summer/fall 2006 moms...preschool?

reilly17

are you starting dc in pre-school this year? ds won't be 3 until the end of october, and we have him signed up to go. he is pretty smart for his age (knows abc's, counts to 20 (fwd, and backwards), colors, shapes, opposites, rhymes words, some spanish, can spell 10 words, and is tyring to read). Needless to say, i think he needs to start school, b/c he seems bored at home and needs the interaction of other kids...besides his lil brother. he will be on the younger side in his class, and we arent quite there with potty training just yet. my dilemma is whether to start him or not? i feel like he has the rest of his life to be in school, and with the threats of the worsening flu bug, and illness scare me. i just would hate to have pushed the issue to start him too soon, and have him either be burnt out by first grade, or end up getting deathly ill with something, b/c i exposed him too early!  what are you other mommies doing re: pre-school? 

CubbyMama

We're not going to start her until she's 3 (almost 4) and then she'll probably start kindergarten at 4 (almost 5), but I always believe in erring on the side of "later," so if there's any doubt, we'll hold her back another year before kinder.  Like your DS, she knows a lot of stuff and learns really quickly, so academically I feel like she's more than ready for preschool, and is actually ahead of many of my starting kindergarteners this year (!) but maturity-wise, I don't think she's ready.  She's never been in daycare or anything before, and she's pretty clingy with DH and I lately, so I'd rather try to wait this phase out and make sure she's ready, rather than rush it.  GL deciding!

Dimplz

DS was born in June and is going to preschool next month. He'll be going 2.5 hrs/day, 4 days a week. The cut off date here is 3 by Aug. 31st so he qualifies.

Yeah I feel the same way re: school the rest of his life and I even tell him, with puzzled looks from him, that his glory days are over! LOL But I think it will be very good for him to go. He's never been to daycare and I think he will be able to learn so much at school, not just curriculm-wise but socially too.

summerbrideDC

Ethan's been in preschool since before his 3rd birthday. ?

NikiGee

DD just turned 3 in June and is starting pre-school in two weeks.

july05bride2

DD turned 3 in early june and started pre-school this week from 7am-5pm (can be later than 7 and earlier than 5).  she LOVES it.  i did the move because she was in an in-home daycare and was the oldest.  there were no other kids her age so i felt it was a good move for her and so far it has been!

karen6784

We do a parent/child co-op for DD.  She goes 2 days a week (9:30-12 noon)  We did this program as a 1 day a week last year with great success.

 

omurray

My DS also has an October birthday and we are not doing preschool until next year.  Like Cubby, I know he is academically ready, but emotionally he still is unsure about being away from me a lot of times.  I also just feel like 3 yrs of preschool is too much and worry about burnout, particularly for a boy.  We live in an area that offers a lot of classes/activities/playplaces for kids this age, so we get out and do a lot and he has interaction with other kids at least 3 times a week through classes and playdates, so I don't think he's lacking there.  I do make a point to try to do fun learning-type activities with him at home because he really enjoys learning and I think its important. 

MSUmommy

DD will start preschool this fall. She is potty-trained, which is a requirement at our school. She turned 3 in July.

 She is ready and excited.

 I am also doing parent/tot class with my DS who will be 2 on Tuesday.

I know they'll be in school forever, but I think at this age it's about playing and socialization more than rigorous academics, so they will have fun and make some new friends!

butterbeansmama

DS will be 3 in October. He has been going to Montessori since he was 2. Isn't the reason for pre-school is to get them ready for Kindergarden? I really don't think that them knowing abc's, numbers, shapes, etc. is relevant for pre-school. IMO, Preschool is a place for them to learn these things (as well as the home enviroment).

bdjSLP

Natalie (9/29/06) has been in daycare since she was 9 weeks old (three days per week) and her entire "class" is transitioning to preschool together at the same facility.  With our day care program, they basically structure it like pre-school anyway so it's not much of a change for her, just more structure and she definately needs the stimulation/language, etc.  It's a little easier for us since she has never "stayed home" exclusively.  She has been totally potty trained for a while now.  I think you're thinking about all of the important points and honestly, pre-school is fun for kids and they learn quite a bit of social skills in addition to the basics.  I felt really guilty at first when Natalie was sick every few months in daycare, but our pediatrician reminded me that children ALWAYS get sick around other children and whether it's in day care as a teeny tiny or when they enter kindergarten and are sick quite a bit at first, they have to go through this to build up their immune systems.  Good luck!  Hope your little man likes school!

veloelle

DD turned 3 in late July. I won't enroll her until next year. We are starting her in a 1x week Mandarin language class this week, she's been in other structured play/learn environments and she's at DC 2x a week w/ kids her age. The DC provider takes them to the library every week for story time, does numbers and letters w/ them, etc. Honestly I haven't even researched preschools in the area.  Her social skills are not lacking at all, so I'm not worried about that transition.