Share with me all the good reasons to get your kid in a daycare/pre school program

[seeingeyecat]

and do you value Montessori, Waldorf (in someone's home), at home/private day care, or a well-respected public daycare that is full of attachment parenting non-coercive, low-praise ideals?

[amcal]

We didn't do day care but, starting at 3 years old, we did preschool. It was only 2 days a week for 2.5 hours. At 4 years old, we did 3 days a week for 2.5 hours.

I'm a SAHM so I didn't need to put my kids in preschool - I did it because they were so intersted in going. We had tried some art classes, dance classes, creative movement classes etc... and they absolutely thrived in the class environment. They LOVED it. They loved the social interaction, they loved the arts and crafts and activities etc... So for us, our reasons were more simply just because it was fun and they wanted to do it.

We picked a local church preschool that came highly recommended. I visited it several times, loved the bright clean environment, loved the caring, nurturing staff and loved that it was what preschool should be - no heavy academics, no pushing the kids - just learning in a fun, creative environment.

[LuckyMommaToo]

Hmmm...to me there's a big difference between daycare and preschool. DS (and soon DD) started two days a week for two hours when he was two.

My reasons were: to get a small break, to expose him to a wonderful, creative environment that I wasn't able to replicate at home, and to develop social skills (that's by far the focus of his preschool -- no academics really).

We picked a small neighborhood school. It's not the brightest/shiniest/newest, but the staff have been there a long time, and their philosophy is so in line with mine (no time outs/gd, organic kind of learning, play-based).

hth,
-e

[hottmama]

I didn't put my oldest in preschool and he's a home/unschooled first grader now.
I'm putting my youngest (coming up on 3) in preschool this year because I think he needs a chance to make friends on his own (as opposed to in big bro's shadow) and something that's just for him. He's not old enough for most of the fun activities his brother does (gymnastics, soccer, basketball, spanish classes, etc) and he feels left out a lot. So twice a week he'll get to do his own thing. We'll see how it goes!

[swissgirl]

My daughter attended a wonderful in-home daycare where the provider conducted preschool learning activities. She also emphasized getting along with others, manners, making good vs. bad choices, and respecting an authority figure other than a parent. Now that my daughter has just gone on to kindergarten, I can see she has the social skills to navigate her way. The only thing is getting used to being around larger groups of kids (daycare had 6-7 kids).

We thought about preschool but with our work schedules, weren't able to shuttle her around from preschool to daycare, since preschool isn't an all day thing. Since we had such wonderful, nuturing daycare with an educational component, we felt that was the best situation. Plus we read, practice writing and basic spelling at home all the time. All together, it seems to have built a good foundation for kindergarten.

[zinemama]

I honestly don't think the philosophy matters. Not as much as the teachers and the environment they create in the school. When I put my son in Montessori preschool, everyone assumed I had some deep committment and respect for Montessori methods, that I was hoping they would have some sort of effect on ds, etc.

No such thing. I visited the school and liked what I saw. I liked the respectful, nurturing, loving way the teachers interacted with the kids. I liked that they sang Woodie Guthrie songs in the morning. I liked the amount of time given to outdoor play. Frankly, it could have been called the Preschool of the Flying Spaghetti Monster and I'd have sent him there.

As for why I sent him to preschool in the first place? I thought he'd like it and I needed a break. That was it, basically.