Have You Pulled Your Child Out of Preschool Because of Finances?

Hi, T.
In Tucson, there are public schools that have preschools in them. I know Sunnyside High School and Esperanza Elementary have a progam, but these fill up really quick. I don't know if there is such a thing in Phoenix.

Hi T.,

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T.

Have you considered home pre-schooling your child/children? It is a very rewarding experience. You get good quality time with your children, who are going to grow up quicker than you realize. Then you may wish that you had all that time back to spend with them. There are so many options available out there to do with your own kids at home. A couple that I really like that don't cost much are............ www.learningpage.com and oh, oops well the other is Brighter Visions, learning adventures but I am not able to find their website. The learning page website is free, and is a wonderful, home pre school website. There are many more out there too, this is just the one that I REALLY liked a lot. Don't forget too, that there are tons of fun activities to do with your kids such as finger painting with whipped cream (the kind that comes out of the spray cans) or for your older child, he could even do finger painting with shaving cream (Just make sure he keeps it out of his mouth and eyes) The shaving cream is great to help clean the kids too. :) For the baby, try finger painting with chocolate pudding (or another flavor of your choice). Have your 3-5 year olds sort buttons, coins, pasta shapes, raisins and other items into egg carton sections, based on size, shape or number you want in each section. OR, you can use a muffin tin in place of the egg carton. A lot of educational stores have free pre school craft time. The public libraries have free story time too. The options for fun activities are endless. Try searching online for free pre school activities and you'll be amazed at what all you can come up with. Another pre school option, a little more expensive than what I just told you about, but the cost would cover for all of your children would be to check out www.sonlight.com They are a homeschool curriculum preschool through 12th grade. They are WONDERFUL, you might want to check it out and see if their pre school curriculum would be an option for you. OH, and don't forget...........through the public library you can check out passes to go to the different museums, including the zoo for free. Your kids might really enjoy that. Have fun and enjoy your kids.

Hi T.--I can tell you are feeling bad for your child and it is really hard when you don't have money for things. When my daughter was 4 we had no money to spare since I was staying home.I found two other moms in the same situation in my neighborhood and we formed a playgroup three mornings a week. We worked it so that you had one week on and two weeks off. (We each had another baby at home too, so those off weeks allowed us to have one-on-one time with the babies.) We made a concerted effort to do really interesting and fun activities with the girls and everyone loved the arrangement. These three girls were best friends for years afterwards until we moved away. Perhaps you know some other moms in your situation?

There's a reason why we are SAHM's. The blessing of that is that we can do so much with our kids without having to ship them off to daycare/preschool.

My daughter is now 5 and will be entering kindergarten in August. I only enrolled her in preschool this past February-May Tues/Thurs 8:30-12 to get her in that setting but other than that, none.
She is a well rounded, smart, fun loving child.
She plays with friends on play dates, we go to story-time at library, crafts, Little Gym(once a week), swimming,park, Harkins theater (did the 10 movies for $5.00), reading, puzzles, board games, workbooks at home, lots of things. There's lots to do without having to spend much and doing the preschool thing.

Kids will go to school for many years as it is.
Society places too much on preschool.Many studies have shown that by the time kids reach 4th grade, those that started in kinder where on the same learning curve as those that went to preschool. Obviously there's exceptions.

I also have a son who did not go to preschool and is quite the little smarty. He is now going to be a Junior in college studying prepharmacy.

Find things you can do at home that he likes to do.

Being at home with you is better than being in Preschool. You can do some things at home and make it fun. Read to him several times a day. Teach him the letters slowly of the alphabet and he will be fine! Don't worry. So many parents are worried about teaching their kids to read by 4 years of age. Kids need their parents and to be able to play, use their imagination and create! Take him to parks, museums, the Science Center has classes in the morning (Preschool Science), Zoo classes, etc. Exposing him to many things WITH YOU is the best thing you can do. It increases self confidence. They will get socialization in Kindergarten and learn what they need.

K.

I only pulled my child from preschool when he was coming home with bruises that the staff couldn't explain but my son told me were from another kid beating on him. NO ABUSE ALLOWED - by anyone - so I took him from a place I was paying money and put him in the public school's program. It was free and there was much more accountability.

If your 4 yo needs any kind of developmental assistance, check with your local school districts for their preschools. Kyrene has open enrollment too. They have screenings and evaluations which will determine if there is any delay, and if there are at least two areas needing assistance preschool is free.

My 4yo was accepted for speech and language, then later switched to speech and fine motor skills.
My 3yo was accepted for speech and language.

We absolutely LOVE it!

We had to pull our 4 1/2 yr old in March last year. I was sad because it seems she always gets the raw deals with things! Not on purpose just happens. We actually put her in the program through City of Chandler called Apples to Zebras and she really loves it! Its very cheap and they do so much fun stuff!

Now I did work with her on my own alot since the Apples to Zebras wasn't as long. She is now suppose to start preschool AGAIN last year before kinder for her but we may have to pull her again because of my school schedule! I start school FT. I just can't win with her:( We are still up in the air with that one though.

I am sorry for being sad and I know its hard. Not sure where you are but Chandler has Apples to Zebras and she went 3 days a week for 144 and that was from March-May. Its a good one to socialize them but they learn alot and always do fun projects! Oh its 2 hours a day and for 144 that was 3 days a week. The 2 hours is too short for her this year with my schedule. Often I think this affects us more than them! But I had some of your feelings as well:(

I don't know where you live, but King of Glory Preschool in Tempe is very, very reasonably priced. Check it out. www.kogaz.org.
Hope this helps.

HI Tracey,
I work from home and homeschool our kids. I did work with our first child but when we had #2 no more daycare or preschool for them! We had it all at home, and it was alot of fun! If you focus on what he is 'missing' you will not enjoy what you have!

C. Willis
Helping Families Earn Supplemental Income
www.WorkAtHomeUnited.com/Arizona
###-###-####

I'm doing the same with my 3 year old son and using a Montessori approach. Check out the book "How to Raise an Amazing Child the Montessori Way" for some good ideas on activities. There are also websites with some online learning games, and there are just TONS of ways to teach a child at home in ways that are intriguing to the child. I think his learning experience will be much more enriching this way, plus it saves us money. Not only will he be learning, but also bonding with me. I was surprised to realize that most people I know consider preschool as a necessity these days. I never went to preschool and I excelled in school and always loved learning. I love spending time nurturing and teaching my children, and I'm putting off the time he's gone from me all day as long as possible. I may put him in preschool 2 mornings a week to ease the transition the year before Kindergarten and I will do everything I can to find a half-day Kindergarten.

I am a member of MOMS Club (www.momsclub.org to find your local chapter) and I really enjoy it, and it helps ease my concern over my son socializing and interacting with other children since he won't be attending preschool.

One more thing, two extremely similar "requests" on mamasource were posted recently, so I suggest looking back in the archives to see the responses that mother received. Here are the links:
http://www.mamasource.com/request/303077268677197825
http://www.mamasource.com/request/10879874065347117057

In no way is preschool NECESSARY for a child. You have more of an issue because one child leaves. You can easily put together a preschool co-op where a few moms host a session in their homes. Maybe two hours. You host one day a week and get two days "off" from it, if you have a three day a week co-op.

I am sure many people can relate to you.

Have you thought of doing your own preschool? Seriously. Do you have any friends that are in the same position? You all should get together and do a "preschool" (structured playdate) for a couple hours a few days a week. I would use the person's house who is best fit and set it up (you want a consistent routine). No you are not teachers, I know that but it doesn't matter. You all could get your children together and do activities, work on letters, numbers, read, etc.

If not, then just do some stuff at house every day with him yourself. You can make it fun and just touch on some "school" stuff lightly.

Good luck. :)

T.,

When my daughters were preschool age, I couldn't afford to put them in either. I got a group of women together with kids the same age as mine and we started a co-op preschool. We set up a schedule so it would be the same no matter what house they were at. Every week it would be at someone else's house. I would have the children at my house every 5 weeks because we had five kids. My girls LOVED it. It was great because each "teacher" had a different teaching style. I just looked up my teaching tools on the internet. I also had a baby in the house each time I did it and it worked out fine. Hope that helps.

If you find a church preschool, you may be able to get a scholarship. Some other private preschools might offer assistance too.

We actually moved my August birthday boy into kindergarten instead of letting him have another year of preschool because of finances. It was a difficult decision but I feel like he will do well. We have worked on things at home and I have been very involved in all my kids preschool programs so I feel like I've been exposed to some great learning ideas.

There are a lot of things we can do for our kids at home that don't necessarily require a structured preschool. For instance, having a designated "school" hour of the day where you are the teacher works really well at our house. I've been doing this at home with my kids this summer and it's been fun for all of us. I don't know if I'd go so far as to say it's "homeschooling" but essentially that's what I"m talking about.

First, I try to time it with my littlest ones naptime. Pick about 10-15 minutes to work on different concepts...for instance, for 10-15 minutes, you work on making the shapes of the letters (moving the pen correctly, making the sound of the letter, etc.). You could even take a "sound safari" (get some binoculars, safari hat, etc.) by walking through the house and trying to find something that sounds like "a" or makes the "t" sound. Move on to math by having a counting activity (how many toys do we have out, lets count them! or if we have 5 toys out and I put one away, how many do we have out now?). Keep transitioning through activities for about an hour. You could even invite a friend or two over to "play school" with you. Have a snack time in between. Essentially, these are the things they are learning in preschool and there is no reason you can't duplicate these experiences at home. Just make it fun! Have a singing time, a puzzle time, etc. and read, READ, READ!!

Good luck and don't torture yourself for not being able to follow the norm. Your kids will do even better spending quality time with you than they would spending 2 or 3 hours with a stranger and having you stressed out with work worries. It might take more effort on your part but it will be well worth it and rewarding for you both.

A little about me:
Happily married mother of 4 (ages 2, 4, 6, and 8). I am a graphic designer (www.PoleStarGraphics.com) and have designed and developed an interactive calendaring/charting system for early learners at www.mytimecalendars.com which also offers lesson plans, activity pages and books, forums, a blog and other educational resources for parents and teachers.

Befrore recently put on bedrest, I've been a full time preschool teacher for the last 7 years. Preschool is not 100% necessary. I feel as though preschool is a fantastic start to socializing your child before kindergarten. If the social hasn't developed, it really doesn't matter what your child "knows." Try to find play groups in your area, get out to the partk, story time at the library. You could also do mini preschool in your home with your son while your oldest goes. Mention it to friends, and I'm sure that they would gladly either bring their kids to you for "preschool" or maybe even help.
Good luck!

Hi T.,

I do understand the expense of preschool and budget cuts.

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I know they are doing an opportunity call tonight at 6pm. ###-###-#### 7030# and I believe the President is speaking tomorrow night about some if the health products.

I love it! The company is great, small but growing large, ground floor opportunity and I just work a couple of hours a week while my son naps!

www.isxperia.com/S.

Hi T.,

I so wish you lived closer because at least out here in Queen Creek their are a couple of In-Home Preschools. They are great! Most are done by former Teachers with Masters!

We have been here under a year and it has taken a lot of work on the internet but I finally found one through another Mom on Mamasource. It's only 10 minutes from my home and it is two days a week from 8:30 to 12 Noon. They do snacks and field trips too. All for $75. a month! Yep! $75. That's more than reasonable in todays economy. I Home School so it works out perfectly for me.

My little guy is 5 and could of used another male friend. He only has one right now but he is not home much and Mom is sending him off to Kindergarten all day. Anyway, look into finding one in your area you never know and then on the other days that he may be home with you- Cheirish That! Because once he is off to school you can't ever regain this time again unless you Home School. Enjoy implementing some of the curriculum suggested by some of the other moms on the other days he may be home with you if you find a Part Time In-Home Pre-School.

Hope this helps.

A.

We joined the YMCA and the kids love the childcare room where they can see their friends/play/learn each day - for free! It's included in the family membership. So, you can get a great workout/swim/class in, while your kiddos enjoy themselves. Then, when you're done, you can all go swim together!

Best,
C.

We looked into preschool briefly but had to nix it because we couldn't afford it. However, we're planning on homeschooling anyway, so we have just decided to focus on being involved with our MOMS club activities and letting our son enjoy his childhood. If you're really set on preschool, there is a cheaper option through the city of Chandler (Apples to Zebras). I'm hoping to find other homeschooling families that will want to get together for playdates that might take the place of preschool.

Good luck!!! :)

There are some high school that have preschool in them.
Basically it is set up like a regular preschool but the high school child development class gets to interact and observe the kids. I know North Canyon and PV high school have them. My daughter went to North Canyon and it was nothing but a positive experience. She went 3 days a week Tues- Thurs from 7:50 until 11:15 and the cost for $300 for the year.