[Jule'sMomInOR]

I'm thinking about plans for Juliana long-term. Originally, DH and I thought we'd start her in preschool at 2. I have no idea why. She's almost 2 now and that seems way too young. We changed our target to 3.

We checked out a few schools, and found a couple we like. One is a Waldorf School, and the preschool hours are 9-1:30, 3 days per week. The ratio of teachers to students is low (1:4) but I think those hours are too long. The other school is more traditional, but you can choose between 2, 3, and 5 days per week and the hours are 8:30-11:20, so less than 3 hours per day. I think these hours are more reasonable for a 3 y/o, and we'd go with either 2 or 3 days per week (probably 2 at first).

The problem is that I'm not completely sure that she'll be ready even at 3. Of course, this is still 15 months away. Right now we have a nanny and Juliana can come and see me any time she gets upset, wants to nurse, or just wants to show me something she did. However, the nanny does take her out of the house for up to 2 hours per day, so I don't think the 2 hours and 50 minutes would be a big stretch.

Even though I like the philosophy of the Waldorf School better, I guess I'm leaning towards the more traditional school because of the hours. However, I suppose another option is to simply not have her start preschool until she is 4. She's not particularly independent and when we're around other kids, she doesn't really plan with them much. Maybe this just means I need to take her to more playdates?

This article has some relevant info, but the mom is asking about sending her 2 y/o to preschool and the advice is to wait another year or more.
Best age for kids to start daycare?

The main reasons I'd be sending her to preschool, in descending order of importance, are:
1) Socialization with other kids
2) Gradual transition to being in school
3) New experiences that she probably wouldn't get at home
4) Give her experience not always being in a 1:1 environment in case we decide to have another baby, and
5) Save money (but this is very minor) because it costs a lot less per hour than a nanny.

Do these sound like valid reasons? Or maybe I should wait until she's 3 1/2 or 4?

I actually have to sign up and pay a deposit in January for preschool starting in Sept., believe it or not. They are very competitive here. So I have about 6 months to decide.

[shen7]

Personally I plan to start M at 2. That is when our local parent ed/coop preschool starts. It is just twice a week and not many hours at that age. She is already very independent, has low stranger anxiety and loves people, action, and excitement. I actually wish they had a program for under-2s I could take her to. I am probably going to start bringing her to a baby gym tumbling class in addition to the music together class we do once a week. I feel like she gets bored easily and it takes a lot to tire her out so she can sleep well! And she has never seemed to miss me at all when daddy or grandparents take her for a few hours so I'm really not worried about that...

[Mod-navywifey2003]

David started preschool at 3. He loved it! No tears or anything. He did all
Kinds of crafts met tons of friends, it was really great for him. He started at 2 days a week then went to 3, it was 3 hours. Traditional but with ap philosophes. Listening ears, walking feet, I am very sad we moved away and Katelynn won't be able
To attend.

[joonzgurl]

I think 2 is too young. They don't start in pre-school here until age 3 or 4- it's up to the parent. And it's optional as well. You could wait for kindergarten if you want.

Is pre-school optional there?

I will probably start Avery at 3 just because our pre-school is so small and they need all the children in the community to support it in order to keep it running. I might wait until 4, I am not sure.

And I agree with you, 9-1:30 does seem like an awfully long time.

[aect-mama]

I'm trying to figure out the preschool thing myself right now.

Until recently we were going to classes/playgroups 3 mornings a week. One of them I stayed with the kids the whole time. The other 2 I dropped them off in their classroom (it was a mixed age group so they could be together) and I went to another room with the other moms but I stayed in the building the whole time. The kids had an organized program so they were learning things and I figured that was enough for preschool at first.

Mercy is a very outgoing/social girl as long as she knows I'm close by and she can come see me whenever she needs to. Nathaniel on the other hand, has a really hard time playing with other kids unless his sister is there to help (he's not aggressive or anything, he just doesn't know how to join in.) and he's still really struggling with separation anxiety. I don't think either of them was ready for a traditional preschool program.

Mercy should be in pre-k this year but since we're moving I'm not sure what we'll do yet. All the pre-k programs where we're moving seem to be either way too expensive or the classes are too big or there are too many hours. (4-6 hours a day 5 days a week is too much for a 4 year old in my opinion)
I'd love to homeschool but I'm not sure that's realistic for me right now.

In my ideal world, my kids would start preschool around age 3. They'd go 2 mornings a week (no more than 3 hours) the first year and maybe 3 mornings the next 1 or 2 years. Then kindergarten would only be half day so 5 mornings a week. (all the kindergartens where we're going are full day )
Oh, and it would be free and the classes would be small, maybe 6-8 kids. And I could drop in whenever I wanted. Anyone know where I can find a program like that?

I think you have very valid reasons for wanting to send your dd to preschool and I don't think 3 is too young as long as the program is a good fit for her. Good luck with your decision.

[Cruiser]

9-1:30 doesn't actually sound that long to me, considering there must be a meal in there, and learning to eat with other children is definitely a great skill to have!

I'm on the fence for us, too. We will probably keep DD home with her brother and my mom until next September, when she's almost 4, then we'll do a part-time preschool for her. She starts kindergarten as a 4-yr old (will turn 5 after 2 months), I think one year is enough for her.

I can't see how preschool could ever be required?

[lovemylittlemiss]

In Germany "Kindergarten" is basically equivalent to the American preschool. It's not required and isn't a part of the educational system but is free for all kids, at least in our state. There is now the option to start them at 2, but I think we'll wait till 3. However I am trying to keep an open mind about it because I think it depends a lot on the child. I think they usually want the child to go 5 days a week for consistency (which seems like a lot to me!) but that's not required and I believe it's just from 8-11 or 9-12...something like that. We'll probably go the Waldorf route as we have a Waldorf school about 1km from us but when the time comes closer I think we'll have a look at everything in the area.

If you really like the Waldorf school better, maybe it would be worth waiting till she is a little older?

[Jule'sMomInOR]

Originally Posted by aect-mama

kids would start preschool around age 3. They'd go 2 mornings a week (no more than 3 hours) the first year and maybe 3 mornings the next 1 or 2 years. Then kindergarten would only be half day so 5 mornings a week. (all the kindergartens where we're going are full day )

This is another thing! The kindergartens at the public schools near me are all half-day, actually only 2.5 hours!! I think that is too short. They're done at 10:45 am! There is one here that is a chart school that is full-day, and I worry that it could be too long. Why can't they go until noon or 1 pm for kindergarten? I'm actually leaning towards the full-day charter school because it's a much better school. Parents have to pay an additional $250/month because our property taxes only pay for 1/2 day kindergarten.

[ashj_1218]

I hate the local schools here. Our options suck big time.

A couple friends and I are looking to do a preschool co-op for our kids. All of ours are academdically oriented, even as young as two. I want play at that age. So we decided not to send Liam until he is at least four (he will actually be almost five, he misses the cut-off by a month or so). But I am hoping to avoid preschool all together.

But if I had better options, I would certainly consider it earlier. I don't think the Waldorf one is too long either!

[mgm78]

I started DD in a preschool/daycare at 26 months.

[Jule'sMomInOR]

Well, I emailed the Waldorf School and asked if Juliana could leave early. They said yes, but there would be no reduction in tuition. Gee, thanks.

I also did some calculations. The tuition is $5,900/yr for 9 months per year, 4.5 hours per day, 3 days per week. That comes to $12.14/hr, but it's actually higher because they're closed for holidays and if we go on vacation, we still pay. That is assuming we take advantage of the full 4.5 hours. If I only leave her there 3 hours, it's about $20/hour! We pay our nanny $11/hour, and we get housekeeping help with that. So much for the saving money objective.

I guess I have to question whether at age 3, she's really better off in this environment than being cared for 1:1 by a nanny.

The other preschool I was interested in is about $10.50/hr for 2 days/week, $9.25/hr for 3 days, and $8.75/hr for 5 days. Money is definitely not the only consideration, but I guess it just helps to put it in perspective with choosing between 1:1 care with the nanny and preschool where there are 7 kids to one adult and it still costs about the same! Of course, then she doesn't get the socialization.

I'm not much help here because I didn't plan on doing preschool when we were planning on putting Eva in public school and now we're homeschooling rather than doing public school.

That being said, I really love the Waldorf philosophy and would go with that if you can. And I personally wouldn't put her in until she was 4. I don't think any kid needs to be in preschool for more than 1 year before they start kindergarten (unless the parents both work and it just makes sense). I know you do work from home so it might make sense for you to put her in preschool starting at age 3.

[Jule'sMomInOR]

Originally Posted by noworries

I don't think any kid needs to be in preschool for more than 1 year before they start kindergarten (unless the parents both work and it just makes sense). I know you do work from home so it might make sense for you to put her in preschool starting at age 3.

I do need childcare, but I'm just not sure now if that childcare needs to be preschool rather than a nanny. With me WFH, I am always there and can take a break if Juliana gets upset. I know exactly where she is at all times and I can step in if the nanny's doing something I don't approve of (hasn't really happened yet but there's always a first). I can't say that with preschool. Hmmm ... what a dilemma.

[aect-mama]

Originally Posted by Jule'sMomInOR

This is another thing! The kindergartens at the public schools near me are all half-day, actually only 2.5 hours!! I think that is too short. They're done at 10:45 am! There is one here that is a chart school that is full-day, and I worry that it could be too long. Why can't they go until noon or 1 pm for kindergarten? I'm actually leaning towards the full-day charter school because it's a much better school. Parents have to pay an additional $250/month because our property taxes only pay for 1/2 day kindergarten.

How does it make sense for even half day kindergarten to be only 2.5 hours if preschool is generally at least 3?! Getting out at 10:45 hardly seems worth it to me.
I'd actually be okay with full day kindergarten if the classes weren't so huge and they could get a decent rest time in half way through. But they don't seem to do rest time anymore and the classes have a minimum of 25 kids with one teacher! That's just too many.
Of course I went to an elementary school that was so small 2nd and 3rd grade were combined into one class and it was still only 18 kids. So maybe my perspective on class size is a little skewed.

I think if I were in your shoes, I'd keep the nanny and just get your dd in some organized playgroups/classes a few days a week. That's what we did this past year (minus the nanny) and it seemed to be enough socialization for Mercy. Then you can send her to the waldorf school at 4 when the longer day won't be as much of an issue.

noworries, I'm thinking about homeschooling. How is it working out for you with little ones?

[mgm78]

our Waldorf daycare is $750/mo for full time (like 7am-6pm 5 days a week) and we pay $545 for 6 hours 4 days a week.

[lovemylittlemiss]

Crazy! Our Waldorf daycare/school is income based so we're not too worried about paying. Everyone pays what they can afford and supposedly if you're unemployed, on governmental assistance because you can't work or something you pay nothing or next to nothing. They might have you come in and volunteer for a couple hours a week though, some income based schools/day cares around here make you do that. I think it's great because it puts all the kids on the same playing field as far as education, whether rich or poor.

[mgm78]

once DD is done preschool, the actual Waldorf Academy here is close to $30,000/yr

[lovemylittlemiss]

Originally Posted by mgm78

once DD is done preschool, the actual Waldorf Academy here is close to $30,000/yr

egads! That is unbelievable! Are there at least scholarships/financial aide? Makes me nervous to move back to the States...

[Jule'sMomInOR]

Originally Posted by lovemylittlemiss

Crazy! Our Waldorf daycare/school is income based so we're not too worried about paying. Everyone pays what they can afford and supposedly if you're unemployed, on governmental assistance because you can't work or something you pay nothing or next to nothing. They might have you come in and volunteer for a couple hours a week though, some income based schools/day cares around here make you do that. I think it's great because it puts all the kids on the same playing field as far as education, whether rich or poor.

Ours does have financial aid but we don't quality for it. It's not that we can't afford the Waldorf School per se, but I was just surprised to find out it's more expensive than a nanny and I'm questioning whether she is better off there where there is 1 adult for every 5-7 kids vs. a nanny dedicated to her 1:1, while I'm hope as well.

We do lots of enrichment activities where she is around other kids, but she doesn't really play with them. Maybe that's another sign that she's not ready? I'm starting to think maybe we should wait until she's 4.

[lovemylittlemiss]

Originally Posted by Jule'sMomInOR

Ours does have financial aid but we don't quality for it. It's not that we can't afford the Waldorf School per se, but I was just surprised to find out it's more expensive than a nanny and I'm questioning whether she is better off there where there is 1 adult for every 5-7 kids vs. a nanny dedicated to her 1:1, while I'm hope as well.

We do lots of enrichment activities where she is around other kids, but she doesn't really play with them. Maybe that's another sign that she's not ready? I'm starting to think maybe we should wait until she's 4.

Yeah, one on one time is always great. I personally don't see the rush with starting preschool early. I went to preschool pretty early because both my parents worked. I liked it well enough but I would have preferred the set up you guys have.