S/O on full day preschools - Q for working moms

MrsPhilDunphy · December 2011

victoria1212's post below reminded me of something I've wanted to ask the great Bump Brain. Most of my friends that have kids in real preschools are SAHM's with the ability to work with the preschools' goofy schedule. Everything labelled a "preschool" that I've looked at is either part time or a co-op or something in between.

C is at a in home daycare with a very loose preschool element (he's been taught his letters, colors and numbers. Although the doesn't care much for numbers. My boy.), but it is not super structured and I don't know if he'll get all that much more out of it at 3 or 4. Do most working families transition to centers with built in preschool curriculum at that time?

As I've mentioned ad nauseum on the nest, we're hoping to move in the next year, so we would be looking at new daycares then. I've always been open to casual in homes, but I'm guessing that at 3 or 4 we should look for something with more of an education program?

What did you do or what do you plan to do? I realize he has three more years before he even starts kindergarten, so I'm honestly not in a rush to make him a little Doogie Howser, I just don't want to wake up in a panic that my four year old can't count past five (I told you - he's not in to numbers).

Hey Jellisy · December 2011

It took some looking, but there are full day preschool programs out there, or preschools that provide before and after care. Most also have summer camps. This is not to say that their holiday schedules are work friendly. We loved Artslvr's children's program but they are effectively closed 4-6 weeks of the year and we just couldn't make that work without local family. That said, we found 4 programs that worked with our schedule, that we really liked, within 2 miles of our home so options do exist.

Sofka · December 2011

our DCP goes from infancy past kindergarten (after school program upto age 8, I believe). They have full-day preschool and full-day pre-K. They are just another room in the center, so that's what we are doing. Their hours are the same, 6:30-6:30, their policies, etc etc. It works great for us b/c like you we both work F/T. DD started right after her 3rd b-day (the rule is you have to be both 3 and fully potty-trained so some kids start a few months after their 3rd b-day) and loves it. She loves to say, "I'm DD, I am pre-schooler" LOL - they even have a computer "lab" in there. She can already write certain letters and can count very high, even backwards.

ETA: DCP is open year round, there is no sumemr vacation; they have 2-3 teacher work days, are closed the Friday after Thanksgiving, the week b/w X-Mas and New Year's and the 6 major Fed holidays (they are open on Martin Luther King Jr Day, Veteran's Day, President's Day).

WinesNotWhines · December 2011

I've looked into preschools that are separate from daycares, and you can find full-day preschools. Technically the school portion is a half day, but they have before and after care where the kids eat lunch, nap, and play. The main problem is that the preschools have a ton of breaks and holidays throughout the year, including 2 weeks off for winter break, a week off for spring break, and 2 weeks off during the summer. Some of the schools have summer camp, but they still have a week off before/after camp. So you basically need to find child care for an additional 4-6 weeks, which is crazy IMO. One of my co-workers put her 4-year old in preschool this year, and she's had to take quite a bit of time off to cover his breaks. I think we're going to stick with the preschool-in-a-daycare-center option.

victoria1212 · December 2011

The options seem limited or inconvenient! We are planning to move and har a general area that we would like to live in. We are looking at one Montessori (that has after school care but significant breaks where we would have to find other care), a private school that has preschool (with after care and summer camp) and a daycare center with preschool. They all have their downsides but I have co-workers who are doing the part day preschool and having a nanny for the afternoon and I not sure I want to go that route either. Or, we might keep her with DCP for another year and then enroll in pre-k at a private school. This is more stressful than the daycare search!

ch ch ch chia · December 2011

We're thinking about the same thing. Right now, 2 of the older kids at daycare go to morning preschool 3 days a week, and the DCP's husband picks them up (I think... I'm not quite sure of the arrangement....)

There's another kid at daycare that's the same age as J. If he's still there next year, I am going to see if there might be a way to work something out with the other parents, where we could do some sort of creative carpooling a couple times a week.

Buuuut. In the end, I'll probably do nothing, and my kid will never go to Harvard.

WinesNotWhines · December 2011

ch ch ch chia:

Buuuut. In the end, I'll probably do nothing, and my kid will never go to Harvard.

LOL. I think there are a lot of kids who don't go to preschool. That's what Sesame Street is for. (kidding!)

ch ch ch chia · December 2011

WinesNotWhines:
ch ch ch chia:

Buuuut. In the end, I'll probably do nothing, and my kid will never go to Harvard.

LOL. I think there are a lot of kids who don't go to preschool. That's what Sesame Street is for. (kidding!)

DD can already count to around 25 (with some goof-ups), and can write several letters by herself (H, J, X, A, etc.)... there's hope, afterall. LOL

[my kid is a genius! my kid is a genius! BWAHAHAHA]

She did call my apron a pumpkin pie last night, though. I got a laugh out of that one. I guess she got confused when I was wearing it while doing the Thanksgiving cooking.

2vthokies · December 2011

Our daycare center does pre-school as part of their 3 year old and up program, so we'll just stick with that. I looked at a full-day Montessori program (that also takes under 2s), and while I would love to send both kids to Montessori, it's another $1K per month, so that's not going to happen.

tracy042206 · December 2011

Right now we are in the same type of in-home as you. I think this is working out fine for Maggie who is generally well behaved and likes to learn her numbers and letters with us in the evenings and weekends and in the small projects they do at daycare.

When we move sometime in May/June I want to move them both to a center. I think Molly will really benefit from the structure since she has been behind verbally and is really just starting to express her self in sentences and more words in general. Although oddly enough Molly is already recognizing letters whereas Maggie really only started this bright before she turned 4. I like that Maggie will get a small intro into a more structured setting plus we may need to use them for before/after care, not sure yet.

QueSrah · December 2011

ch ch ch chia:

[my kid is a genius! my kid is a genius! BWAHAHAHA]

LOL

We were mainly considering daycare centers that have a preschool curriculum. But a new preschool opened in our neighborhood and has great hours (7:30-6:30) and their breaks follow the county schools - at some point we'll have to adjust to that schedule anyway. Between my FIL and my parents (who could come out here for a week at a time if we need them), I'm sure we can get some help over the long holiday breaks.

MrsPhilDunphy · December 2011

Thanks for the comments! It's good to know some other folks are in the same situation.

I'll have to look a little more closely at our preschool options (both here and in the areas where we're house hunting) for full-time. I hadn't thought of the vacations breaks - thanks for bringing that up. We're lucky to have retired grandparents close by, but it's definitely something to consider.

And ch ch ch chia: your child may be a little MENSA candidate, but I think my favorite J quote ever is "I spilled! On my dress!".

Mrs.Handy · December 2011

Thanks for asking this! This is something we're dealing with too.

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S/O on full day preschools - Q for working moms

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