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Looking for opinions re: pre-school
So we got the paperwork to register Audrey for pre-k this upcoming school year. She'll turn three on June 25th, so she'd go to the 2 day/week program.
For the last few months, while debating whether or not I should send her, my gut has been telling me to wait a year.. so I'm just looking for other opinions. I dont want to not send her just because she's my baby and I'm holding her back.. but I feel like my reasons are legit.
If she DOES start this year, there is a chance she could end up doing three years of pre-k if the teachers dont think she's ready for kindergarten after two years. The downside to this is that a.) it's more money, and b.) transportation is going to be a PITA. I plan on keeping her in the in-home daycare she's already at and just transporting her to/from pre-k on those two days.
If they were to say she was ready for kindergarten after two years of pre-k, she'd be very young for her class. Until the end of time.
She's a really social little lady who seems to really participate well when we're in school like settings (story time at the library, etc.). When it comes down to it, yeah she's probably ready for pre-k.. but I dont want to do three years if we dont have to, and I really would rather have her be older for her class than young.
Do you think it's crazy for me to wait until she's four to start (bearing in mind that she'd still be a very young four year old)? Am I making any sense at all?
Re: Looking for opinions re: pre-school
A started preschool the fall of '10, and honestly, I wish I would have waited a year. She really enjoys it, but this fall she will start her 3rd year, and I just feel like 2 would have been enough.
I will only be sending her 3 days this fall, because I am not ready to have her go 5 mornings a week. This is probably weird, but I could cry thinking about sending her to kindergarten already, I am not ready for her to be away from me all day, 5 days a week.
I've gone back and forth on what I think about preschool/vs kindergarten/vs redshirting, blah, blah blah and after sending one kid at 5 and waiting til the other was almost 6 I've come to this conclusion:
1 - Kids need more than 1 year of preschool. And one of those years needs to be 3 days, if not 5 days a week IMO before they are sent to an all day, every day kindergarten.
2 - if they are 5 years old before the first day of school (or before the cut off now I guess since that's been moved up to July) they should go to Kindergarten, regardless if they are a boy or a girl, unless there is SERIOUS doubt in your mind or a teachers mind that they are ready.
I don't think your crazy for not sending her until she's 4, unless you plan to send her to K the following year...IMO its just not enough experience for them to go from three little half days to 5 full days of school with no other school experience before that.
I would do this year 2-3 days & the following year 5 days. Then kindergarten. She will be 5 well before the cut off date, I wouldn't wait another whole year for K. If specific concerns arise, obviously you would wait on K - but if otherwise she's been a normal, healthy kid & all goes well, I would not wait until she is 6 yrs & 2 months to send her to K.
I agree that going from 2-3 "days" (usually 2-3 hours long, not exactly school days) to full day K is not ideal. I'd prefer to have them go to 5 days preschool prior.
Interesting. I guess I am the minority, but I definitely won't be sending her 5 days. I feel like it is unnecessary. She learns plenty between the days that she goes now, and being home. She has plenty of full school days ahead of her, so I am not going to rush it.
We didn't even have preschool where I grew up, and we all started kindergarten going full days.
Ditto. We didn't have preschool either and I think I turned out just fine. I went to half days kindergarten/5 days when I was 5 and started 1st grade when I was 6. My mom was a SAHM so I didn't have daycare interaction either. I don't think there is anything wrong with keeping her in daycare another year.
Married the love of my life 6/3/06
Became a family of three 8/25/09