Day Care Vs. Kindergarten

Hi I.,

I would say it depends on your school district and your son and your financial situation.

Are you in a good school district? Many good school districts design their curriculum in a way that begins preparing the children in Kindergarten. Also consider what it would be like for him socially when he is to start 1st grade.

Does your school district offer half day or full day? Do you feel your son will be (there is a lot of growth over the summer) mature enough to handle full day if offered (most 5 year olds are, but their are exceptions)? Does the day care offer a wrap around program if the district has half-day so he can be bused there after school while you are at work?

Public school is paid for through property taxes of homeowners in your district so you will not have any more out of pocket expenses other than taxes. Can you afford another year of tuition?

In my opinion, if your school district is good then sending him to the district kindergarten program will be most beneficial. I am sure your daycare has loving caring wonderful teachers but kindergarten teachers in the public schools have master's degree or are working towards one and do wonders for their students (I am a former Kindergarten teacher).

On the other hand if you decide to send him to the day care's program I am sure he will feel comfortable from the beginning and thrive.

Regardless of your choice, stay involved in his education, keep an open line of communication with his teacher, and he will do very well.

As a PreK teacher in an Elementary building, I would put your child in Kindergarten within a regular school. He would then have the opportunity to meet children that he will remain in school with for at least 3 years if it is a K-2 building. The only thing he would miss out on is homemade meals but a solid foundation academically is more important to me than a homemade meal. Good luck!

That depends upon your needs. Is your local public kindergarten all day or half day? Do you work? Do you need more hours of child care than a regular (ususally 1/2 day) kindergarten can provide so that he would have to take a bus to his daycare? My younger daughter went to regular morning kindergarten and took the bus to daycare where I picked her up and she was fine. So.. it's really up to your and your son and what works best for the both of you.

Dear I.,

I agree with Amy completely it really depends on your school district. I own and operate a Montessori School with a full day kindergarten program. The district I am in does not provide full day kindergarten so I manage to keep a full class enrollment. It is a very advanced program and the kids are now reading. Although I am a preschool my kindergarten program is fully accredited and follows a full day kindergarten curriculum.

However if your district does have a good full day kindergarten program then I would probably go with public school. Not just for the academics but more for socialization. It will help your son to make friends early on. Most schools with half day kindergarten programs have children attending different kindergarten programs and then enter public school in first grade which means there are more kids coming in new in first grade. So basically they are all in the same boat. I know when my kids were young I was a stay at home mom so a half day program was okay for me. When they went to first grade the enrollment doubled with the new children entering the school so they got to meet new friends as well. Hope this helps.

i think the regular school would be better only because, when your son goes in 1st grade he will know everyone. good luck.

Hi I.. I work in an elemenatary school, and I would say that given the rigid academics that kindergarten is all about now. Check to find out whether the daycare's kindergarten follows the same curriculum as the school district's kindergarten. Our school district uses a specific program for teaching reading, and it begins in kindergarten. If a child isn't developing as a reader using this program, they are at a disadvantage, coming in at the first grade level. Find out what is expected, academically, of an entering first grader in your school district and whether the daycare's kindergarten works in accordance with the school district so that their kindergarteners meet those goals.
Regular school isn't going to make him "more mature." He will still be with kindergarteners all day, not much interaction with the older kids, although there may be more independence in an elementary school setting rather than a daycare.
Good luck in your decision.

I.,
Good morning.

I'm writing in response to Pre-K or Kindergarten... I have one son who is in first now and one that is going into Kidergarten next Sept. I'm right there with you so I understand your concern. In my opinion, First grade is much different then Kidergarten. If your child goes to an Elementry School, the Kindergarten teacher is going to be able to teach your child more on an elementry level rather than on a preschool level. Beings your child will be in that environment, if you choose so, the teach could also assess him/her and know immediately if there are any learning disabilities, or if they need extra help. Depending on the type of school you enroll them in; let's say a public;, there are available funds and programs that your child can be offered for free whereas the preschool might not. Look into that. Another thing to think about is, Going into first grade with hardly one other children your child may know could be scary. If he has a year to get to know other children in a Kindergarten class, he has a better chance of being in the same class with most of his friends and it won't be so scary; but more exciting. Society is pushing out children to be more independent and it's good for them. We as parents get to baby and spoil our little ones when they come home. hehe. But I think you should start him in a regular elementry environment. Hope I can help.
H.

We were faced with the exact same dilemma with my son. We both work full time, public K was 1/2 day, and he'd been in a full day program for daycare preschool. Going to a 1/2 day K seemed like taking a step backwards and then there was the expense of before and after care (almost as much as daycare K). We found out that the Catholic school had a full day program with aftercare for about 1/2 the price of daycare K. There is also more structure and discipline and more instruction (really, how much learning happens in a 1/2 day K by the time they get in, get settled, have snack, and take a bathroom break).

We made the right choice for him (he's in 5th grade now and still at that school) and his little sister fill follow in his steps when it's her turn. We signed up for full day K and found a community of warm, welcoming families that will probably be friends for life.

I wouldn't be concerned with maturity or level of academics in a daycare K. The academics will be equal to or better than public school (because they have ALL DAY instead of a 1/2 day, and so more time to do stuff). In the daycare they'd be in a class with other 5- and 6-year-olds so they'd be as mature as they're supposed to be. In my son's school the bar is actually set higher. The expectations are higher and so the children reach and attain higher.

How old is he? My oldest son's birthday is in September but the year he could have gone to K, we decided to give him the extra year of pre-K at his preschool. Now he is 8 and in 2nd grade and he is doing very well. He's on the tall side but it doesn't bother him and we know they will all start to even out at some point.

Our middle son's birthday is the end of July. The preschool teachers here swear by putting the kids into school later. So much is expected of them nowadays. He is on the immature side and I wanted to put him in pre-K and let him start late like his brother did. He did not want to. He wanted to go into K and be a big boy and my husband wanted him to as well. Guess what? He doesn't like school. He tells me that he was wrong to want to go to K. Granted they changed to all day K this year so I am sure that is a huge part of it. That is a LONG day for them and here he was just 6 weeks into being 5 when school started.

Putting him in regular school is NOT going to mature him more quickly. I wondered the same thing and if anything my son has trouble not talking and being SO structured. I had hoped the "older" kids would lead him into being more mature but instead, he seems to gravitate to the kids who aren't the best behaved. In preschool, he gravitated to the "good" kids. Sure it pushed him along academically but even with that he had to have special help for a couple of months. He picked things up quickly but again, he has come to not like school and he's only in K. NOT what I wanted for him. :(

If you have concerns about his maturity, I would really try to do the daycare K. Part of our problem with it was the cost as well but looking back, I wish we had done whatever we had to to make it work. Honestly this is something that eats at me that's how bad I feel about it.

Hi I.. The decision is really yours to make, and I'm sure there are pros and cons for both. The only main thought I had has to do with meeting kids. Does he know a lot of kids who will be in school with him after kindergarten? If he doesn't, going to school in the regular k will set him up with friends for the future. Good luck with your decision.

Hi I. -
We will be in the same situation with our son next year. We've decided to pay the ridiculous amount of money for him to attend Kindergarten at his current daycare. It's worth it for us for 3 reasons: he already loves the school and has thrived there for 2 years so there will be no transition difficulties, our town has half-day K and we work FT so the extended daycare hours are great, and (most importantly) the K class is usually only about 10 kids so the personal attention is outstanding. I don't see how regular K would have any effect on your son's maturity.
Good luck with whatever you choose!

Hi I.,
If your son is doing well and prety on track for where he should be, I would put him in the Kindergarten. He needs to get used to a regular school setting. That's part of what Kindergarten does. I also had reservations last year about my daughter(now in kindergarten). She needed a little additional help with speech and reading, but is now doing great.

I say socialize the boy. My first son had only a short pre-school experience and then he went to kinder. It was obvious to them that he lacked the skills and socialization that comes with today’s childcare and pre-school experiences. No matter anyone’s opinion of public schools, it is a more realistic setting for life (plus your taxes pay for him to be there). He will make friends and be well cared for on his emotional level, (and not be the awkward new kid later) so sooner rather than later really is better for him ~ let him go. He will be stronger for it. I know. My second son was in childcare until kindergarten and he is much more independent than my older son.

A little about me: Single Mom of 2 boys (16 & 6) http://juls1bdc.moonfruit.com
Presently building a blog site on "Survival Tips for the Economically Challenged" (NEW site - Great stuff to be uploaded soon).

Hello, I am also facing that dillemia for the upcoming school year. I have a 4year old in a Pre-K class and the teacher has told me that even though he is excelling and she believes that he would do great in a traditional school setting that he still needs a little help with recogniation of colors, numbers, and so-forth. My advice would be to look around at other schools (not only public but charter schools, private, and catholic) and compare the curriclum, the expense, and other activities or the environment they have to offer and then make your decision. Best of Luck Mom of 2 Crazy Boys LOL

It seem to me that ur a little concern about the finacial part,which I can understand.if the homemade meals and nap time is a plus then u need to see if u can afford it. Because u can make his snack and lunch(homemade) the kids are allways busy playing and he still gets nap time in. Kindergarden. As for him becoming more mature unless he's hanging with the fifth graders u have nothing to worry about.I know u will make the best decision for u and him

Hi I.,

If you like the school, and can afford it. I would keep him there. I do not think a regular school will make him more mature. It will come as he gets older. Good Luck! :)

Hello there, first off I would suggest that you check out the kindergarten classes and see how you like them , and I would advise you to think about sending your son to Kindergarten at the same school next year for several reasons: One ,is if you are happy and satisfied with your child's Pre K quality of education that he is getting now, Two, is if your son is happy and learning and content where he is now, then it would make sense to send him to kindergarten,which is a natural next step, after Pre K. I am a college student specializing in Early Childhood Education, who is about to graduate , and begin teaching as a Pre K teacher's aide in the state of New Jersey , and I think that your son's pre k class sounds very good and it sounds like a High Scope Curriculum, following the Board of Educations Core Curriculum Content Standards. - It sounds quite excellent. Take all of this, how happy you are, and your son is in Pre K, right now, get to meet and know the Kindergarten Teachers and keep in mind that Kindergarten is the next natural step after Pre- k I wish you the best of luck, Think about it , then make up your mind and good luck ! C. Hassan, future Pre K Teachers Aide Jersey City NJ

I experience the same thing. His daycare has Kindergarten but I took him out and send him to regular school which got more mature