Toddler preschool

[rosesandpetals]

I know there are strong opinions about preschool here, so let me have them. How important is preschool for a 2yo? She will definitely go when she is 3yo and 4yo.

I reserved a spot for her in a great school with a fantastic program, but logistically it is a pain. It starts in a couple weeks so I need to decide. I can make the logistics work if the benefits are worth it.

If it matters, I have a choice of mw, tr, f, or any combination. It is 2 hours/day.

[gastro]

At 2? If she's getting exposure to other kids I wouldn't worry about it. At that age it would have been for my sanity if anything. DS started soon after he turned three because he was too young for the cutoff at the school we wanted to send him to. We did a few mommy and me toddler classes so he got some social time with kids his age.

[quesyrah]

At 2 I had no need or desire to send DS. I probably won't with DD either. I wasn't going to send my kids until 4 but the summer DD was born I decided to start DS in the Fall at 3.5. I am SO glad I did. I really think 2 years in preschool has set him up for success for kinder this Fall.

At age 2 we did mommy & me music and gymnastics classes as well as belonged to a moms club so he got plenty of socialization at that age.

[lexus]

I thought you worked? Where does she currently go? How will that impact your decision?

Maybe I'm totally remembering the wrong poster (so correct me if I am) but didn't you also just discover she has hearing impairments? What do the specialists involved say?

In general, I feel like preschool at two isn't necessary but can be beneficial.

[thecheshirekat]

My twins are starting two days a week in September at age two, but it is more for my own sanity than their benefit. I think I would have waited until age three if they weren't twins, but at this point I really want them to be able to spend some time developing skills and personality apart from each other.

[lala]

Not important or necessary at all from the kid standpoint. If you want it, go for it. If not, don't. Lots of people do it here and we're surprised when I didn't. I start at 3 and do 2 years.

Of course, she'll love it and it wouldn't hurt, but I think it's more for you.

That said, even though I had no interest in sending the girls at 2, I could see sending the third but I likely won't.

[expectantsteelerfan]

At 2 I think it's more for the parent to get some time off, get the kid used to being with someone other than you, etc., not necessary at all unless for early intervention reasons. I wouldn't do it if it was inconvenient unless there was a pressing reason why.

[minismama]

DD started at 3 and so will DS. I think 2 years before K is very beneficial. We do lots of activities with other kids so he is being socialized already so I'm not concerned.

[abs]

I sent mine one day a week to MDO at 21 months and then 3 days a week the following year at 33 months for 2's preschool. In our case DD was only getting socialization through our neighborhood playgroup and little gym. It was not enough for her and she was very speech delayed. We did speech therapy but school helped more than anything else. In general I do not think preschool is important for a young two but can be more beneficial for an older two (and is necessary at 3 and 4). By the time DD starts Kindergarten in 2016 she will have been in MDO/preschool for 4 years. The first year was absolutely more for my benefit but she still loved it.

[momin2013]

We were thinking of doing similar preschool for DS this fall (he'll be 2.5), but now we're reconsidering because I found a great drop-in centre that he loves and that I think is really well-done in terms of programming, types of activities, etc. It's located in a school, so in the fall my plan is to just take him to that more often, like 2-3 days a week. He gets exposure to going to a real "school" and socializing with other kids, but it's free. Sure, I'm there with him, so no break for me, but it kind of is a break since he's so occupied the whole time we're there.

I do think we'll put him into something sometime when he's 3, though, because I want to get him used to listening to the direction of a "teacher", transitions, etc. well before he starts school.

[auroraloo]

My kid isn't going to preschool until he's 4. *gasp* He is speech delayed, and his SLPP supports our decision, and he gets plenty of socialization and play at daycare. He gets structure "class" time in the activities we do.

With us both working, a part-time 3yo preschool just isn't an option for us.

eta: all that is to say I don't think it's necessary at 2. But with her hearing, I would ask a specialist.

[abs]

Jul 6, 2015 7:49:14 GMT -5 auroraloo said:

My kid isn't going to preschool until he's 4. *gasp* He is speech delayed, and his SLPP supports our decision, and he gets plenty of socialization and play at daycare. He gets structure "class" time in the activities we do.

With us both working, a part-time 3yo preschool just isn't an option for us.

eta: all that is to say I don't think it's necessary at 2. But with her hearing, I would ask a specialist.

Totally different. Plus most daycares do school activities, right? If I worked full time we wouldn't do preschool either. It would be daycare with a built in preschool program.

[lala]

Jul 6, 2015 7:49:14 GMT -5 auroraloo said:

My kid isn't going to preschool until he's 4. *gasp* He is speech delayed, and his SLPP supports our decision, and he gets plenty of socialization and play at daycare. He gets structure "class" time in the activities we do.

With us both working, a part-time 3yo preschool just isn't an option for us.

eta: all that is to say I don't think it's necessary at 2. But with her hearing, I would ask a specialist.

I don't think anyone has ever said you must have 2 years of preschool. Many of us do, but I think the SAHM board overall feeling is all kids need at least some preschool before K, that's all. 

And he's in daycare. That is totally different b/c a lot of the stuff that is important about preschool, he's probably already learning - how to behave in a group setting, playing with other kids, listening to other adults, etc.

I mean, do people send their kids to a different preschool than the daycare? Like the morning in preschool and the afternoon in daycare? I would think it all happens in daycare, right?

[lexus]

Jul 6, 2015 8:19:20 GMT -5 lala said:

Jul 6, 2015 7:49:14 GMT -5 auroraloo said:

My kid isn't going to preschool until he's 4. *gasp* He is speech delayed, and his SLPP supports our decision, and he gets plenty of socialization and play at daycare. He gets structure "class" time in the activities we do.

With us both working, a part-time 3yo preschool just isn't an option for us.

eta: all that is to say I don't think it's necessary at 2. But with her hearing, I would ask a specialist.

I don't think anyone has ever said you must have 2 years of preschool. Many of us do, but I think the SAHM board overall feeling is all kids need at least some preschool before K, that's all. 

And he's in daycare. That is totally different b/c a lot of the stuff that is important about preschool, he's probably already learning - how to behave in a group setting, playing with other kids, listening to other adults, etc.

I mean, do people send their kids to a different preschool than the daycare? Like the morning in preschool and the afternoon in daycare? I would think it all happens in daycare, right?

Dd's school does curriculum in the morning and less structured things in the morning. There are many parents who SAH who send their kids for the curriculum portion of the day. We do full-time since we both work. That's why I was so confused by roses post.

[rosesandpetals]

Jul 6, 2015 2:13:02 GMT -5 lexus said:

I thought you worked? Where does she currently go? How will that impact your decision?

Maybe I'm totally remembering the wrong poster (so correct me if I am) but didn't you also just discover she has hearing impairments? What do the specialists involved say?

In general, I feel like preschool at two isn't necessary but can be beneficial.

I'm not going to be in the classroom next year. I have a flexible work from home job so shuttling her would be possible, though a pain because the school is 20 minutes away on the highway. DD goes to an in home so she is around other kids regularly but it isn't a professional environment like a preschool or center.

Yes, she is HoH. Her specialists say she needs help interacting with hearing and non-hearing peers but she gets that in EI and at the in home. They don't offer an opinion on starting at 2, 3, or 4.

Thanks everyone. I think I will just send her on Fridays. Less driving but it lets me get priority enrollment for next year.

[lala]

Jul 6, 2015 9:18:26 GMT -5 rosesandpetals said:

Jul 6, 2015 2:13:02 GMT -5 lexus said:

I thought you worked? Where does she currently go? How will that impact your decision?

Maybe I'm totally remembering the wrong poster (so correct me if I am) but didn't you also just discover she has hearing impairments? What do the specialists involved say?

In general, I feel like preschool at two isn't necessary but can be beneficial.

I'm not going to be in the classroom next year. I have a flexible work from home job so shuttling her would be possible, though a pain because the school is 20 minutes away on the highway. DD goes to an in home so she is around other kids regularly but it isn't a professional environment like a preschool or center.

Yes, she is HoH. Her specialists say she needs help interacting with hearing and non-hearing peers but she gets that in EI and at the in home. They don't offer an opinion on starting at 2, 3, or 4.

Thanks everyone. I think I will just send her on Fridays. Less driving but it lets me get priority enrollment for next year.

I think for your situation that is a good plan. 

[quesyrah]

Jul 6, 2015 9:18:26 GMT -5 rosesandpetals said:

Jul 6, 2015 2:13:02 GMT -5 lexus said:

I thought you worked? Where does she currently go? How will that impact your decision?

Maybe I'm totally remembering the wrong poster (so correct me if I am) but didn't you also just discover she has hearing impairments? What do the specialists involved say?

In general, I feel like preschool at two isn't necessary but can be beneficial.

I'm not going to be in the classroom next year. I have a flexible work from home job so shuttling her would be possible, though a pain because the school is 20 minutes away on the highway. DD goes to an in home so she is around other kids regularly but it isn't a professional environment like a preschool or center.

Yes, she is HoH. Her specialists say she needs help interacting with hearing and non-hearing peers but she gets that in EI and at the in home. They don't offer an opinion on starting at 2, 3, or 4.

Thanks everyone. I think I will just send her on Fridays. Less driving but it lets me get priority enrollment for next year.

If it's a school that is hard to get into then I would definitely send her PT this year to secure next year's spot if you're unsure she will get in. That would be worth it to me

[mamaalysson]

DD went to "Playschool" at 2 - 2 days a week, 2 hours a day. She was a very early talker, and we felt like she could use more stimulation than she was getting at home or even in mommy and me classes. I was also pregnant and loved the little break. It was the right choice for her, and I'm glad we did it. That said, DS is a different kid and we won't be sending him to preschool until he is 3.

[Rainyday]

At 2yo I think preschool is more about what you need and want. Do you need a break? Time to run errands? Go to gym?
If so, I would send her. But if she's well socialized and it would be more trouble than it's worth I would wait.


If she is only going on Fridays keep in mind it may take her a while to adjust to going. Even T/Th is a difficult adjustment for some 2yo because they basically have 5 days in between preschool days. If you are going to send her for one day just to get priority enrollment I would send her for 2.

[auroraloo]

Jul 6, 2015 8:19:20 GMT -5 lala said:

Jul 6, 2015 7:49:14 GMT -5 auroraloo said:

My kid isn't going to preschool until he's 4. *gasp* He is speech delayed, and his SLPP supports our decision, and he gets plenty of socialization and play at daycare. He gets structure "class" time in the activities we do.

With us both working, a part-time 3yo preschool just isn't an option for us.

eta: all that is to say I don't think it's necessary at 2. But with her hearing, I would ask a specialist.

I don't think anyone has ever said you must have 2 years of preschool. Many of us do, but I think the SAHM board overall feeling is all kids need at least some preschool before K, that's all. 

And he's in daycare. That is totally different b/c a lot of the stuff that is important about preschool, he's probably already learning - how to behave in a group setting, playing with other kids, listening to other adults, etc.

I mean, do people send their kids to a different preschool than the daycare? Like the morning in preschool and the afternoon in daycare? I would think it all happens in daycare, right?

It depends. We use an in-home daycare that has multiple providers, so there are always plenty of kids there, but there is no curriculum or a lot of structured play time. They definitely work on things like shapes, letters, counting, etc. but it's not a "curriculum", per se. Does that make sense? 

That said, i love my daycare provider, and I trust her more than I trust myself in some ways, so I'm not worried. At 4 DS will go to our school district free 4 yo pre-k because they will bus him from our daycare provider for a half day a few days a week. 

[lala]

I was assuming center for my response. I see what you mean for an in-home, but I still think 1 year is enough in that situation especially.

[amynumbers]

So, both of my boys did (or will) start with the 2s class. Our preschool is very much structured like school as opposed to a daycare -- as in September to May school year, and some extended hours but nothing like the 7-6 availability of daycare. With fall birthdays, they were almost three when the started.

It wasn't really a break for me -- it's a two hour group twice a week, and I need to be there for the last half hour. What can you really do in an hour and a half?

I would be leery of one year for my kids -- that would make them almost five when experiencing school for the first time in a 4s class. For me, it's not about shapes or letters or numbers -- tbh my kids knew that stuff through no work or magic I did -- but it's about how to function in classroom, which I think is a lot more work than some parents imagine.

I am sure some kids are fine with one year, but I have never heard of someone who regretted two.

If my kids were in a daycare center that functioned like a preschool classroom in terms of note just curriculum but also schedule and expectations, it would be a non issue to me and I would leave them there.

I think that covers everything.

[auroraloo]

Jul 6, 2015 10:50:12 GMT -5 amynumbers said:

So, both of my boys did (or will) start with the 2s class. Our preschool is very much structured like school as opposed to a daycare -- as in September to May school year, and some extended hours but nothing like the 7-6 availability of daycare. With fall birthdays, they were almost three when the started.

It wasn't really a break for me -- it's a two hour group twice a week, and I need to be there for the last half hour. What can you really do in an hour and a half?

I would be leery of one year for my kids -- that would make them almost five when experiencing school for the first time in a 4s class. For me, it's not about shapes or letters or numbers -- tbh my kids knew that stuff through no work or magic I did -- but it's about how to function in classroom, which I think is a lot more work than some parents imagine.

I am sure some kids are fine with one year, but I have never heard of someone who regretted two.

If my kids were in a daycare center that functioned like a preschool classroom in terms of note just curriculum but also schedule and expectations, it would be a non issue to me and I would leave them there.

I think that covers everything.

Just to be clear, I know functioning in a classroom is more than just shapes and numbers and stuff. I think a big part of our country's problem with education is that instead of fixing what is wrong, we just keep sending kids to school earlier and earlier (kindergarten is for all now, all-day kindergarten! pre-k is required (basically), send them to preschool at 3! Send them at 2!) and it becomes necessary for all kids to participate to keep up, but doesn't actually fix the root of our educational system's problem. Whoa. got a little more soapboxy than intended. 

The bolded sentence rubs me wrong, for some reason. I can't place it, but it does.

[amynumbers]

Jul 6, 2015 10:57:57 GMT -5 auroraloo said:

Jul 6, 2015 10:50:12 GMT -5 amynumbers said:

So, both of my boys did (or will) start with the 2s class. Our preschool is very much structured like school as opposed to a daycare -- as in September to May school year, and some extended hours but nothing like the 7-6 availability of daycare. With fall birthdays, they were almost three when the started.

It wasn't really a break for me -- it's a two hour group twice a week, and I need to be there for the last half hour. What can you really do in an hour and a half?

I would be leery of one year for my kids -- that would make them almost five when experiencing school for the first time in a 4s class. For me, it's not about shapes or letters or numbers -- tbh my kids knew that stuff through no work or magic I did -- but it's about how to function in classroom, which I think is a lot more work than some parents imagine.

I am sure some kids are fine with one year, but I have never heard of someone who regretted two.

If my kids were in a daycare center that functioned like a preschool classroom in terms of note just curriculum but also schedule and expectations, it would be a non issue to me and I would leave them there.

I think that covers everything.

Just to be clear, I know functioning in a classroom is more than just shapes and numbers and stuff. I think a big part of our country's problem with education is that instead of fixing what is wrong, we just keep sending kids to school earlier and earlier (kindergarten is for all now, all-day kindergarten! pre-k is required (basically), send them to preschool at 3! Send them at 2!) and it becomes necessary for all kids to participate to keep up, but doesn't actually fix the root of our educational system's problem. Whoa. got a little more soapboxy than intended. 

The bolded sentence rubs me wrong, for some reason. I can't place it, but it does.

[

Um, ok. That's your issue though. Some kids do great with one year. Some need two.

I hear you on the issues with kids and expectations -- I am the leader of "schools do a shitty job with young boys". But my kids are 4 and 2. Major educational reform isn't coming next year and I'm not homeschooling. So I have to find the most loving, understanding place to prep them that I can. Not prepping them as an eff you to the man won't benefit them.

[auroraloo]

Jul 6, 2015 11:05:31 GMT -5 amynumbers said:

Jul 6, 2015 10:57:57 GMT -5 auroraloo said:

Just to be clear, I know functioning in a classroom is more than just shapes and numbers and stuff. I think a big part of our country's problem with education is that instead of fixing what is wrong, we just keep sending kids to school earlier and earlier (kindergarten is for all now, all-day kindergarten! pre-k is required (basically), send them to preschool at 3! Send them at 2!) and it becomes necessary for all kids to participate to keep up, but doesn't actually fix the root of our educational system's problem. Whoa. got a little more soapboxy than intended. 

The bolded sentence rubs me wrong, for some reason. I can't place it, but it does.

[

Um, ok. That's your issue though. Some kids do great with one year. Some need two.

I hear you on the issues with kids and expectations -- I am the leader of "schools do a shitty job with young boys". But my kids are 4 and 2. Major educational reform isn't coming next year and I'm not homeschooling. So I have to find the most loving, understanding place to prep them that I can. Not prepping them as an eff you to the man won't benefit them.

I know it's my issue. I think it's the "some". The reality is, most kids are fine with one. Some need two, and some don't need any. I think it's my own mom guilt that we can't do two, so I feel like I'm failing? I dunno. 

No, it's not coming in this decade, honestly. And I agree not prepping them isn't going to help them. But I don't think not sending most kids at two or three is hurting them either. 

I hope I'm communicating clearly. I suck at writing.

[dizzycooks]

My kids go to daycare with a lot of structure and start the prek room at 33 mo. That gives most kids 2-3 years in that environment. When I go on maternity leave they are pulled out and I try to work with them at home, find lots of opportunities to be around kids and different adults and experience a wide variety of things. That said, if I stay at home more than 8 months and school starts next fall, I will be finding a way to put my oldest in at least 2 day a week/3 hr a day prek somewhere because it will be her last year before kinder and I want her to have the practice. My then 2 yo will not be going anywhere and I think that's fine because I think the chances are pretty good she'll be back at daycare ft by the year before she goes to kinder. If I were roses I'd do what she decided, a day or two to hold your spot for the 4yo year at a school you really like.

[jcm]

When DD was 2 she was in a Montessori program 2 days a week. To be completely honest it was way more for me and less about her needing be in school. DH travels all the time & I had no one else to give me a "break" so that is the real reason she was there.

[mom2twoboys]

I sent both my boys to preschool at the age of two. It was really good socially for them and taught them about routines and expectations. They both really enjoyed it and I enjoyed my few hours to myself to go to the store and such without them. 

[andrewsgal]

Jul 6, 2015 14:29:04 GMT -5 @tooshort said:

I do agree that instead of doing something about our crappy education system we just push kids into school sooner. I'm guilty of this for sure. No one wants to put their kids at a disadvantage.

I do the same thing but to me there isn't an option. Sure schools need a major overhaul but I have been saying that since my 3rd grader was born. Not sending her to preschool just to stick it to the man would have hurt not helped her.

[auroraloo]

Jul 6, 2015 16:36:38 GMT -5 andrewsgal said:

Jul 6, 2015 14:29:04 GMT -5 @tooshort said:

I do agree that instead of doing something about our crappy education system we just push kids into school sooner. I'm guilty of this for sure. No one wants to put their kids at a disadvantage.

I do the same thing but to me there isn't an option. Sure schools need a major overhaul but I have been saying that since my 3rd grader was born. Not sending her to preschool just to stick it to the man would have hurt not helped her.

Would it have hurt her though? I mean, sending her isn't going to hurt her, but not sending a kid doesn't necessarily hurt them. (I'm talking at 2 or 3, not 4)