dumb question: preschool versus daycare?

epphd

So Sam is at the day care on site where I work, full time. The facility enrolls kids up to kindergarten and has a designed curriculum for each age range. It's highly regarded, NAEYC accredited, and has a superb child/teacher ratio.  70% of the staff have degrees in childhood education.  Does this count as a preschool or am I supposed to think about finding a separate place for Sam when he gets older?  (crosses fingers that the answer is no...)

 

mama_cito95

Not a dumb question.  Since they are NAEYC accredited, they should be considered a preschool.  With that said, I do know of NAEYC accredited centers that are not that great (i.e. do not care for their curriculum, teachers, etc).  I would choose a preschool heavily based on the curriculum or teaching philosophy.

ETA: this is what I would do.  But I'm biased since I work at a preschool.

charmcitygirl

Nope.  If he's in daycare, they should take care of all the elements that he would learn in preschool.  Preschool is really more designed for children who are with a nanny, at home parent or some other in-home care situation.  He should move from daycare to kindergarten when he's ready. 

AvaLikeLava

You don't have to look for a separate pre-school (unless you want him to go to some fancy private school that uses certain pre-schools as feeders, or you want a very specific teaching methodology like Montessouri, etc). Your program will already account for the pre-school curriculum.

G ans S2's daycare is 6w through pre-K, and they do that too, The second group (age 2-4) is actually referred to as the pre-school group. They are learning letters, numbers, songs, do circle time, quiet time, do art projects and the like.

epphd

Thanks!  once again, the baby boards leave me in a panic.  Everyone seems to have a special plan "we're doing Waldorf" or "I'm looking for a part time french immersion program"... (side question - if the parents don't speak French at home, how useful is a PART TIME immersion program? Sorry, insert eye roll there...) and here I am the doofus saying "uh, he's in daycare. that counts, right?"

SeaSoul

I would say it counts as a preschool since it goes up to K.  Sounds like where my niece & nephew go, and both started at age 2 (PT).  In our case, Cal goes to someone's house with only 2 other kids (1 of whom is PT), so it's more babysitting than preschool.  We've talked about entering him in a more structured program within the next year or so - of course that costs $$, which is a drag!  My sister & their preschool have a sweet arrangement whereby my sister's partner does PT office work for the school, in exchange for partial tuition.  I'm jealous.

roaringrock

honestly, I think it depends on where you live and what's available. "daycare" is a dime a dozen in my town and we have couple really great pre-schools (with waiting lists.) it's NOTHING like nyc but still competitive. I like the idea of age specific and structured learning for ginny as opposed to generic childcare (she only goes 2 mornings a week.) when I'm working I have a sitter that comes to the house = childcare. yes, ginny is a bit on the young side for this particular pre-school program but so far so good (((touch wood.)))

your situation sounds awesome. I wouldn't give it another thought.

alchris

In my opinion, you have everything more than well-covered!  I think he'll get a great preschool education and will be *very* prepared for K!