Pre-School Vs. Daycare

HUGE difference here. My son goes to an in-home daycare and he is lucky to learn a lot there. Our sitter is AMAZING. At the private pre-k's it seemed like more of an expensive playdate. My son also goes to public pre-k in the afternoon and he is learning more there than I thought possible!

Daycare:
1. Some are just babysitting
2. Some are Educational
Pre-K: Gets the kids ready for Kindergarden. They put the kids in the same routine as Kindergarden will be but in a smaller amount my kids only went for 3 hrs instead of all day.

preschool's run by the district are usually 2 hour programs. they have a solid curriculum. A daycare has a curriculum in the mornings and then nap time and open play in the afternoons.

preschool is usually just a couple hours long and has a planned program with different activities. Day care is usually all day and is more for having someone watch your kids while you work

Pre-school is from 8am until 2:30-3pm and is 5 days per week with scheduled breaks that coincide with the public school system. They have teachers that have actual education degrees and that can teach several grades in the elementary school system. They are paid by the school system and get full benefits from the state that they are employed by.

In child care the teacher has credentials that are sometimes even a BA/BS degree. They don't get paid much above minimum wage and rarely get benefits of any kind. They center is often open from 5:30-6am until 5:30-6pm and the teachers have shifts that they work and they leave when their time is up for the day and a different person come in to take over the class. They often follow a curriculum that is about the same as the preschool one but is much more general and not as fine tuned to getting the child ready for Kindergarten.

If left with the choice of one or the other at the age of 4 then I would always choose the Pre-k setting over the child care setting due to the focus being much more like a school setting and not like a child care center.

I think it depends on the type of daycare of preschool. Check both out - visit them and talk to the providers/teachers and see what the day looks like. At this age, I think it's better to be in a social environment and learn to be with other kids, and begin to learn life skills (cooperation, independence) than actual "ABC's" etc. Just my thoughts. Visit them and follow your gut!

My son went to a preschool run by our school district and the biggest difference is the curriculum. It coincides with what they will be learning in Kindergarten and prepares them for the Kindergarten classroom. Regular daycares have their own curriculum that does not necessarily coincide witht the school district. Also, daycares don't have to have a curriculum if they are in a home environment, versus a center. My oldest is now in Kinder and he went to a home first, then preschool, now Kinder and I think it really helped with the adjustment, since it not only teaches the educational aspect of school, but also socialization, having to sit and listen, following directions, etc. I highly recommend preschool for every child, even if it's just a few hours/day. It really does make a huge difference in preparing them for school.