First question on this board....

lilitaliangirl

First I will give an intro- I'm 34 years old, married for almost 7 years, mother of 5 year old DS and 21 weeks pregnant with #2 and have been on preggo boards pretty regularly (since my BFP, obviously). This is my first time on School Aged Board. So, Hello

My son is starting Kindergarten this coming fall. He has been going to an in home sitter since he was 10 weeks. She has never really had any kind of structure or lessons, but we have been okay with that because we work with him at home. He can count to 20+, knows his alphabet (with the exception of "el-mmm-mmm-mo-p"). Recognizes more than basic shapes, colors, etc. He can recognize most numbers, but not good with letters. With that being said, what are your thoughts/recommendations as far as keeping him with his sitter or switching to, at least part-time, pre school. My biggest fear is too much change for him. We moved into our house this past August, baby will be here in June, and Kindergarten in August. TIA.

neverblushed

Hi and welcome!  

My sense is that kids come into kindergarten in a variety of places in terms of what they know.  Some may only know the alphabet song and their colors; others may be reading already. Some can't write at all; others can write their names and a handful of other words.  Some may be able to count to ten; others may understand the concept of addition.  Some kids may have mastered the use of scissors and glue sticks, while others may need help with cutting and pasting.

Those differences aside, if a child is cognitively, emotionally, and socially ready to learn, the teacher will get them all caught up fairly quickly.  A child who is ready to learn can enter the year knowing just the alphabet song and be reading and writing short sentences by spring.

So, I think the most important job of a good preschool is not to prepare kids by teaching pre-literacy skills, but to prepare kids emotionally and socially by helping them learn to separate from parents or caregivers, helping them follow classroom procedures, work independently and with a group, and develop good self-advocacy skills (learning to recognize when you don't understand and ask a question, or to ask for help if you can't open the bathroom door, etc.)

I think in-home daycare is fantastic, but it doesn't replace a good, traditional preschool program for 4 year olds.  Would your sitter be willing to drop off him off and pick him up from a local part-day preschool?  That way he'd still be with the sitter most of the time, but get a 1/2 year of preschool in before kindergarten.

As far as overwhelming him with change, you're talking about a few big events spread over a year. And kindergarten is coming next fall, regardless.  I wouldn't worry too much about overwhelming him.  Learning to cope with change is part of being a preschooler!