Preschool/Pre-K (cross-posted)

[madelsmama]

What did your child do the year prior to kindergarten?

DD1 will be 4 in a couple of week and attends preschool twice weekly, until 6p.m. Mondays (the day that I work until 7:30p.m., so DH picks her up) and until 3:30 or so on Fridays. She may be the only child in her class that does not attend daily, as the school doubles as a daycare facility.

I've been encouraged by the director her school to "bump her up" to 3 times weekly in the fall when she'll enter their Pre-K class since sending her twice a week "may not allow her to get enough of the curriculum to prepare her for kindergarten".

I don't know if paying her tuition for 3 times a week is within our budget, and I don't think I want her gone from me one extra day a week when it's her last year with me full-time.

BUT, I also don't want her to fall behind her peers and "not be ready for kindergarten".

How much preparedness does one need to enter kindergarten these days, BTW?

Thoughts?

[Stephanie]

http://www.education.com/reference/article/Ref_Teachers_Ratings/

This was a good article.

Kindergarten is becoming a lot more like first grade. They have reading groups, the schools in our district don't take naps. It is moving away from lets learn how to play and work together and much more towards academics.

But, she is your child. If you think she would benefit from that extra day and you can afford it, I would put her in. If you don't think it is something she needs to help her prepare, I would blow it off.

If you are reading to her and talking to her and teaching her through out the day, she will most likely be just fine.

[BoobySnacks]

We could not afford Pre-K at all, so she has been at home and I have been teaching her. I hope that I have done a good job. She is very bright, so if there is anything that I have missed, I think she will catch on quick. She starts kindergarten this summer.

[Jmom1010]

Have you looking into your school district? I just found out today that ours has a pre-k program that is free.

[RedheadbyChoice]

Pre-k programs though schools are free for children who have a verified need to be there, say speech or OT or the like----usually. There are some schools moving to having free preschool but most charge a fee for the neuro typical kiddos and free for those who have any sort of need. It just depends on the school district.

FWIW, mine have all done preschool before K. We live in a very small area, though, and preschool isn't terribly expensive, thank goodness. Do I think it's a necessity before K? Of course not. Does it benefit a lot of kids? Absolutely.

[madelsmama]

Karen, we don't qualify for public pre-K.

Ginger, she will continue to attend 2 days a week. I think it's been great for her in many ways.

[ima062002]

Prepare her for Kindergarden????

My kids had gone to daycare from age 15 mo (until after their nap), but spent their days playing with other kids and other than that do stuff that I did with them too - read books, play with playdo, talk about holidays, paint etc. The school had a curriculum of course, but it's not anything you as a mom can't do by herself. My main reason to send them was so that dd1 had other playmates and build relationships to other kids (i.e. as a replacement if you will for an extended family).

My dd1, who is finishing her Kindergarden year, learned letters from ME or rather from a very interesting and engaging Leap Frog video and from me reinforcing the letter recognition. Counting and number recognition was something we did at home to, just for fun, as was to learn about animals and a 1000 other things.

Dd1 is in a class with 19 other kids (and three teachers). The ones who are lagging behind are the ones who did not speak any English at the beginning of the K year and the ones who have not had been to a playground or learned how to draw etc. either for cultural reasons or for lack of money and time (too many kids and no energy left, coupled with lack of funds).

[Brianna]

I find it hard to believe that a child in a nurturing and responsive home would not be ready for kindergarten. Is it possible your dd's preschool director is trying to get more money?

[madelsmama]

Thanks everyone. That's pretty much what I was wondering, but since I don't yet have a child that's gone through kindergarten, I didn't have a point of reference.

[threefunboys]

My DS, who is finishing up his kindergarten year, never went to preschool. He's doing perfectly fine in school.

My opinion of preschool is that it's not necessary for most kids (if there are developmental delays, that's a different story). My DS was reading simple words when he started school but some kids didn't know their ABCs or to count to 10, so there was a pretty wide spread. Of course, it depends on where you live and what kind of school your child is going to, but really, K is designed to get them ready for school, so preschool is to get them ready to get ready for school? There is research that suggests that kids who are home with their mothers full-time until school age actually do better in school.

If you're doing it for social reasons, you can go to the park or invite friends over. They don't really need that much social interaction before then anyway. But if parents are putting their little babies in preschool so they can be the top of their class, that is bad motivation. It sets a precedent that sometimes makes parents put way too much pressure on their kids to be the very best and smartest. If that's the reason, it could do more harm than good. (ever heard of hothousing? Not that I think that's what you're doing. Often kids who are hothoused are no better off than their counterparts, and sometimes actually lose their desire to learn because they're so overwhelmed with info.) That's what I think.

In addition, I love the time I spend making cards for grandma or coloring or playing games with my children. I wouldn't want to give that up to some other lady who won't be as invested in my child as I am.

Not that I think preschool is BAD...I just think it's basically a waste of money, and they are better off with mom. It's like potty training or introducing solids or learning to walk--you can try to start them on it earlier, but they won't be ready until they are ready. You can start preparing a 2 or 3 year old for school, but doing so won't make their brain develop faster.


You're doing fine! Don't add an extra day if you don't want to just because her teacher thinks she needs it to "get the curriculum." That sounds a lot like a line of hogwash to me. I think you are right to want to spend all the time with her that you can before she goes off to school.

(okay, I'm off my soapbox now...)

Hope this helps.

[madelsmama]

Thanks, threefunboys, for your honesty. :)

[klynnw]

Just to chime in......

We started Jack (he's 4 now, 3 when he started) in daycare two days a week, when I went back to part-time work. When he started, he hated it, had social problems, etc. So, we got him screened and he qualified for free preschool, which is two hours a day, EVERY DAY. I freaked out about every day preschool, b/c he was so little and in my opinion, children need to be home with their parents as much as possible at this young of an age. Well, my opinion changed when I saw the change in my child. He LOVES it, and has become much, much better socially and is always coming home having learned a new song or a new skill. Now that I'm staying home (the part-time work doesn't pay when you have two kids to put in daycare), he still goes to pre-school every day. I couldn't see taking him out of something he enjoys so much. If we had to pay for preschool, he wouldn't be going at all, but since it's free, it's a great opportunity for him.

[Peanut1207]

I'm a Pre-K teacher (BA in early childhood and elementary ed, M.Ed. in Reading)...have been for 6 years. I honestly think that if you are working with your child at home focusing on academics like alphabet recognition, phonemic awareness, writing, math skills (counting, 1:1 correspondence), shape recognition, weather patterns, etc that you are probably fine where you are at. Kindergarten is basically what first grade used to be...lots of focus on reading, writing, and math scores...they miss out on the play that used to be in Kindergarten to focus on "academics." If you have more specific questions please PM me, I'd be happy to answer them. I taught in a public school program...our kids went to kindergarten from us.

[flwrdrmgirl]

My DS, who is finishing up his kindergarten year, never went to preschool. He's doing perfectly fine in school.

My opinion of preschool is that it's not necessary for most kids (if there are developmental delays, that's a different story). .... Of course, it depends on where you live and what kind of school your child is going to, but really, K is designed to get them ready for school, so preschool is to get them ready to get ready for school? There is research that suggests that kids who are home with their mothers full-time until school age actually do better in school.

If you're doing it for social reasons, you can go to the park or invite friends over. They don't really need that much social interaction before then anyway. ....
..

Hi, I am going through this dilemma right now, and I live in Los Angeles and it is SO competitive and socially pro-preschool that I feel stressed about it b/c I procrastinated and most of the good ones are full....also, b/c it is SO expensive and out of our budget,and DS is not completely PottyT'd yet.

Is there really research that says kids do better in school that stayed home w/their moms? What sort of things did you do with your child? I have an 11month old and I want more time to sit and teach/prepare DS about shapes, colors, etc, but it's hard with new baby.

I found this site that looks good..
http://www.preschoolrainbow.org/preschoolers.htm#Anytime%20Activities