Honor Roll, Montessori, or Primrose (Sugar Land, Pearland: 2013, day cares, home)

[NY to LA]

We need help deciding which school would best fit our son. He's three and half years old currently attending a kinder care in Pearland, but we'll be moving to Telfair soon and looking for a more academic program especially that he can't start KG for 2 more years as he's born in march and he needs to be five or more by September to start school. He's bilingual so we like a school that focuses on phonics and have high tolerance for bilingual kids.
I hope he can attend a good school for 2 years and then be ready to start kg in public school.

[Htown2013]

Originally Posted by NY to LA

We need help deciding which school would best fit our son. He's three and half years old currently attending a kinder care in Pearland, but we'll be moving to Telfair soon and looking for a more academic program especially that he can't start KG for 2 more years as he's born in march and he needs to be five or more by September to start school. He's bilingual so we like a school that focuses on phonics and have high tolerance for bilingual kids.
I hope he can attend a good school for 2 years and then be ready to start kg in public school.

I've heard bad things about Primrose. If your child fits their mold exactly you may like it, but a good friend of mine sent her boy to Primrose. Apparently he didn't fit their mold and they kicked him out after the first month. This left a hardworking single mother in a real bind, and they couldn't care less. The boy was traumatized too. He was highly energetic and spirited but a generally good boy. After Primrose he was sad all the time, much more defiant, and called himself a 'bad boy'.

This Primrose may be different, but it was really hard to see them go through that.

[kfer]

We sent our son to Primrose (Energy Corridor) for 4 years with great results and a couple of rough patches along the way, but we highly recommend it. This franchise's owners run a tight ship. The facilities are spotless clean and don't have that nasty "dirty diaper" odor most day cares have. The menu is well-balanced and cooked from scratch every day. The curriculum is comprehensive and Spanish has its own "Mucho Mundo" session. My son would come home every day with clean clothes, a clean face, well hydrated, and happy. He just passed his entrance exam to private school.

[NY to LA]

Thank you both for the feedback. I think it can be different from location to location so I hope someone with experience in the sugar land locations can chime in.

[Htown2013]

What temperament is your son like? If he is more active, high energy, physical, Primrose is probably not right for him, given what I have read about them. One of the Montessori schools would be a much better option. If he is very good at following orders, sitting still, not pushing back, etc. then Primrose may be great for him. I have read that the Sugar Land location also has asked many kids to leave.

[Topaz]

I am not a fan of Primrose in Sugar Land. I withdrew my children after too many times arriving to pick up my children and all the staff were huddled in a corner socializing with each other and completely ignoring the kids. I know the staff are tired at the end of the day, but they could at least sit in pairs where they can observe the children.

[NY to LA]

Originally Posted by Topaz

I am not a fan of Primrose in Sugar Land. I withdrew my children after too many times arriving to pick up my children and all the staff were huddled in a corner socializing with each other and completely ignoring the kids. I know the staff are tired at the end of the day, but they could at least sit in pairs where they can observe the children.

Thank you Topaz for your reply. May I ask you where did you transfer your kids after primrose?

[NY to LA]

Originally Posted by Htown2013

What temperament is your son like? If he is more active, high energy, physical, Primrose is probably not right for him, given what I have read about them. One of the Montessori schools would be a much better option. If he is very good at following orders, sitting still, not pushing back, etc. then Primrose may be great for him. I have read that the Sugar Land location also has asked many kids to leave.

Thanks Htown for the advice. There are two nearby Montessori, river Bend and Cambridge, I'm debating between these.

[Topaz]

Originally Posted by NY to LA

Thank you Topaz for your reply. May I ask you where did you transfer your kids after primrose?

KidsRKids so I could log in from work and see how things were going via Internet camera. For awhile, I logged in a lot but after I saw my children were doing well, I stopped logging in so much.

My children loved KidsRKids. It wasn't a perfect place but they remember it fondly, years later.

[hendersj31]

We looked at the Honor Roll school and we noticed that the level of classwork the children were doing was at least slightly advanced for the grade, maybe more. I can't be sure as I am not a teacher but I told a teacher I know and he said it was advanced for the grades. Two quick examples are:
Double digit multiplication in 2nd grade. I was told this and shown some of the homework papers from students. Problems looked like below:
17
x22
----

3rd grade students in front of the class giving speeches and demonstrating intricate science projects. I saw this personally through the windows as we were walking through the classroom areas. It was interesting to see a little kid standing in front of

I am a speculative person and can't help but question if some of what was presented and told to us was fluffed a bit, but have no evidence to support that. It seems from my visit that the education component is strong at the Honor Roll School, but that is based on a single visit only and I was targeting specific grades, 2nd and 3rd.

Hope this is of some assistance.