Is Pre-K necessary for a kid before K?

[lisac77]

My DS turns 4 this June. After a lot of consideration, we have decided to go ahead and put him in K in 2008, even though he is pretty young and may not be quite ready. We are prepared to have him repeat K if necessary.

So those of you that have had kids in K, do you think full time or part time Pre-K is necessary? Our situation is a little crazy right now because I am working evenings and my husband works all the time, so DS is home with me in the mornings and stays with a nanny at the house in the afternoons. I'm not sure we could even get him into K until I am on a different shift at work, and it just may not be possible to have him in Pre-K before K.

Any help is appreciated!!

[TwinMom]

I'm a little confused as to why you would "be prepared to have him repeat" kindergarten. If you're worried about him being so young in kindergarten, maybe you could do pre-k that year and then start him in K when he's six. I guess it really depends on your child's temperament.

FWIW, my son turned five in August, so if he were going to go to school (we homeschool) we wouldn't have put him in kindergarten until next school year.

[lisac77]

K = no money out of pocket
Pre-K = $700 a month

It's an economic thing. Childcare is killing us! We just can't pass up an essentially "free" childcare option. It's not a big deal paying for it when he's 4, when we'd have to pay for it anyway, but we've thought about this a lot, and we just can't justify spending the money.

That's why we're putting him in with the intention of having him repeat if necessary.

[sarahmae1]

I do think its a good idea for children to have some type of preschool/pre-k experiance before starting Kindergarten.

I agree with the pp that it would probably be a good idea to consider doing pre-k for your DS in 2008 and then K the following year. Have you looked into free or low-cost preschools in your area to see if you qualify? I know Head Start is free to those who qualify, but you may be able to find smaller preschools that may be less expensive than $700/month, or that have an income based fee. I know in my area they offer free pre-K at the public school for children like your DS who may not be quite ready for for K even if they are old enough.

If there is no way you can do preschool/pre-k, then I would try to get him in some other activities before he goes to K, if you don't already.

[CarrieMF]

My DS turns 4 this June. After a lot of consideration, we have decided to go ahead and put him in K in 2008, even though he is pretty young and may not be quite ready. We are prepared to have him repeat K if necessary.

I am confused. If he isn't going to K until 2008 then he'll be 5 when he goes to K which is the normal age that kids go to K. If he isn't going until 2008 it is WAY to early to be thinking that he may not be ready. Even a year from now with 4-5 months before he'd start K it would be too early to figure that.

What is the cut off age for where he'd be going to K?

For the economic reason, what are you paying for childcare now? Could you find a cheaper childcare than what you are currently using? Full time childcare here through the dayhome society is around $450/month.

Pre-K is NOT necessary. My girls have all gone to a playschool. There are no formal academics, it is learning through play based. They really don't teach them anything. There is 1 Pre-K here but it is run through the school division. It is for low income/kids with behaviour issues, almost all the kids in it are low income though. They do not pay for it. The rest of the playschools are only 2hours for 2 days a week for 4 yo's. I paid $1100 for the entire school year.

[TiredX2]

Both of my kids did co-op preschool for one year (well, DD for 7 months, DS for 9 months) before they started kinder. 2Xweek for 2.5 hours. Completely play oriented. They both did fine.

In your situation I would consider a half-day situation (since he is with the nanny half days anyway) for next year. Does he do any "classes" (Sunday school, swim lessons, story time at the library)? Does he meet the expectations for kinder readiness?

That said, I would really, really not put my child in if I thought there would be a good chance they would be held back. That has been shown to be very damaging. But I certainly don't think that no pre-K is going to make him more likely to fail kinder.

[mahogny]

My DS is in pre-K this year at the public school. (It's free in our state, and 70% of the state's 4 yo attend.)

I debated for a long long time about whether or not to send him. It boiled down to the fact that our district has full-day K. Pre-K is half-day. If K was half-day, I would have skipped pre-K. But I wasn't about to have his first school experience being to full-day K. I thought the half-day option would be a good introduction to going to school.

But as I said, pre-K is free here statewide, so there were no financial considerations. DS has never been to daycare or pre-school, but has been home with me for his entire life.

I agree with the PP about the notion of sending your DS to K with the idea that he might have to repeat. That would have to be hard on him! Even at that age, he'll know that all his friends have moved on to 1st grade, but he's still down in K. I still remember when a someone in my 1st grade class was held back to repeat the grade, and she was so ashamed and embarrassed.

[lisac77]

Originally Posted by CarrieMF

I am confused. If he isn't going to K until 2008 then he'll be 5 when he goes to K which is the normal age that kids go to K. If he isn't going until 2008 it is WAY to early to be thinking that he may not be ready. Even a year from now with 4-5 months before he'd start K it would be too early to figure that.

I know. But this year (upcoming) would be the year he would do Pre-K for K in 2008.

What is the cut off age for where he'd be going to K?

They must be 5 by September 1. He makes the cut off by 2 months.

For the economic reason, what are you paying for childcare now? Could you find a cheaper childcare than what you are currently using? Full time childcare here through the dayhome society is around $450/month.

Full time childcare is expensive here. I'm personally not comfortable with older children in at home daycares. Since he will be in school I would prefer to put him in a school like setting. We currently pay from $800-$1000 a month depending on how much the nanny works.

Pre-K is NOT necessary. My girls have all gone to a playschool. There are no formal academics, it is learning through play based. They really don't teach them anything. There is 1 Pre-K here but it is run through the school division. It is for low income/kids with behaviour issues, almost all the kids in it are low income though. They do not pay for it. The rest of the playschools are only 2hours for 2 days a week for 4 yo's. I paid $1100 for the entire school year.

All Pre-Ks here are academic.

In your situation I would consider a half-day situation (since he is with the nanny half days anyway) for next year. Does he do any "classes" (Sunday school, swim lessons, story time at the library)? Does he meet the expectations for kinder readiness?

He doesn't do classes now, but I'm looking to start him soon.

He is with the nanny full days from 3 PM - 11 PM. We can't afford to pay the nanny and put him in preschool.

That said, I would really, really not put my child in if I thought there would be a good chance they would be held back. That has been shown to be very damaging. But I certainly don't think that no pre-K is going to make him more likely to fail kinder.

We have no idea if he will be ready or not. But from our current situation, putting him in K "on time" seems to be the best option. It's not set in stone.

Academically he's ready. Emotionally/socially is where I have my doubts. But he is only 3 now! I'm just trying to anticipate what we need.

We are not low income, but we are having serious financial problems due to a failing business. Things are tight and paying multiple thousand dollars for another year is daunting.

[Jane Plane]

I'm a working mom, and I would go for the 4 yo K program this year, which is what I think you mean by starting Kindergarten this year. I assume it's only a half-day program? (That's the way it works here.) If he hasn't been in structured care/school before, I would do half-days, and then have the nanny take the second half of the day, if you could do that money-wise.

Good luck!

[Momily]

I think that for most kids, especially only children, going straight from home with lots of 1:1 attention, to 6+ hours in a structured setting in a large group would be too fast. If a formal preschool program isn't an option because of cost/hours, I'd look for something in between -- a 2 or 3 morning coop (arround here they are MUCH cheaper) program, putting together a coop group with a few other moms (say 6 moms, with 2 moms doing a small group each day 3 times a week), summer camp, sunday school or vacation bible school if you're religious.

On the other hand, I there are some kids that do just fine with the transition -- it's just hard to predict which kids they will be.

[Ellien C]

I wouldn't put him in K early. There is the part, where, what if he isn't ready and has to repeat K, but there is also the part, what if he IS ready and is a year younger than everyone else throughout his school years. That's going to be very hard in adolescence and high school.

If he goes to pre-K, what are the hours you would need care? Perhaps there is a less expensive option than pre-K + nanny. Does the school offer before or after care? Is there a Kindergarten before/after care option you could use?
Would your objections to home day care be lessened if he was already in Pre-K for some of the day? Could DH shift hours to meet the school schedule? Could you find a way to go in with someone else and share your nanny?

[lisac77]

Thanks for all the input, everyone!

Just to clarify, I am NOT considering putting DS in K early. I am considering putting DS in school with the age group that he's supposed to be in (turned 5 before September 1, 2008). This option may or may not be the right one for him, since he will be one of the younger children in the class. There is a trend to keep these children back a year to let them mature more, but there is nothing that says he will need to be held back at all. It's just too early to tell.

I'm really just trying to gauge how important Pre-K is to how well they do in K. We may have the option to put him in half days in a private Pre-K this upcoming year (2007-2008 school year, he will be 4 years old) depending on DH's schedule.

There is NO public school pre-K option in our district.

With this in mind I need to try to talk to DH and see if we can work something out vis-a-vis our schedules so that DS can to go Pre-K. This will entail me switching to day shift, where I will have to work weekends.

:

Argh, life is confusing! Thanks again for the input.

[tangozulu]

I think some of the posters are confused. I believe what you are talking about is putting him in K "on time" next year when he is 5, though a young 5 for K.

I can't give input on whether he has to have Pre-K to go to K as all of mine has been in daycare before K. But I think PP's suggestions to take him to story hour at the library or other free/low-cost things would work. You could also check online or ask around and see what is expected for K. I know some things that are expected are writing their names in mixed case (like Ali not ALI), recognizing letters, etc.

A lot can change in a year AFA social skills (you mentioned that as a concern).

My oldest dd is a June baby and she has done absolutely fine in school, started K "on time" at age 5 and is now almost done 8th grade. However, I had no social or academic concerns about her when K started. There may be kids in his class that are even a few months younger than him - it is not like he is an Aug 31 baby with a Sept 1 cut-off (my sister has one of those - and she is doing fine having started "on time" as a young 5 in K!).

HTH...I do think you may be worrying a bit more than you need to, FWIW - I am sure your ds will be fine with or without Pre-K. The longer I'm a parent the more I think that most things tend to work out.

YMMV!

[lisac77]

Originally Posted by tangozulu

I think some of the posters are confused. I believe what you are talking about is putting him in K "on time" next year when he is 5, though a young 5 for K.

Yes. Nobody is talking about putting him in any earlier than he's supposed to go.

A lot can change in a year AFA social skills (you mentioned that as a concern).

Yes, and my mother says that you really have to wait until the kids hit 5 before you can make these kinds of judgments.

HTH...I do think you may be worrying a bit more than you need to, FWIW - I am sure your ds will be fine with or without Pre-K. The longer I'm a parent the more I think that most things tend to work out.

YMMV!

It does help, thank you!

I am a little oversensitive in this area, because my early schooling experience was dreadful. BUT I had major issues (couldn't write due to a physical disability, plus sensory integration disorder) that he does not have at all. Plus he is way more social than I am.

I really want him to have a positive school experience, and I wish I could afford to pay for private care for another year, but we really just can't.

[mammastar2]

I don't think pre-K is "necessary" on a global level at all. Here there is a public school "junior" K for 4 year olds, and 'senior' K for 5's. Dd did not do junior K, and has had absolutely no issues with senior K at all - in fact the teachers have all praised her maturity level and focus. I had a friend who kept her daughter home until grade 1 who had similar comments.

In the interests of full disclosure, I should probably mention that our first choice was to homeschool, so that's somewhat our orientation. But truly, I have not seen anything to show me that pre-K is necessary to blend well into a K class later.

I agree with previous suggestions about getting him involved in some social activities where you can - library storytime, playgroups, that type of thing. If he's not ready for it now, that's fine. I remember looking at my just turned 3, and being amazed that there were classes for 3's without their parents in attendance, because she was so not there. But 6 months later, it wasn't an issue.

[RiverSky]

<deleted> OOops, cross posted with info about NOT putting DS in kindergarten early. I was confused about that too, it seems.

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I do not think that PreK is necessary or even helpful for a child before kindergarten UNLESS there are some major issues in home life. For instance, it might be beneficial if no English is spoken in the home (but not even necessarily, since I only learned English shortly before going to kindergarten and yet I was always a top student) or if the family does not read, for instance, and if there are no books or educational items in the home. I'm not saying that children need to read early, not at all, but some children don't have very good home lives and in that case, PREK might be beneficial.

Originally Posted by lisac77

He is with the nanny full days from 3 PM - 11 PM. We can't afford to pay the nanny and put him in preschool.

Wow, that's really a lot of time for a young child to be away from his parents. That must be very hard for him.


And actually, since it sounds like the day time is when he would have the most time or chance to be with one or both of his parents (is this accurate?), I would say that would be a million times more beneficial than spending time in a Pre-K.

[lisac77]

Originally Posted by RiverSky

I do not think that PreK is necessary or even helpful for a child before kindergarten UNLESS there are some major issues in home life. For instance, it might be beneficial if no English is spoken in the home (but not even necessarily, since I only learned English shortly before going to kindergarten and yet I was always a top student) or if the family does not read, for instance, and if there are no books or educational items in the home. I'm not saying that children need to read early, not at all, but some children don't have very good home lives and in that case, PREK might be beneficial.

We don't have any of these issues. We have lots of books, do lots of crafts, drawing, projects and so forth. I'm kind of half-heartedly "homeschooling" him now by doing little units on farm animals and so forth. So his current academic needs are being met, and he is "on target" with the requirements for his age group.

Wow, that's really a lot of time for a young child to be away from his parents. That must be very hard for him.

Not really... it's 8 hours a day. A standard work day. My husband actually gets home around 10 - 10:30 PM, but the nanny stays late to help transition. And the nanny is his beloved aunt, so he's not suffering. He does miss me though!

And actually, since it sounds like the day time is when he would have the most time or chance to be with one or both of his parents (is this accurate?), I would say that would be a million times more beneficial than spending time in a Pre-K.

He is home with me all morning. My husband is not around much for either of us. In order for him to be in Pre-K, I would have to switch shifts and my husband would have to be around more. Otherwise we'll just continue to do what we are doing.

[Izzy's Mom]

EDITED after reading more!!

We don't even have pre-k where I live (Alberta, Canada), although I have heard they are thinking about introducing it. Most kids do attend either preschool (very part time) from the time they are 3 though, or like my kids, go to full-time childcare where there is often a program in place that is similar to preschool. I think pre-k type of experiences are important, but the actual program should be whatever works best for your family - in your case it certainly seems that putting him into an expensive pre-k program that will require you to change your work hours is not to the best benefit of your family or even just your son.

I think the main thing you need for your son is any kind of socializing program where he will get a feel for what it will be like to go to school. Even swimming lessons or a specialized class like art classes or something should be sufficient, considering the other efforts you are putting in at home.

And as for deciding if he will go to k in 2008, I'd personally not worry about that too much yet - clearly he will experience many changes before then and you will have a much better feel for if he's ready or not when you are closer to that time. I thought I'd put my son in kindergarten when he was 4 turning 5 (he has a Dec birthday and we have very late cut-offs in my province). It turned out he actually wasn't ready and I "un-registered" him and now he will start this coming fall when he is 5 turning 6. I really couldn't make that choice until he was already almost 5.

Good luck and I hope that you can make a decision that you are happy with!

[quaz]

The OP is putting he ds into K on-time... but since boys sometimes need an extra year, and since he will be on the younger side, it may be too early. She doesn't want to delay, though, b/c of the pure economics of the situation, and K is free.

Ok. So, if K is 1/2 day (sorry if you stated, I only skimmed) then no, you don't need pre-k. If K is full-day... then he may need pre-k.

My oldest misses the cut-off, although I could have gotten her in this year. I decided not to push it, though. IN addition by us, they are trying to transition to full day.

B/c of that, I've kinda decided to put dd into pre-k for this year. She will be 5. If it wasn't for the possible transition to full-day, I would have bypassed pre-k. It is not necessary. I just think the transition from nothing to a full day is too much.

Tammy

[joensally]

My .02: I think the opportunity to be at home with loving mom and loving aunt is golden. These early years are so brief! If you can't afford pre-k or choose against it, what about community-based programs like swimming, mom'n'tot drop-in etc.? Your community/rec centre may offer play-based preschool.

What worked for us was DD went to play-based preschool, while DS goes to a pretty academic preschool that teaches through play and experience (pre school is 2.5 hours per day; 2 days at 3yo, 3 days at 4 yo). Both children thrived in environments that were appropriate for their needs and temperaments. We chose based on fit with each child. Both are thriving academically.

Personally, I think the skills a child needs to enter K equiped with are: some self-care skills (shoes and coat on by themself, toileting); the ability to line-up, or at least to be patient while a teacher helps other children; comfort with unrelated adults; peer social skills (which can be practiced in environments other than group care or preschool). As for academics, I would find out what is expected in your community as there seems to be dramatic differences depending on locale. If your K expectations include phonics, then you can always work on those at home as part of day to day.

Here's some research that belies the whole pre-k academic frenzy:
http://ceep.crc.uiuc.edu/eecearchive...golbeck02.html
http://ecrp.uiuc.edu/v4n1/marcon.html
http://www.futureofchildren.org/info...m?doc_id=77662