What kind of group would you feel safer sending to

amother

Sienna

Tue, Mar 05 2019, 10:54 pm

You posted this under toddlers, so I'm assuming you're talking about kids three and under? If so, then neither of the above. I would not send to a group larger than 10 children for two year olds, and I would expect two full time teachers. Up to 15 children for three years olds, also with two full time teachers. And I would vastly prefer a smaller group, and would pay more for it.

abaker

Tue, Mar 05 2019, 10:56 pm

What age playgroup? 2 year olds should have 1 morah per 6 kids. 3/4 year olds 1 morah per 8 kids. And a cleaning lady doesn't help unless shes a morah that cleans when she has free time. You really need adults to supervise and spend time with the kids, not just an extra adult floating around the house somewhere.

Editing to add: physical space is an issue too. I certainly dont have room in my house to have 20 toddlers running around all day.

amother

Chocolate

Tue, Mar 05 2019, 11:01 pm

cleaning lady does all the technical parts as changing diapers, preparing and cleaning up lunch, preparing beds, and everything in between! it frees up the morah alot so she can actually be busy only with taking care , playing, and teaching children

yidisheh mama

Tue, Mar 05 2019, 11:02 pm

Is the cleaning woman there full time? (You need 2 adults there at all times for safety) Is she going to be involved at all with the kids (playing, singing, crafts). If yes, then it's definitely better than a group of 18.
Why dont you do a group of 12 with an assistant and have someone come clean for an hour or 2 at the end of the day?

amother

Taupe

Tue, Mar 05 2019, 11:03 pm

abaker wrote:

Agree with this

Last edited by amother on Wed, Mar 13 2019, 3:05 pm; edited 1 time in total

amother

Slategray

Tue, Mar 05 2019, 11:23 pm

amother wrote:

Your cleaning lady sounds like an assistant morah as she is interacting with the children. Cleaning ladies don't clean tushies.

amother

Sapphire

Wed, Mar 06 2019, 12:33 am

I work in a playgroup, we have 15 children with one main morah & 2 assistants.
I would prefer the smaller group with an assistant & a cleaning lady for about an hour after hours.

amother

Amethyst

Wed, Mar 06 2019, 4:08 am

I can't respond, either one is not the norm.
There should be at least one assistant if it's more than 5-6 kids. I wouldn't want to send my toddler to a large group, where he'd be another number, Especially with just 2 morahs.
Cleaning ladies shouldn't be around during class. They should work before or after sessions.

Rappel

Wed, Mar 06 2019, 4:41 am

That's an interesting proposal. So long as your assistant is a "morah personality," who is involved with the children, then I would go for option 1. I think more than 6:1 ratio of toddlers to adults is not just wrong, it's unsafe.

wife2

Wed, Mar 06 2019, 5:39 am

Neither. I'd only send to a small group at that age, less than 15 AND 2 morahs.

If only one teacher and one kid needs to be changed or having tantrum etc, then all the other kids aren't being taken care of. You have crying kids or situations at that age and I'd want to know there's someone else.

If there were only 6-8 kids, then I'd be ok with one teacher, depending on children's ages

mha3484

Wed, Mar 06 2019, 6:08 pm

I sent both my kids to 2 year old groups with a 6:1 ratio and I was happy both times. My oldest went to a 3 year old group with 1:11 and I would never ever do that again. I had no idea when I signed him up it would be so big. When my next kid was that age I choose a much smaller group for him. Our schools are 8:1 for 4 year olds.

Rachel Shira

Wed, Mar 06 2019, 6:31 pm

Yes, neither. I teach a large class of two year olds and you need one hands on teacher per 6 kids at the very least. It is still often too few hands. If your assistant is only going to be changing diapers, cleaning up, and preparing beds, and not actually helping you manage the group, you’re going to find yourself frequently overwhelmed.

nchr

Wed, Mar 06 2019, 6:35 pm

If it is in a school I'd be okay with 20 and 2 morahs, but if it is in a home, I'd prefer a smaller group with more adults. However, out of the two, I'd choose the one with more than one teacher in case children need to be attended to.

thunderstorm

Wed, Mar 06 2019, 7:00 pm

amother wrote:

For 18 kids you need at least one main teacher and two assistants. I have never sent to any playgroup that had less than that in terms of teachers . I prefer smaller groups of kids of course but I have sent to places with between 13 and 18 but there was always a teacher and two assistants .
As someone who worked in a preschool and preschool daycamp, I can't imagine being able to command 18-20 kids all on my own and getting EVERYONE to participate all on my own. Remember you have a ton to do as a teacher , you will feel burn out quickly if you don't have the necessary assistance and it will have a negative affect on the kids

amother

Sienna

Wed, Mar 06 2019, 7:29 pm

nchr wrote:

I would be shocked if any school had a class of 20 two year olds and 2 morahs. I don't know the legal ratios in every state, but that sounds like way too many kids per teacher.

amother

Gray

Wed, Mar 06 2019, 7:52 pm

2 year old goes to morah with two other children occasionally a fourth child comes.
Next year she is registered for 2:12. She will be 3 and 12 is the max a inhouse legal daycare can take in my city.

amother

Jade

Wed, Mar 06 2019, 8:24 pm

What state are you in? In many states it's illegal to have less than 1 adult per 7 kids because of safety issues. Dunno how this preschool got approved!
Both of your poll options aren't great, and I wouldn't choose either.