@magdalenab Comparison really is the thief of joy. By the time they’re 18 you won’t know which ones walked first, talked first, wrote a sentence first. There’s no rush, you’re happy with her day care, and she’s happy being there, then I say leave her there. They only get a couple of short years before the demands of school take over.
I used to get worried if my daughter wasn’t doing the same things as her friends. In kindergarten her friend was reading out of adult books fluently and understanding it.. and she was still sounding out her words. Her friends could ride bikes without training wheels and she showed no interest, but she’s been swimming without floaties and diving down 9ft to pick toys off of the bottom since she was 3. They all learn at their own pace and are inspired by what interests them.
To answer the question she started 2 afternoons a week at pre-k when she was 3.5, then went on to 3 afternoons and then 5. She wasn’t in full days anywhere until kindergarten
@magdalenab My son will be two in June and he just started school. He was in an in-home daycare for a year. We switched because we moved across the country, or else we would have waited until he was 3. Luckily he is doing well in the new environment.
@magdalenab We did the two years of preschool offered through our local school district; 3's & 4's. Can I ask what you mean about not knowing if you're ready to send her? Mine went to daycare before preschool and TBH it didn't feel any different to take her to preschool than daycare (we did an in-home one as well).
@toyoken The in-home daycare she goes to is 7 houses away. I walk her there. I work from home so I can pick her up early very easily. I'm good friends with the lady who runs it. There's only 5 kids there. I don't feel ready in the sense that I'd have to drive her to preschool and not be as personable with her teachers.
@magdalenab That makes sense. Maybe you can do part-time preschool if you were interested in starting closer to 3 than 4. Where I live preschool is all play based, so there was no concern of letting her be little longer. You also could choose half days or full and then 2, 3 or 5 days a week. We had the same teacher for both 3s &4s, so I felt like we got to know her really well.
@magdalenab My daughter will go 1 day a week to a classroom next fall when she’s 2. Then when she’s 3 she’ll go either 2 or 3 days a weeks, depending on how she does in the environment and if we can afford it. Luckily my state has free 4yo preschool but before that it’s all private.
@magdalenab My 3.5 year old can write her name and spell about 5 words, but she is definitely not writing sentences. That isn’t common so don’t feel any pressure! She hasn’t been to preschool yet, kids will learn on their own timeline. Mine is starting preschool in August and she’ll be 4.
@magdalenab We’ve been lucky that although my son started daycare at 4 months, both places were early learning centers. The center where he goes now at age 4, he started at 2.5 and I would say it became more like preschool around 3. He loves it so much and in my opinion preschool is less about learning to write than it is about knowing how to interact with other kids and teachers. Yes he is learning a lot of skills that will be helpful in kindergarten, but knowing how to sit at a table, use the bathroom, take turns, make friends is the real takeaway.
@magdalenab My son just turned 3 about a month ago. He started a pre-school program at 2.5 and can't write a single letter, same as his classmates. I think writing a sentence at newly-3 is not common.
@magdalenab We just switched from daycare to a preschool and my kiddo turned 2 in February. He LOVES it and i don’t regret making the switch for a second.
ETA: his daycare was a room with 16 other kids. His preschool class is with 6 other kids. From reading comments, preschool doesn’t always mean larger classes.
@magdalenab We plan on sending our daughter to preschool when she’s 2 because there’s a “nature based” school down the road and I know she’ll love being outside a lot and learning about nature, gardening and things like that.
@agodbelieverlove1stfaith2 Quick question. No disrespect meant. Do people now say “my only” or “your only” when talking about one’s children? Like, instead of “my only child”?
@magdalenab We got to a center daycare that has pre school starting at 3. But it’s not very robust or academic and when the main teacher is gone they don’t do any learning. I’m ok with that at this point. My son is 4 now and will be going to transitional kindergarten (TK) in August because I think he’ll do really well with the more academic and structured atmosphere. And frankly, it’s significantly cheaper for us.
@magdalenab Ours started at 3.5 for 2nd semester of 3yo preschool. We didn't think she was quite ready in the fall when she just turned three but probably would have been fine. It's only 2 days a week for 2.5 hours. Our daughter seems above average but is definitely not writing - that seems significantly above average unless i'm just uninformed.
