Preschool - San Diego,CA

Hi T., all three of my kids went to preschool at 3 yrs old (in fact both boys had fall birthdays and were only 2 when they started.

At 3 they went twice a week for 3 hours. At 4 they went 3 times a week for 3 hours. They all had half day kindergarten 5 days. Our church had a school Pre-8th grade.

They had a blast, I got a break.

Of course, if they were whiney, clinging, and didn't want to go, or if they just weren't able to handle the program, I certainly wouldn't have MADE them go. For me it wasn't about childcare.

It's not really about what they know before they get there (least it shouldn't be), hopefully it's more about social interaction and learning to function as a member of a group. "PRE" school should be just that, a little exposure PRIOR to kindergarten, if they NEED to KNOW many things BEFORE PREschool, what would we call it, pre-preschool? Tehehe.

Enjoy her!

:)

It's better to start when your child is ready.

I am a firm believer in pre-school. But your child has to be ready to have that experience.

Does your child want to socialize? Does your child become excited by learning new things and interacting with other adults? Does s/he want to be around other kids and learn how to function in a 'group' setting? Can s/he wait his/her turn? Is s/he potty trained?

Good Luck!

I think it depends on the child a bit. We put our oldest in a some preschool at 2.5 bc she craved being with other kids so much. Our youngest is way less social so was happy at home. I think from a learning standpoint, 4 is totally fine. I look back and think most of the money we spent on preschool was wasted aside from an "entertainment" standpoint. And it's not because we picked unstructured or "bad" preschools. A mom at home can easily do the same teaching. I've found that you can spend lots of time teaching something at a young age or wait a bit and the child learns it very quickly. It all seems to even out later. So then it comes back to personality in my opinion. Do she seem to want to go etc and if she does, can you easily afford it? I don't think it's necessary otherwise at age 3.

It really depends on your child. Your daughter sounds a lot like my son and we are transitioning him from daycare to preschool in September b/c he's ready. If he was struggling with social interactions and more like an "old 2" than a "3", we would wait another year!

My oldest (now 5 and in Kindergarten) went to PreK 3 and my middle son (just turned 3) will start PreK 3 in the fall. The PreK program here is Tues/Thurs from 8:30-11--a total of 5 hours a week. My oldest loved it and so did I. Both of my kids already knew what your daughter knows, but they still learned so much (sharing, taking turns, fire drills, Christmas show, end of year show, lining up, classroom routine, circle time, being line leader/door holder, etc.) I really can't say enough about it!! I am so excited about #2 starting this fall!!

It sounds like your daughter is ready. Each child is very different. You do not want her to be sitting down doing worksheets, but to continue to learn as she plays. I teach preschool lessons to my 2 year old and 3 year old (almost 4) at home. I use a program called My Home Preschool. The lessons are fun and already for me to teach. We play and learn at the same time. We can not afford to send out kids to preschool, so this has provided great activities and learning experience for our kids.