@lizzieb90 As a teacher, I can tell the kids who have gone to preschool versus the ones who haven’t. I don’t believe in putting littles in school full time starting at age 3, but a few days per week of a play-based program does wonders to get kids ready to be part of a classroom community.
I’m not super worried about academic readiness, but the social and emotional aspects of being in preschool are critical in my opinion. Sadly, we no longer do enough play or social-emotional activities in most kindergarten classes because of the academic demands (another conversation for another day). So if kids don’t come in ready with those skills, they may not be able to catch up. Students who struggle socially and emotionally tend to also struggle academically by the time they are in 3rd/4th grade because they lack coping skills, perseverance, etc.
For my family, we chose 3 days of a play-based preschool that focuses heavily on social development, spends a large portion of their day outside, and engages kids in process art. We started fairly recently and I already see a huge difference in her independence and focus. This will also allow me to have one in one time with our second who is coming soon!
You might consider looking into co-op preschools, which are generally low cost (mostly just materials fees) and utilize parent involvement to function. There is a great one in our area that we looked into but it just wasn’t feasible for us because it was a bit too far.
Best of luck!