My son is now three when do i register him for public preschool. Also does public preschool cost money? I am also thinking it runs half day. Either morning or after noon. Thank you for your help.
Thanks everyone. Our son and daughter were going to daycare and I took them out due to costs. My son was learning both book work and social skills. Our daughter is very shy and I would like to get her back in a social setting. My son has also regressed with his social outwardly friendlyness. I was hearing both that preschool did not cost and that yes it did cost. It was public education so I was under the impression it was free like public school. I agree that we can teach our own kids and applaude those who do. I also want my kids to have social settings where they can interact and have other kid time to learn social skills and as much as they can.
Why can't you just teach him these things at home? Pre school is not neccessary, it's just become what all of "The Jones'" are doing.
Public preschool imo is ridiculous unless the kid is handicap. Why do we need to pay for PREschool for kids? Parents should be teaching them their colors and abc's.
It will vary depending on where you live. In our city, the sessions are extremely short, only part of the morning, so they didn't work for me. I work in the mornings and need 1/2 day sessions. Not to mention, the really short sessions made me wonder how useful they could be in preparing our kids for kindergarten. There is a registration fee, but it's significantly less than private preschools.
Preschool is not for the handicap. Anyone with common sense knows that. My children are in preschool and love it. I taught them their abc's, numbers, writing their own name, ect. Preschools are great for a child to learn to socialize with others, make new friends, introduce them to a school enviroment before kindergarten, ect. Why wouldn't it cost, it cost money for daycare, and other extra activities. Some schools even offer speach therapy if needed. My kids go 3 hours a day 4xs a week. Our preschool is through our school district, the teachers all have teaching degrees, and tuition is actually cheaper than any daycare/sitter. Your should call your school district to see what they offer.
Check with your district to see if it's offered, first. In my district it's only available for certain at-risk populations- special needs, ESL, low income, etc.
Public Preschool is free, but you need to qualify for it. Your son needs to be 4 on or before Sept. 1st., have a parent/parents in the military, have low income, or speak only Spanish. It's half a day. There's a morning class and an afternoon class.
Call your home school before it lets out, & find out when you can register your son for Pre-K.
Hope this helps. Good Luck.
The public preschools around here are only for a certain population--special needs kids, low income families, at-risk kids, etc. I don't know what it is like in TX.
In Texas, the public preschools are only for those children with disabilities or significant developmental delay of some sort (e.g. speech or language delay). However, there are Head Start programs for financially disadvantaged kids, and they are low cost or free. I would contact VISD and ask them about it. They would have the right info.
As far as being necessary, it really isn't. He needs to know his ABCs, basic colors and shapes, numbers through 10, and how to count to 20. Those things (and more) are easily taught at home if you're concerned about money. Many children go to kindergarten without having gone to preschool, and they do just fine. Also, many kids come in not knowing all of those things as well, and the teachers usually have them where their peers are by the end of the year.
If you're just wanting a part-time gig for him to be able to spend time with other kids and be in a group environment, you might look into a church-based program. It would be 2 or 3 days per week and would be less expensive than a 5 day program.
Good luck! =)
I don't believe Texas HAS universal preschool. The state programs would be for kids with special needs or financial limitations.
There are lots of ways to get your son and daughter in a social setting. Do you have a MOPS (Moms of Preschoolers) program near you? Or you can organize a play group. You mention it to one mom at the daycare and then she knows someone, and so on. Our kids had so much fun hanging out with other kids in an unstructured environment. We met every week and took turns at the park, library, McDonald's, etc. If the weather was bad, we would switch houses.
If you go to church, there are some that have Sunday School for preschoolers.
Free public preschool here in Texas is only for families below the poverty line or children with handicaps or non English speakers.
If you do not meet any of these criteria, then you can opt to do a mother's day out preschool program, usually held at local churches two to three days a week.
I disagree with preschool being non-neccessary. Yes, I teach my kids their abcs and such at home, but sometimes mom needs a freaking break and kids enjoy socializing and learning class settings in preschool. If I could afford to put my kids back in preschool, they'd be there right now.
Most states don't offer 3 year old preschool. They don't even have to let 4 year olds into pre-k, they are not mandatory. If they have an abundance of kids they may choose to rearrange their teaching staff and put more teachers in the pre-k classrooms to take more kids but since it's not required as part of the education program they keep the teachers teaching the classes that are required.
However Kindergarten is the first mandatory school class.
Have you done any research online? Or called your local schools/preschools? Or posted this question on your local Mamapedia board? I can't really give you any info on your particular area, since I don't live there. Here, there are in home preschools, religious/private preschools, and public school preschools. All of them have a cost associated with them, unless you qualify for tuition assistance.
Good Morning! I personally think it is a great idea to want your children in a social environment. I also believe that it is VERY important for children to get that head start, it benefits them so much. First of all if you work it is had to have something part time for your child to attend due to transporting them back and forth. I am a single mom working full time. My son attended day care from 6 weeks to 3 1/2. He needed more of a challenge due to him being all boy, bored at day care and has the ability to learn more – there is only so much we can do at home and I believe they learn more from someone else. I also wanted him to be in a more structure environment verses a day of play. The day care had “preschool time” but it was not much. I researched a lot... and decided on a Pre-k 3 program at a Catholic private school. He started in August and has learned more then I ever imagined and has maturely grown so much. I as well as most of the family is just amazed now from where he was in August. He will attend day care during the summer and will be back at his school for Pre-k 4. We absolutely love the school!! The tuition for our school runs about the same as day cares. There is also tuition assistance out there. Research online for schools/daycares/churches in your area and call and ask lots of questions.
As for public pre-k for our district... He would have to be 4 by sept 1st and you have to qualify low income, military family or a child with disability. I believe that is very unfair because every child needs the head start verse just this group.
My son is going things in pre-k that I think he would be doing in 1st grade. As I have spoke to teachers I know and teachers at his school they highly recommend a pre-k program, it can only benefit the child in the long run.
I know as a parent you want to do what is best for your kids. Good luck to you!!
