NBR: Daycare vs Preschool Conundrum

CeeCeeSugaPie

Guys, I am so divided about what to do with DS. So, of course, I am bringing my woes to you all.  

DS has been at a small in-home daycare since he was 2. His daycare provider, who we love, doesn't do part-time. We would like to send him to preschool, but we had planned to do just a couple days a week. She had previously said that we could switch off with another child at daycare, but now she has changed her mind about that and only wants full-time. I am just not sure what to do. Do we send him to full-time preschool or keep him with her? She does follow a preschool curriculum, but I am worried whether it will be enough to prepare him for kindergarten. On top of everything else, she is pregnant and due in September. I don't know if any of you can offer advice, since every child and situation is different, but I appreciate being able to vent.

SnShne322

What about finding a preschool in a daycare?  I think they tend to be far more accommodating of the hours you'll need your son watched.

I should add, this is from my perspective of my son needing full time care and is already in a daycare with preschool.  It's what we'll be doing in a few months when he's old enough for preschool.

CeeCeeSugaPie

I work full-time as well. We have made appointments with some preschools in the area that offer preschool in the mornings and after-care in the afternoons. This may be our best bet. One is a Montessori school, which I don't know jack about. I need to do my research before we meet with them next week.

His current daycare does follow a formal preschool curriculum, but I am thinking that the social aspect of  larger preschool would be good to prepare him for kindergarten. I should add that DS does not deal with change well and is very shy, so I am nervous about 1)changing him to a formal preschool and 2) him being overwhelmed when he gets to kindergarten. I am hoping that once we meet with the preschools, we will just know what the right choice is.

SnShne322

Sorry about that, I misread.  So she follows a preschool curriculum, but isn't technically a preschool?

Also, I don't know jack shit about Kindergarten (yet), but do they offer any preschools/daycares that share a building with Kindergarten?  Maybe that would ease transition?  I know, I'm not very helpful.  I think it just might depend on how formal you want his preschool to be.

NicoleAnne416

If he is already shy, I would suggest a larger, school like preschool. My daughter is in 1st grade now but was shy and still can be at first. In preschool we learned that she rarely spoke up if she needed anything because she was so shy so they worked with her on that and let us know to remind her to speak up to the teachers so she wasn't left behind in kindergarten. I think it really helped her to get used to school.

Another thought is when is his birthday? We held my son from kindergarten until he was 6 (birthday May 29) and it was the best decision we made. Just something to think about, but being shy, and a boy, sometimes boys do better if they wait until 6 for kindergarten.

InLovewSB

You know your kid best. Follow your gut.

My son is a sharp cookie. He does so well with his letters and numbers, but he does not do well with being away from his comfort zone. We knew that going from a situation where grandma watches him every day for 8 hrs to being in kindergarten all day was going to be a real shock to him. So our choice to put him in half day, two days per week preschool was purely a social transition decision. And he really needed it. There were many Tuesday and Thursdays that began in tears, but I cannot imagine what kindergarten would have been like without that exposure and time away from his comfort zone.

My daughter is a little social butterfly and makes friends with everyone in a split second. She benefits from preschool because she has a harder time with her letters and writing. So I'm glad we are doing two day per week preschool for her because it will benefit her academically. We shall see what kindergarten brings, but I think she's going to be very happy to start Grade K.

AyshM

We've had in home care for the last three years. My oldest has attended 3s preschool for this school year (two days a week for just 2 hours) and our nanny takes her. We want to put them both into a full day school environment because my preschooler is "beyond" intellectually but still struggles a little socially. She is the shy child.

We are really excited about sending them to Montessori school in a few weeks. While we'll miss the ease of leaving the kids at home, we're ready for more structure and balance for the kids, less having to bend to the care-givers schedule because they'll be open for us.

We chose Montessori because the kids are given individual attention and freedom to choose their own projects and playtime while learning more comprehensive academic and life skills. The teachers are certified and trained, school is certified, etc.
We're planning to keep our oldest there through kindergarten because our assigned public school isn't that great.

Temporarily, we have to split the kids at two schools because of a lack of openings at the one school we like. The little one can join older when she's two. (Nightmare, but it's gong to be way cheaper to take them to school than keep them at home. Our nanny found a new position earlier than expected and we didn't want to leave her without a job to go to.)

We've also been through a pregnancy-daycare situation. We had nearly private care so she took a few weeks off after having the baby-except she was put on bed rest four weeks before. We had to find alternate care for 6-8 weeks, which made things hard too. You just never know how a pregnancy will go. Have alternatives on the ready if you choose to keep him there.

CeeCeeSugaPie

@SnShne322  Yes, she follows a curriculum but isn't technically a preschool.  There is a preschool that is affiliated with the school district but it is about 30 minutes in the opposite direction from my work. If I thought they would be amazing, I would consider it.

@NicoleAnne416 He just turned 4 this past January 30th, so he will be almost 6 when he enters kindergarten. I think it is a good thing as well.

Thank you all so much for your replies! I really do appreciate it!

NicoleAnne416

Much better than almost June My son is also diabetic so waiting an extra year gave him time to do his own checks and not feel like the strange nurse was doing it all for him.

lab7979

We did an all day preschool/daycare which we started when our kids were around 3-3 1/2 years old.  We chose all day because we both work full time so its easier for us.  They went to in home babysitters up until that point.  They were good babysitters and they did teach them things but I think they learned a lot more in preschool both socially and academically.  That's just my experience, it really depends on the sitter.  There was definitely an adjustment period.  They cried every day when I dropped them off.  That usually lasted for just a few minutes and then they were fine.   I guess my outlook on it is that at some point they get thrown into the shark tank  and are expected to learn coping, social and academic skills.  I just preferred that my kids learn it or have a head start on it before they got to Kindergarten.  Starting school can be nerve racking enough, I wanted them to have some experience under their belt before they got there.  I'm sure that might not be the right choice for every kid though.