Sending Daughter to Preschool

As Raelleplante P., my son's birthday is November 27th. I put him into a headstart program when he was 2 going on 3 that taught the basics of being in a classroom, but still allowed the kids the chance to learn interactively. Lots of things were taught through every day application (art projects to learn about colors, playing outside to learn about seasons). He went to preschool after that, then kindergarten. He's in 2nd grade now and is far more adjusted to the classroom and much more enthusiastic about school than many of his peers that did not go to school until kindergarten.

You sound like such a nice mother! Any of your plans are probably good. Look into the programs enough to think about which of the teachers and groups fit her best.

I just asked this question last week for my little guy. I am going to go ahead and put him in the 2's this year. Although, he isn't as advanced as your LO, but I think it'll suit him better than the 3's. Plus he was a month early so I figured if he'd be in the 2's class if he didn't decide to come early anyway. But I should mention I have a girlfriend who's LO just turned 2 in Feb. and got approval from the preschool her older son attended to go ahead and put him in with the 3's. So go with your gut instinct, and I wouldn't haven any regrets either way. If your little one is too advanced or bored with the 2's I bet the instructors would let you know, and maybe they'd let you change classes, if there is space!!! Also feel free to read the responses I got from my post. I found them to be real helpful!!

I agree with Marilyn...I would take a look at what is being taught. Most likely, I would probably put her in the 2's class. My daughter turned 3 in May so she is in the 3's, but she has several classmates that turned four last semester and this semester. We also know a little boy that turned 4 in February but was put in the 4 class last August due to space issues. He is relatively smart but has struggled some. It is his first year in preschool. If you can find a good preschool that works individually with each child then she should be okay in the 2's....as long as she doesn't already know everything that is being taught. You just want to make sure she doesn't miss anything.

Good Morning L.!

I have a daughter that has a late November birthday, and I struggled with the same issues that you have expressed in your question. And it was interesting when I would talk to neighbors and friends about it A LOT of people would encourage "waiting". "Give her the gift of time" "you want her to be the head of the class, not struggling". Which is true.. you don't want kids to struggle and be over their head, but there is research that shows that kids who are challenged actually learn more. If you are always the head of the class you can be bored and unchallenged.

So Katie was 2 when she started preschool. She was the youngest one, and she did fabulous. She is now in 3rd grade. She was the second to last one to turn 8 in her class. There are actually some kids (that were held back) that are almost 2 years older than her in her class. She is not the top kid in her class.. but she is definately in the top 1/4 and doing great. I would do it again in a second. It was the best decision for her. I think she would have been bored in her studies if we would have held her back.

Hope this helps!
Good Luck!
B.

I think putting her in the 2yr program in the fall will be great for her. Or if you are looking for a more personalized program I run a daycare/preschool program in our home. check out my website

www.lilstarsmontessori.com

Call the Adventure Center ###-###-#### and talk to them; it's a daycare center 6 wks-Kindergarten and they may put her in a more advanced room if she's potty trained. Good luck

Hi L., my son's birthday is 11-27 so we had the same problem. Do we send him when he's 2 turning three or 3 turning 4? We decided to send him early for the mere fact that we thought he'd have fun! We figured the worst that would happen was he would be having a tough time with separating and then we'd pull him out and wait a year or he wasn't totally ready and he'd have to repeat. He LOVES school and hasn't had a problem and his teacher says he's in the right place because he does so well. I say give it a shot. Nothing says just because she's enrolled that you have to keep her in the whole year. Try it out and if she's not adjusting well take her out and wait til next year. Hope this helps!

Just looking forward for you with my 15 year old daughter. She turned 5 just before the first day of kindergarten. In hind sight, SLOW DOWN. As they get older being the youngest is very difficult. Everyone else can drive, date, etc and she is still waiting. Also three years of preschool is difficult. I would hold out on more year.

It will be entirely up to the schools you call to tell you this information. Most schools have very strict policies about when kids can start their programs. Usually they have to be the full age before they can enter the age group of a class. we can all say put her in the 3 yr. old program but if you can't find one that will take her then all the advice in the world won't help.

So I say start looking around and find one that will take her and talk to them. I don't think I would put a 2 yr old in a class with 3 yr. old boys who are going to be more aggressive and rough on eveyone in the class. I have over 10 years in child care and there is a huge difference in a 3 yr. old child and a 2 yr. old child emotionally. But I do see your point and you don't want her to be bored. But most 2 and 3 yr. programs are going to be play programs with little actual sitting down and working on educational activities. Find one you like and you and the Director decide what to do.

And have you realized she won't be able to start Kindergarten before she is a full 5 years old? So if you start her in the 3 year old class at 2 yrs. old in the Fall, she'll have a year of 3's, a year of preschool and then a whole year more before starting Kindergarten?

this is a hard one! there are good and bad about sending her so early. we had a similiar situation with our son. he seemed advanced due to older siblings as well and we sent him to preschool when he turned 3. we had the choice to wait for the 4 year program and thought he could use the social atmosphere and the headstart before kindegarten. first year went quite well. he did fine and seemed to adjust well. however, once the second year hit, things didn't go so well. he already knew all the things they were teaching all over again and thus became bored and misbehaved alot. now he seems to be tiring of school because he doesn't feel "challenged" enough. i would double check to see if the curriculum changes from 2, 3, and 4 year programs. if she is already advanced and you find that the curriculum doesn't vary enough, it might be a good idea to wait. start a play group for her for socializing if that is your main concern. you could talk to your preschool too as they usually have information on any local play groups that are offered. hope this helps a little!

Is it everyday? My daughter went to a preschool that had 3yrs olds meet for 3hrs every Tues and Thurs and 4yr olds meet for 3hrs every Mon, Wed and Fri. It was a co-op program so I helped out twice a month in her class. We loved it! It was no pressure - really just an organized playdate. She got the opportunity to do painting, crafts, puzzels, story time, science experiments - tons of fun stuff. If the preschool is set up like this, then I would send her. If it's everyday or all day and seems rigourous in any way, then I would not send her. I do believe that little kids need to be little kids. But I also think that preschool can be tons of fun accompanied by some learning too. Fun and socialization should be the emphasis though.

HI L.---Our oldest has a late Nov. birthday. She didn't start preschool until she was 3, almost 4. She was accepted into a Head Start program because she was very shy and anxious. I digress a bit, she is now 26 so there wasn't an much of an emphasis on preschool then as there is now. Anyway, she was fine once school started. No signs of anxiety like she showed in testing. BUT...this is the important part. She was our first and even though she was and is a great, smart student, we held her back for social and emotional reasons. Little girls can be really evil to others later in grade school, jr high and high school. Our concern was for her at that stage of her life.

But then, our youngest has a late sept birthday. We moved to Illinois when he was 4 so he was not able to start school until he was almost 6. He was reading before he started kindegarten and graduated with honors here in Clarkston.

My point is that I think it's good to let them be little for a while longer. She has lots of time to be a grown up. As she gets into her school career, she will be identified and put into advanced classes. In high school, they have all kinds of AP classes that give them college credit. She will have advantages being the oldest in her class rather than the youngest. I think those far outweigh giving her challenges at 3 years of age. I think waiting will set her up for successes that she might not have starting school early.

Hope this makes sense. Good luck. D.

Michigan law says your child must be three by dec 1st to attend my daughter turned three in November and I waited no reason to rush you can join free playgroups or get her in gymnastics or dance no matter how advanced she is I recomend waiting

My daughter just turned 2 and is quite advanced as well. With an 8 year old brother, who thinks she is 8 as well, she can do just about anything and everything he can. But i wouldn't put her in school this fall, because of the emotional readiness. I even know parents taht delayed Kindergarten by a yar becasue of the emotional aspect. So look at that side of her, and would she be ready to be away from you, or is that going to cause more issues for her.

When looking at schools to place her, you can ask about starting her with the 2's, and if the school feels she would be better with the 3's, would they move her into the 3's. That way you are letting the professionals decide where she would be best. you can tell them you want the 3's for her, but they may tell you they will make the decision based on how she is with the other kids. If she hasn't been in a very social atmosphere you might be better with the 2's, to help develop more off the social skills that the 3's already would have developed the year before when they were 2's.

In the state of Michigan, a child has to turn 3 before December 1 to go to 3 year old preschool. I guess if you're looking at day care centers or Montessori they might have a different policy but in the public schools the child's birthday has to be before December 1.