Ready for Preschool? - Chicago,IL

He's letting you know he's not ready. Listen! Neither one of my kids went to preschool until they the year before they went to kindergarten. That means they were both 5! They loved it.
Your poor son...can you imagine crying for 2 hours straight five times! he must have had a huge headache.
Just tell your nanny that you want him involved in play groups, library times, find some friends that are his age and socialize. When he is a year or two older he may be more ready.
GL
L.

Wow he is just not ready.. It could be because you are not the one taking him, probably really just not ready fr it.

I agree about making sure he has tome with other children. Thant he be around other adults.

Not a big deal.. actually good to know it is something to work on.

You may want to baby-step this one.

My son was in daycare and transitioned to a preschool this year (age 3). He was "ready" developmentally and academically. More importantly, he was used to being with a group of children. If your son has been home with a nanny for the last three years, going right into a structured group setting may be a bit much.

Try having her take him to a music/art/swim/gymnastics class where he's part of a group and she's there, but not directly involved. When it seems like he's mcomfortable with that, try something a little bigger and less connected to her/you.

The teachers at a park district preschool are usually not certified teachers. Many are just moms working part time. They have no experience dealing with many of the issues they will face as teachers. Most do not have the schooling either. My suggestion is to find a preschool that has experienced teachers with degrees in early childhood education. It takes a special person to transition a child into a group setting when the child is resisting. I suggest taking a day off and observing the transition between the nanny and the preschool from a distance. I also am surprised a teacher would ask you to pull him out of school. Usually the director of the preschool will work with you, the teacher, and your child to find all alternatives to simply pulling him out of school. If you do decide to pull him out, I suggest doing music classes, library storytimes, park district classes, and other things similar to help him get used to being in a group setting before enrolling him next year for preschool. I'd also talk to your nanny about how you want her to handle the situation. One bad experience I had was leaving my child with a sitter and when he cried for me, she would say "mommy will be here soon....mommy loves you, she'll be coming to get you later." All the "mommy" talk just made it worse. After I suggested she just redirect him, we had no future issues. Find out what sets your child off at school and what interests him.....most of all stay strong and good luck!