Move-ups 2022

This is the time of year when many children approach the older end of the age range for the classrooms that they are currently in. It is a time when families begin to have questions about children moving to the next age group. 

We will host a Move-up Information Session on February 17, 2022 at 7 pm. Zoom link will be sent separately. In the meantime, here are the answers to our most frequently-asked questions.

What are “Move-ups?”
“Move-ups” is the term we use at PIC to refer to the process of moving children to the next age group. 
 
What is the age range in each classroom?
Each PIC classroom starts out the school year in September with a specific age range.

* PIC has eight (8) preschool classrooms.

** PIC currently has singular and mixed age (ages 3-5) preschool classrooms.  

• Blue Jays, Butterflies, Chipmunks, Hummingbirds, and Leapfrogs (ages 3 by September 1 through 5 years old): Most children spend two years in these classrooms.
• Fireflies (generally children who are 3 by September): Children typically spend 1 to 1.5 years in this classroom. These children can move to any of seven (7) classrooms that have 4-year-olds. 
• Grasshoppers and Roadrunners (generally children who are 4 by September): Most of the children in these rooms start kindergarten the following fall.

When will my child move to the next age group?
Usually moves take place in late spring through early summer as spaces become available. Typically this happens when families move, or when some 5-year-olds move onto Summer Camp. As openings occur, we begin moving the oldest children in the infant/young toddler rooms to the toddler/twos rooms, and the oldest toddlers/twos to the preschool rooms.

Move-ups continue from late June through early fall, as some children leave for the summer and/or start Kindergarten.

Are move-ups based solely on age?
No. Children move in “rough” chronological order as space becomes available in the next age groups.

What does “rough” chronological order mean?
Our Enrollment Coordinator and Program Coordinators consult with classroom teachers about each child’s individual needs, temperament, and other factors. For example, some children do better when moving with a specific peer, or if separated from a specific social group. Some children may have developmental or home needs that make it best to wait a little longer or move a little sooner, including the birth of a new baby or move to a new home.

There are other factors we need to consider. For example, children who are the oldest in one classroom, may not be the oldest among all the young toddlers, all of the toddler/twos, and all of the preschoolers. We also need to balance gender and schedules. Be assured that once the late spring/summer move-ups begin, all children age-eligible to move up will do so in a relatively short period of time. 

When will we know when our child will be moving? How can we prepare for the move?
You will receive an email from our Enrollment Coordinator about 2-3 weeks before a child’s scheduled move-up date. When a child joins a classroom, the new teachers will reach out to welcome families and offer any information needed.

Unfortunately, families may not take their child to visit their new classrooms at this time due to COVID. However, the teacher in the new classroom will share the classroom list of children. We suggest you talk about your child’s move to the new classroom at home, mentioning the teacher’s names, as well as the names of any friends your child may already know.

Can parents request specific classrooms?
Many of the children are siblings of children who were in classrooms before them. Often these parents have an established relationship with a teaching team and would like their younger child placed in the same room. We do our very best to honor these requests. Other than the sibling example, however, we ask that families do not request specific teachers or classrooms.

How does PIC decide what classroom children are placed in?
We want children to move into a classroom with friends or where there are other children who they know. 

We balance gender, age-range, part-week and full-week schedules. Again, teachers know which children will do better if moving with a peer group or being split from a specific peer group. We also may take into account which classroom culture would best fit each child’s personality and temperament.

Children grow and develop in so many ways during these early years and our teachers know the children in their class very, very well. We ask you to trust us in this process.

As children become the older end of the age group in their classroom, are their developmental needs being met?
All PIC teachers have backgrounds and education in the full-range of Early Childhood Education, not just with a specific age group. Our teachers are well-equipped to handle the changing developmental needs of the children in their room. Teachers plan new and developmentally appropriate activities specific for older children, in the same way that they do so for the younger ones.

Each child typically has the opportunity to be at the younger and older end of the classroom age range. Children at the younger end watch and learn from their older friends. Older children have the opportunity to model for the younger ones.

• Infants and toddlers: Infant/young toddlers may be well into their twos before there is an opening in the next age group. Children in one of our toddler classrooms (Moonbeams, Rainbows, Sunshines) may be in their threes.
• Preschoolers: When children reach kindergarten, there is a hard cut-off for enrollment. This means a child with a fall birthday will always be on the older end, and a child with a summer birthday will always be on the younger end.

We have a new baby coming or we want to change our child’s future schedule. Who do we contact?
Contact Enrollment Coordinator Morgan Jimenez at mjimenez@parentinfantcenter.org to add the new sibling to our waitlist or make any changes in enrollment.

My child will start Kindergarten in September. Are they automatically enrolled in the PIC Afterschool program?
No. All families interested in enrolling their child in the Afterschool program must complete an Afterschool program application that will be available by mid-February. 

More Questions? Please do ask!

Enrollment Coordinator:  Morgan Jimenez-  mjimenez@parentinfantcenter.org
Infant-Toddler Program Coordinator: Kharma Hicks  -  khicks@parentinfantcenter.org
Preschool Program Coordinator: Lia Wilson -  lwilson@parentinfantcenter.org
Assistant Director: Jessica Carter - jcarter@parentinfantcenter.org
Executive Director: Deb Green  -  dgreen@parentinfantcenter.org