When to Send to Preschool?

My daughter loves preschool, and they love to socialize at this age, so I think it's a good move. But the time is weird -- if he is still napping, it's really going to mess up his routine. Is there another option?

Preschool sounds like a good developmental option at this point... but it just sounds like THIS preschool might not be the best fit.

If he is in daycare, he doesn't need anything else. He gets the socialization, the learning from an adult that is not mom or dad, and I am sure he gets lots of learning experiences at daycare - even if he is the oldest. I honestly think his nap is MUCH more important right now than having him in a classroom right at the time that his body needs to rest in order to make it through the rest of the day.
Good luck
S.

Preschool for 3 year olds is not about much more than socialization which he gets plenty of at daycare. I would not start him in a preschool program until he is 4 for 2 reasons.

1. You already pay your daycare provider for the same skills (socialization, sharing, taking turns etc) that you would pay the preschool for. You are only changing the atmosphere, not the intent.

2. Kids are in school so early these days anyway, I would not put my child in that environment so soon.

Hope this helps.

We waited till this year with our 4 year old to put him into preschool. He is a December baby so he won't be able to go to kindergarten until 2011 school year. I thought it was silly to pay for 2 years of preschool so we decided to wait. Socially he has playdates with friends and is in gymnastics and educationally, I work with him at home. He knows how to write his full name, ABC's and 123's. Still working on letter recognition, but I figure that is what preschool is there to help with (along with at home). Anyways, my point is that if he is already doing socialization with other kids and you work with him at home, I think he will be just fine waiting for another year till he starts preschool.

Good luck with your decision!

J., my daughter was born on Nov. 26. I put her into preschool when she was almost 3 also. I don't remember if it was mornings or afternoons. I was lucky enough at the time to have my mom as my babysitter at the time. She did preschool for 2 years since her birthday was in nov. She wouldn't have made the cut off to start school until after her 4th birthday. I did it more because she didn't have other kids to play with. Maybe the daycare would be willing to give you a little break for those times that he won't be there. I am doing the opposite for my son. Mainly because we didn't have the $$ last year to put him into preschool. I would go for it. It will only help him, I think, in the long run. Good luck!

I think you should wait. I have 4 boys and with my first I tried to send him shortly after he turned 3. He just wasn't emotionally ready. I pulled him out after the Halloween party. I went to observe and noticed that in a class of 18 preschoolers there were only 3 boys.

I opted to put him in a Mother's Day Out program weekly and that worked out great. They usually start in the a.m. and go for about 5 hours.

Honestly, if you're questioning this, then he probably is too young. It's certainly your choice though. I just had a very bad experience with it all and realized that boys tend to develop slower than girls.

Good luck with your decision. No one knows your child better than you.

I would not send him this year. Kids go to school soooooooo early these days. Let him just keep going to day care and having his nap. I'd send him to preschool next year when he's 4.

I wouldn't have even considered forcing my daughter to give up napping at age 3. She napped regularly close to starting Kindergarten at five. I would wait another year and then decide.

I pulled my daughter out of a great in-home daycare at 3 years old to put her in preschool 2 days a week from 8:30 to 12:30 and she excelled even more than I thought she would. Don't stop the naptime, but do try to find a preschool with morning hours. Churched usually have great preschool programs - just make sure that it is a certified preschool and not a daycare "ran as a preschool" - there is a HUGE difference. At the in-home daycare my daughter had a blast, at preschool...she has a blast and learns so much without even knowing it!!!

if you have the option for morning daycare i would definitely go there instead...i just don't get what these places are doing trying to have daycare right in the middle of 90% of kids' naptimes...! craziness. or it would be once you got him home.

anyway...my son was in a similar situation - late sept. birthday so he will be a late starter for kindergarten. he was the oldest in his daycare and it was really time for him to move on, though i hated to do it. you will see the signs and if you have a good daycare provider she will keep you updated. he was definitely advanced beyond the younger kids and was having a hard time relating to them, so he started playing by himself a lot more, which i hated. i ended up pulling my son around march and starting him in preschool, even though the year was almost over. it was GREAT for him. he did regress with potty training, but we moved at the same time (i felt one big disruption would be better than two smaller ones). long story short, he LOVES his daycare-preschool now and he is thriving. i would suggest starting him this fall when school starts. good luck! hope you find one with a better schedule...

If he's still napping everyday then he likely still needs it. You can try for a different preschool (with morning hours) if available. Or, if you truly feel his daycare isn't matching his needs, you could look for a different daycare. Remember though...if he is the oldest at daycare he can be a good role model for the other kids and a helper to the daycare person...this often builds confidence which is great for your future preschooler.

I would wait. At that age they need social skills and the day care setting gives him that. A good day care will have some crafts or sit down game times and that is about all he would get at preschool for 3 year olds.

When my daughter was younger I enrolled her in a daycare that provided pre-school.
That did two things for me:
1. I didn't have to worry about transporting her to and from pre-school.
2. The cost was the same as the daycare.

I am a bit surprised the your daycare doesn't provide this for the kids. Mine was in home too, but still followed the school curriculum for our area.

I haven't read the other responses, but if he's still napping, I definitely wouldn't push preschool during his nap. Your brain does a lot of developing during sleep. Plus, 2 years of preschool is plenty before kindergarten. Just my thoughts....

He won't get bored.
A good Daycare provider/Preschool will have age appropriate things for him. Or you should ask the Provider/the Teacher to make sure... how they can facilitate him, being the oldest... at the Daycare.

Next, kids/providers DO have nap times for the kids. So ask the provider/Preschool about that and what time is nap time there.
Since THAT Preschool has weird hours... I would shop around for another Preschool, with more regular hours. One that starts in the morning.. .and goes at least half days.

Kids that age still need a nap. If in preschool, they have nap time for the kids. Even in Kindergarten, when my daughter was that grade, they had a nap time.
Go by your child's needs for naps.

If that preschool is ONLY from 12:30-2:30... I would look for another preschool with more regular hours. Because... you have no deadline by which you have to RIGHT now, put him in Preschool. He is currently at a Daycare... and that's fine.. until you find another better suited program for him.

Personally, I would look for another preschool, with better hours. 2 hours, at that time, is not preferable. Or if you do send him there, then he'd have to nap AFTER Preschool, once he comes home. But typically, a kid will be tired from 12:30-2:30 when that Preschool takes him. Which is not conducive for a child, and once they get there, being tired, they have to adjust to their only 2 hour day, then once they adjust, they have to come home already. 2 hours is not enough... know what I mean? And to me, the cost is 'more' since it is only 2 hours, 3 times a day... versus his Daycare setting.

Ultimately, it is you who chooses what preschool. Not just joining the first one who says they can take your child.

good luck,
Susan