4k/wwyd

[StrawberryFields]

Sorry this is long but I could really use some thoughtful input. I feel like I am on my own here since dh doesn't have much of an opinion.

I am a SAHM and my ds turned 4 in November. Our district has a Sept. 1st cut off, so he is not scheduled to start 5K until fall 2011, when he will be on the verge of turning 6.

Dh and I made the decision to send him to the same small parochial school that myself, my mother, and grandfather attended as children. We attend the church, dh manages their computer network (volunteer) and ds attends a 1 hour Sunday School class each week that meets in the 5K room.

Ds has never attended daycare or preschool. He does the Sunday School, did two rounds of (child/parent) swim class, and is enrolled in a couple day classes this summer at the zoo (two one-time, three hour classes).

5K is 5 days a week from 8 am - 3 pm.

The school has a daycare/preschool and we just got the information. The 4K program is a choice of 3, 4, or 5 days a week. The hours are 8-3. The cost for the 3 day a week program is about $200 a month, which is insanely more than the cost of 5K-8. This is because the preschool is self supporting while the K-8 is supported by the congregation.

So. The $200 a month cost is quite a lot for us, though I think if I really work hard I can save enough to be able to send him.

On one hand I think it would be a good idea to have him ease into school by going 3 days a week. Otherwise, when he starts 5K, he will go from being home all day to being in school 5 days a week 7 hours a day. Also, it will give him the chance to learn how to be in a classroom, meet other kids, and keep him busy during the long winter. He really enjoys having friends, though he doesn't really have many and the very few he does have are in school already.

On the other hand, once he starts school he's going to be going forever. Basically until he grows up and gets a job. So...why start any earlier than he has to? He's only 4. And there are beautiful days like yesterday, where it was sunny and 80 degrees and he spent the day playing in the pool, digging in the sand box, and looking for bugs. So much more enriching than being in a classroom all day. And, like I mentioned before, the $2k is a stretch for us. I think I can do it, but I am undecided whether it would be extravagant for me to do so.

Thoughts?

[Drummer's Wife]

You could always try out the 3 days a week and see how he did. If it wasn't working, pull him out until Kindergarten. $200 isn't too bad, IMO, if you can swing it.

I have a kid in prek this year (he just turned 5) and he goes 4 days a week, 3 hrs a day. It has been wonderful for him. Truly wonderful. Plus, he gets speech therapy there, which is a great benefit to him. He will start Kindergarten in the fall at a different school (Montessori) and it will be all day. I think, for him (he is very much a mama's boy), it will help ease into his school career. If he had had a hard time, and didn't want to go, I would have been more than happy to pull him out and keep him home for the remainder of the year. Instead, he loves it soo much and begs to go on the days he doesn't have school.

3 days will still give you 4 days to not have to be anywhere, yk? I would probably give it a try and see how it goes. You say he'd be in a classroom all day - and I guess it just depends on the program - but my DS spends a lot of time at the playground, on the grass field, at the sensory garden, at the vegetable garden, the library, on walks, and at the gym. His classroom is actually really, really nice with tons of materials and activities (much more than we have a home), but they aren't cooped up inside all afternoon long that he is away at school.

[Momily]

A lot of what my son did in during his 4 year old year in preschool was digging in the sand box, hunting for bugs, and going to the pool. The PreK kids that I work with do those things too, well except the pool as there isn't one within walking distance. The biggest difference is that they do those things with friends. In fact, if what the children in this class are doing is substantially different from that, I'd tell you to run away.

I think a year of preschool can be really helpful to kids. In my experience both as the mom of a child who was a Kindergartener once upon a time, and as a special educator and now school administrator who works with that age group, I think it's a really good idea. Kindergarten is a giant step for most kids. The demands these days on kids to sit and listen, and work collaboratively, and follow someone else's agenda are high. Add to this some pretty advanced academic demands and it's a lot for little kids. If you're learning how to separate from mom, and play in a group at the same time, it can be overwhelming.

I'm curious about the "self-supporting" daycare at $200 a month. Unless the ratios are really horrible, or the staff is way underpaid, I don't see how that's possible. Is the church subsidizing it to some degree, but not the same degree as the school? For example, are they providing the physical space, and the leadership (principal or director, etc . . . ) and that tuition just pays for classroom teachers etc . . . While I know it seems like a lot to you, when you figure all the costs that go into running a quality childcare program, it just isn't very much at all.

Good luck, whatever you decide.

[StrawberryFields]

Originally Posted by Momily

I'm curious about the "self-supporting" daycare at $200 a month. Unless the ratios are really horrible, or the staff is way underpaid, I don't see how that's possible. Is the church subsidizing it to some degree, but not the same degree as the school? For example, are they providing the physical space, and the leadership (principal or director, etc . . . ) and that tuition just pays for classroom teachers etc . . . While I know it seems like a lot to you, when you figure all the costs that go into running a quality childcare program, it just isn't very much at all.

Good luck, whatever you decide.

The preschool is really small and it is inside/part the regular school building. There are different rates for different services; $200/mo being for the 3 day 4K program. 4 and 5 days is more. They charge per hour for the 3K and they do the before/after school care for the K-8 students as well, for a fee. They have their own director and maybe a teacher or two but like I said, really small. The church supports the school but not the daycare. But at the same time given that we are all members of the church... for example, my husband maintains the computers of the church and school as a volunteer. And so he also maintains the preschool by default. I am sure there are other ways like that in which the members and parents provide support to the preschool even though it is not through the church offerings. The school has no janitor, for example. It is done by parent teams.

I don't have the numbers in front of me but the K-8 averages 10-15 kids per grade and I do not think the 3K/4K deviates very far from that. If not on the lower side, even.

My ds has been inside the 4K classroom and he loved it. It was very cute, with a big train table and lots of fun toys. Unless they have a bunch of field trips to the park or something there probably isn't a TON of outside time. They do have a nice but small area with some playground equipment.

My ds does have some listening issues. Like in swim class and in Sunday School, he doesn't seem to "get" that he is supposed to listen to the teachers and follow their instruction. I believe that if he doesn't want to do what they tell him (or the class) to, he just doesn't do it, or say anything. So I was thinking that easing in to kindergarten by attending 4K first might start the ball rolling on that...

I'm glad that so far no one thinks $200 a month is an outrageous expense for me to be considering. I have a bit of sticker shock given that K-8 is something like $400 for the whole year. And of course from the public schools 4K is free.

Decisions, decisions... I am filling out the paperwork as I sit here... I just don't know. Heck, I don't even know if they will accept our vax exemption so maybe all this back and forth will be for nothing anyway!!

[LauraLoo]

Do the spots fill up, or could you wait until Jan. to enroll him?

Are you able to do other activities - like a mommy & me class - that would give him the experience of an organized setting? When my dc's were this age, even the local coffee bars and book stores had weekly organized arts & crafts for preschoolers - some were free. Local parks & rec centers often have different classes for preschoolers - and this may be another way for him to meet other friends. There may be other ways that are less expensive to expose him to some guided structure without a significant financial commitment. If 200/month is significant to you, what other ways could you spend a portion of that and still get a lot out of it?

I think there are some kids that do benefit from a preschool experience, and I know plenty of other kids that skipped this and did just fine adjusting to K. For the most part, the first month or two of K is spent getting all the children into a routine. Does your ds transition well? Make new friends easily? Have age appropriate behavior with following directions?

[mattemma04]

I would go with whatever class you think would be best for your child.If attendance wasn't such an issue these days I would have kept my ds home on some days in K.Even when my dd was in a headstart program they made a stink about missing days.

I don't think 200 is to bad.I probably paid more when dd was in preschool.

[Mbella]

Wow $200 is awesome! Dd goes to a Catholic preschool and we pay $360 a month for 2 days/3 hours. Next year we will pay over $400 a month for 3 days/5 hours. I am also a sahm. We decided to send her because she loves learning and playing with other children and I don't want her to go from being home all day everyday to school over 5 hours 5 days a week in kindergarten. We will also be sending the kids to the Catholic school for elementary school (unless we move), which is around $4000 if you are a member of the diocese.

[StrawberryFields]

Originally Posted by LauraLoo

Do the spots fill up, or could you wait until Jan. to enroll him?

Are you able to do other activities - like a mommy & me class - that would give him the experience of an organized setting?

I have been working on enrichment classes but we can't do any parent/child ones because I have two little ones and siblings are never allowed. We did a few rec classes too but they were so terrible! And when I was looking over classes recently I noticed that most targeted at his age group (4, 5 +) are held in the evening and on the weekend, presumably because his peers are all in school during the day. So I am having trouble finding a perfect fit but will keep looking!!