Palmer School (Walnut Creek, CA)
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Palmer School (Walnut Creek, CA)
March 2011
My husband and I are considering sending our son to the Palmer School
in Walnut Creek in the Fall -- starting in kindergarten. Our son is
bright, but a little socially awkward, so we thought a private school
might be the way to go. I was hoping to hear from others out there
that have had recent experiences at Palmer. Also, if anyone has
feedback on the summer camp there, it would be greatly appreciated.
anon
Palmer School is wonderful. I cannot say enough good things about
it. My son attended Kindergarten there for the first semester of
this year, but because we are in WC and the local school is ''top
rated'' I decided to save some money and give it a try. Believe me,
I think about sending him back to Palmer every day and may do so for
1st grade. The K teachers at Palmer, Ms. Woods, Ms. Foster, and Ms.
Lainie are true gems. Patient, fun, and loving... everything that a
kindergarten teacher should be. If your son is shy, he will thrive
at Palmer. There were a few kids at the beginning of the year that
were extremely shy, but within a few weeks they were running around
with their friends. Because of the small and intimate nature of the
classes, all the children really get to know each other. There were
two classes of 14 kids each, but both classes combine often. The
academics are excellent and my son started the public school way
ahead of most of his new peers. The academics are taught in a fun
and creative way, such that the kids truly have fun learning. They
also of Art and PE every day. Keep in mind that Palmer has
''traditional'' values, children are expected to show respect to
eachother and adults, address their teachers by Mr. and Mrs. boys
wear their uniforms with shirt tucked in, girls wear no makeup, etc.
But, judging from the way I see some kids dressed at the public
school, I liked the uniforms. (But, no uniform required in
Kindergated at Palmer). If you wouuld be happy to discuss further
if you would like more information.
Stephanie
March 2005
I hard that Palmer School is a reputable private K-8 school in
Walnut Creek. Does anyone have experience about Palmer 's
Junior Kindergarten and Kindergarten programs? When I visited
Palmer School recently, I noticed that the teacher
was ''teaching'' the 4, 5 year old about body parts and math on
the blackboard. Is it too ''academic''?
I will appreciate any opinions.
''headache'' Mom
My son was in the JK program at Palmer last year and is in the
kindergarten this year. He loves it there. I didn't think JK
was overly academic. They spent a lot of time playing games
outside and singing songs everywhere they went. The academic
part was doing a letter a week which they learned how to write
and make the sound. They learned counting to 100 and
patterns. The teacher my son had was wonderful (very loving
and positive) - but last year was the only time they've had
enough kids to have two JK classes so you most likely wouldn't
get her. I thought the art was a bit weak - not encouraging
creativity so much as teaching specific skills.
Kindergarten is a lot different - it is much more academic. I
like that they divide the kids into 4 different math and
reading groups depending on ability. My son is starting to
read, add and subtract but he is one of the oldest kids in his
class and in the top group in both math & reading. Other kids
are still working on letters and counting to 100. Just depends
on what they are ready for. My son has about 15 minutes of
homework a night (M-Th)for reading and about once a month he
has a math packet that he can do over time. My impression is
that some of the other reading/math groups have less homework.
We had always planned on sending my son to public school in
first grade, but are rethinking it now because he loves going
to school and doing the homework.
Happy Parent
this page was last updated: Mar 23, 2011
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