she really took this preparation to heart because everything the teacher and principal said to her she answered in a loud, clear voice and didn't seem shy at all! She totally knocked my socks off! I was cracking up.

YMMV I'm just saying you really never know. Kids can be surprising. And then you have kids who you're not worried about because they're totally outgoing and then they suddenly clam up at the least convenient time.

Just chill. You be your best self, stay calm and don't put any pressure on, everything will be fine.

At our "interview" mostly the teacher invited the child to join what the class was doing. I think they just wanted to see if she was capable of interacting with other kids and following directions the way you need to do in order to participate in school. So my DD's scissor skills were quite below the other kids there, which is normal because they were about a year older, but she was able to go sit with them where they were working, made a decent attempt, and followed them as they went to the assistant morah for the next step. These are the kinds of things you look for in a kid entering kindergarten. of course if a kid falls apart crying instead, that doesn't necessarily mean they're not ready because the very first time going into a new place with new kids who are all bigger than you can be overwhelming, but it might indicate further inquiries.
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Ruchel




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Nov 22 2015, 9:53 am
I've visited so many schools all over the country, and never had my child interviewed for any grade.
The only time my children were there, it was because we couldn't leave them, and they weren't observed or evaluated.
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