preschool poll if you have a 3yr old

[jldumm]

What are you doing about "preschool" this year?

Has is already started? and what do you think of it so far?

Did you do Preschool last year?

What type of preschool is it?
What did you choose it and what are some of the awesome things about it.?

[jldumm]

regrets?

[southernmommie]

Staying home and not going to a predetermined preschool. We are going to just do little things here at home. Learn abc's, numbers (up to 5 or 10), shapes, things like that.

[Violet2]

We are going this year b/c DD gets bored at home with me. She's going to a mixed age class (she knows her letters, phonics, number, shapes, colors, and I thought she'd be bored with just her peers). I think she'll have a blast. I'm so excited for her.

She starts tomorrow!

V

[Peony]

My DD2 will turn 4 next month and she just started preschool. She just misses the cut off date in my state so she will have one more year of preschool ahead of her. My disclaimer before I write all this out is that I don't consider this year of preschool essential for her, I am not a huge fan of multiple years of preschool for my family. I didn't do preschool with my first child, no regrets. If I hasn't working part time right now and have an elderly friend that I am do daily care for, then she wouldn't be going right now. I would of waited and put her in a couple days next years.

So no school last year, preschool started on the 25th of August, it is a traditional preschool only going until May with all school holidays off. It is a preschool attached to my DD1's school which is a very small private school going from PK-8th grade. It a very relaxed school that has the ability to do more creative things. Even the PK students have been taking a nature walk. They have an oven in the room so they can bake bread for their lunch this winter. They do a morning circle time with songs, it is a play based preschool, not heavy on "learning". Stories, a craft sometimes, lunch, outdoor playtime, and rest finish off the day. She goes 2 days a week from 8:30-3pm. Half day ends at 1pm but since I have an older chid that needs to be picked up at 3, she stays until then. I am not thrilled about it, I feel it is too long of a day but it is the way it must be.

She loves it. She still gets clingy at drop off and I just stay until she is comfortable.

[jeanine123]

My youngest went to pre-school last year when he was three. He loved it. Absolutely, completely loved it. It's play based academics. Lots of singing, playing, art. My oldest went there and I was very happy with it for him so it was a no brainer that his brother would go. He starts tomorrow for the 4-5 year old class and he can't wait.

[momasana]

DS is three and we are not doing preschool this year. We joined a homeschool preschool group where we meet for some fun, educational activities now and then but nothing formal.

I did not feel that DS was quite ready for a real preschool away from me. I plan to reevaluate the situation in the new year, but probably won't do anything until he is four.

[SubliminalDarkness]

DS2 is 3, he'll be 4 in December. We don't "do" preschool, so this year is just another year!

[St. Margaret]

No preschool for DD. Can't afford it, she's already doing K and beyond type academics, and we just make a point of taking her to playgroup and other actvities with others a lot (struggling with this a bit right now as I've been disabled, and there will be the whole end of pregnancy and new baby thing, but we're doing all right, and after I HAD to teach last year, we are both loving mama-daughter reunification right now I'm sure she'd love to have others to play with a couple times a week, but it would have to be a good mixed-aged (with older kids) seriously play-based class and those are pricey around here I've gathered.

[mamadelbosque]

DS1 was supposed to goto Head Start this year, but at the last minute they balked on the transport (was told for 6-12 months that yes, they'd come out an pick him up... on Friday (was supposed to start on Tuesday), they called me and said 'actually, you're going to meet us 3/4 of the way there at 7:30 and then he'll be on the bus for a half hour...'). So, he's not going. We're planning on keeping going to playgroup 1-2x a week, trying to goto various library storytimes and other fun things around here for preschoolers. Maybe next year he'll goto preschool. Or maybe not.

[VocalMinority]

My baby won't be 3 'til next year, but I've taught preschool off-and-on for...good God!...17 years!!!! I've taught at several different types of schools, but the kind I'd most recommend - especially for "Mothering" mamas - is a co-op.

* There's a lot of parental involvement, both in the classroom and in running the school. This can be tough if you work, but it's so worth the effort! You will really know your child's teacher, what's going on in the classroom, who his/her friends are, how he/she behaves and interacts, what he/she likes and responds to at school... You will also make a lot of friends with kids the same age as yours and feel part of a warm, child-focused community. Every family who makes the effort to be involved in a co-op has a similar willingness to sacrifice their time to focus on their kids. As a result, you often have families from very diverse socioeconomic levels and racial/religious/political backgrounds, who find a genuine common ground at the co-op. It's great for the adults and the kids.

* The academic philosophy is "learning through play" - in every sense of the phrase. On the one hand, it really is learning, not run-through-the-classroom-willy-nilly. The available activities are very consciously chosen to be stimulating and challenging to young children on a variety of developmental levels and to address gross and fine motor, literacy, math, problem-solving, social, artistic and musical skills every day. But at the same time, you won't see kids sitting at tables doing worksheets, to impress adults with the vision of 3-year-olds "working on a 1st grade level". (They can do that in 1st grade! They're only 3 once!)

* The price is very low, since the school is entirely run - and cleaned! - by parent volunteers and only the teachers are paid. This also means that after teacher salaries and renting space, extra money from tuition and fundraisers can all go toward teaching materials. So well-run schools that have been around for awhile usually have fabulous educational toys, solid libraries, good gross motor equipment and ample art/craft supplies, compared to similarly-priced programs...and even programs that charge much more.

I could extoll the virtues of co-ops all day, if anyone wants to PM me.

[ASusan]

DS turns 3 in October. He transitions to the preschool room at daycare starting next week. All of his buddies are already in that room, as they have been leaving his toddler room as they turn 3.

My concern is that he will not get enough gross motor activity. He needs a lot. I know they go outside 2 times a day, and he now has access to the climber and slides on the playground...but I actually wish they would do a more formal games/dance/movement activity once a day, in addition to playground running around.

The rest of the day is center-based and children choose from 3-4 concurrent activities. His lunch and nap routine stays pretty much the same. I think he will adjust well. If we stay with this plan, he will do 3 years of preschool here before starting public K. We may investigate other options if he seems bored after his second year.

[lach]

DD went to a 2s program last year, and loved it. She starts at a new school for preschool on Thursday. It's a Montessori school that I've heard such good things about. I love the Montessori philosophy and I think that she has the perfect personality for it. She's been off all summer, so I'm expecting a little bit of separation anxiety, but she still remembers the visit she had last spring and is looking forward to playing with the bells (one of the activities they had out).

[Perpetunia]

DS started preschool last week - going 2 days per week from 8 to 3:30 and he LOVES it so far. It's play based with a nature/outdoor focus. This is his first experience being away from us and I was surprised how easy it has been for him. Good for him to have his own thing too since we have a new babe in the house.

[Contrariety]

We're doing home preschool with our neighbors. We started last week and it's been really fun so far! DS turns 4 next month. He still has two years before K and this boy wants to learn!

[First Time Mama]

DS turns 3 on the 17th of September, and we are not sending him to preschool this year. I debated it, and while part of me wants to send him ( particularly with a new baby coming) , and because I think he could use more stimulation (he seems to get bored at home with me) we have decided to wait after all. We can't really afford the type of preschool I want him in right now, and we are moving next year anyway. So I think we'll send him when he's four and we're settled in our new home.

[elmh23]

Ds is 3.5 and we're not doing any out of house schooling. I will be starting to work with him for 30min a day, 3 times a week on things like numbers (he cannot count), shapes (he only knows a couple) and colors (I think he knows all of these, but I want to keep reinforcing it.) We'll also be taking a weekly trip to the zoo once it cools off to "examine" a specific animal (and then go run wild through the play gym.)

The two days that we don't do the above, he has speech therapy to work on his articulation delay. Any homework we get from that will also be worked on throughout the week.

I would like to send him to our parish school (a jr. K through 8th school) next year, but he needs to potty train (food issues are screwing with his stomach and he physically can't train right now) and we need to find the money. We're going to talk about it at Christmas break and then we'll know if he'll be going next year or not.

[Drummer's Wife]

My 3.5 yo just started school last week. He had never been away from me, so I was worried how he would do (well, I knew he would be okay w/o me, but it's just a change to be home all the time to being in school). Anyhow, he's doing great, for the most part. It's a Montessori program, but he is going all-day. I chose this over half-day b/c I am in school full-time myself, and figured Montessori all day was better than most daycare options we would have been able to find/afford. He's tired, though. They have rest time, and he has fallen asleep every day during the story. They let him sleep until it's time for the afternoon work cycle. It's funny b/c this kid has been go-go-go forever, and hasn't napped since he was like 24 months old. I think he'll adjust and get used to school and recesses and all of that in time. Otherwise, I may switch him to half day and see if DH can work from home when I have to be in class.

It's only been 6 days - but he says he likes it and gets excited about the things he does there. He loves the pink tower and farm animals the most, right now.

OASN, with four kids, we've done preschool at 3 for the oldest (then she homeschooled until 1st grade); nothing for the next kid except half a year of pre-k when he was 4.5; also no preschool for the 3rd kid until he was 4.5 and went to pre-k for a full year; and now my baby in school at 3.5. It's really only b/c I am in college - otherwise he'd be at home with me, possibly doing a 2-3 day a week half-day program. I certainly don't think preschool, at any age, is necessary. But I do see the benefits in it for some kids and families.

[kcstar]

DS just turned 3, and we started him with a Montessori preschool, two mornings a week, last June. We are very happy with it.

DH is the at-home parent, and also has ADD. It's been a stressful year, and DH was really struggling to provide the structure and attention that our son needed.

Part-time preschool and other structured activities (gymnastics & music classes) give DS a social outlet, positive learning experiences, and provide structure to both of their weeks.

When DH gets a part-time job, DS will move up to two days of preschool a week. (Until then, I don't like what the extra $$ does to our budget.) Next year, I'd be interested in making that three days, and perhaps when he turns 5 (and misses the cutoff) he could do 4 or 5 days a week.

It took DS a few weeks to get used to me dropping him off. It might not have been so bad if I had not been out-of-town the second week. Other than that, he's had a great time.

Over the summer, they seem to have done a different curriculum, with about two weeks focusing on different "fun" focuses like astronomy and rockets. With the school year, it might be having more of an academic focus.

We started gymnastics one class per week in May, and DS has had a lot of fun with that. This week he'll move out of the "Dad and me" classes for that.

We added in Kindermusik this fall, but kept him in the Our Time (18 mo- 3 yo, parent/child class) for his first semester. Come spring, we'll put him in the 3-5 yo w/o parent class.

[snoopy5386]

Well, this year I have a 4 yo who will be going to 5 day a week preschool 3 hours a day. Last year when she was 3 we did a 1 day 2 hour dropoff program at our local nature center and a 2 day a week Montessori, homeschool preschool co-op with a group of other like minded moms (I was on premises the whole time). It worked out great as a 1st venture into schooling.