Entrance Exams

Many parents worry about the entrance exams that their 4 year olds are required to take to enroll in New York City private and selective public elementary schools. Fortunately, the best ways to prepare your child for these standardized exams are fun. The following activities help children improve their intellectual skills as well as prepare them for the test itself.

  • Talk and read to your children regularly
  • Encourage questions and answer them thoughtfully
  • Enjoy and explore the tremendous sites and museums in New York City
  • Assign your children with a set of responsibilities, such as dressing themselves, cleaning their own room and putting their toys away
  • Develop tasks with multiple step directions
  • Play with them (i.e., block games, activity books, children's computer games, and counting games)

If your child does not immediately find games easy or does not follow directions to the letter, be patient. If your child does not like a particular activity (other than cleaning their room), stop the activity and try something else.

Testing Week: A day before the test, tell your child that s/he is meeting with an adult for a brief period of time, that the adult will talk her/him and may ask the child to perform some thinking activities which may include blocks and pictures. Tell your child that once the meeting is over, the two of you will do your child's favorite activity or something special. The parent or guardian that separates most easily with the child should accompany the child to the test site. If your child is sick, upset or does not separate quickly, leave and reschedule. Once a test has begun, the tester is required to relay the results to the schools, and the child cannot retake the test for a year. The test typically lasts one hour.

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Did You Know?

 

Montessori Preschools

Maria Montessori created a strict approach to training young children in the early 1900s, stressing a structured environment that relies on teaching task oriented skills (i.e., cleaning your space, putting materials away) rather than focusing on the children’s imagination or socialization skills. In a typical classroom, children are more likely to work individually on learning practical life tasks as well as language and math skills. While Maria Montessori encouraged an expeditious separation of children from their parents, few Montessori Schools in the City adhere to this approach and are supportive during the separation process.

Montessori preschools are best suited for children who are:

  • Advanced cognitively
  • Hands-on or visual learners
  • Self-motivated learners
  • Hesitant to make new friends or interact with adults
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Featured School

Brooklyn Friends School

If you are looking for a traditional college preparatory program that abides by the Quaker principles, the Brooklyn Friends School may be for you.

“Brooklyn Friends School provides a college preparatory program serving students from Preschool through Grade 12. It is committed to educating each student intellectually, aesthetically, physically, and spiritually in a culturally diverse community. Guided by the Quaker principles of truth, simplicity, and peaceful resolution of conflict, Brooklyn Friends School offers each student a challenging education that develops intellectual abilities and ethical and social values to support a productive life of leadership and service.”

 

To learn more about this program, click on the Brooklyn Friends School Profile.

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Tip of The Week

Once you have selected a group of schools in which you are interested, you will want to visit them. If possible, visit the school during the school day when classes are in session. You will learn a great deal about the school by simply observing the classrooms, facilities and school walls as well as the sounds from the students and teachers. The following are a list of general questions to ask during the tour.

General Questions

What is the kindergarten’s separation policy?

At what age are students departmentalized?

How is technology used at the school?

What happens when children are sick?

Are there before-school and after-school programs? How much do they cost? What is the content of the programming?

What is the racial and economic makeup of the families enrolled at the school?

Does the school provide transportation?

What happens during lunch time and recess? What happens during poor weather?

How often do student take field trips? Where do they go?

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