I'm really torn when it comes to preschool and need some advice from you experienced moms. 1st a little background: My daughter is 3 1/2 and is in a home daycare. She absolutely loves going there and loves her friends & babysitter. We fully trust our daycare provider and she is like our extended family. My daughter is extremely smart and picks up things pretty quickly. She doesn't deal very well with change, as she likes to observe first and figure out how everything works before actually doing. Once she is comfortable with her surroundings and in a routine, she's fine...very outgoing, funny, kind, etc. So, my first concern: is changing her to a preschool worth it at the cost of ripping her away from the people and places she is comfortable with and loves so much? Part of me says that I want something a little more structured for her with more emphasis on material to help prepare her for kindergarten. Her daycare provider works with the children already. My daughter understands that you read from left to right, able to look at a book in the correct order, recites the stories, some spelling both verbally and on the computer, write her name, knows most letter sounds, simple patterns, count to 20, etc. The couple of preschools that I have toured seem more like a daycare than a preschool and am afraid that they won't challenge her enough. I've asked a couple of facilities what they would do if they had a child that already knew how to do most of their curriculum, and surprisingly they didn't have a response. That's the part of me that says she will do just fine in the home daycare until kindergarten. My 2nd concern is: What school to pick. Does anyone have any suggestions for good preschools in the area? Or on the other hand bad experiences with some? My husband and I were raised Lutheran and would not mind a Christian preschool, but we are not really religious. Therefore, I was hoping for something more nondenominational. We need something full time, as we do not have a way to transport her from preschool to daycare. Any help that you all could provide on both my worries would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! EDIT: I went back and changed the word "babysitter" to "daycare provider" based on a post. In NO WAY would I ever intentionally down play the hard work and care given to my child. As I said in my post we love her and she is like our extended family. My apologies if my "labels" were missed construde.
Sounds like your home daycare is doing very well. I think you should contact where she will be going to kindergarden and see wht the requirements are. However, my granddaughter goes to Primrose school and they are amazing. you may want to see if there is one near you. But, like I said, you home daycare seems pretty amazing so I'm not sure I would move her.
First of all, your provider has worked hard and she is a caregiver or childcare provider. Considering how well she has done, it's rude to call her a babysitter. She probably feels that way too even if she is too polite to say so. Give her some respect and stop thinking of yanking her income when she's done nothing but perform well.
Secondly, you have said it yourself. She is fine right where she is. Let her mature the rest of the way in the great place she already is. To be doing all the wonderful things she is doing at her age, you could leave her with this provider until first grade even. I'll be providing Kindergarten for 2 of my daycare boys this fall & winter and mostly likely a 3rd girl will get through the curriculum in that time too.
Relax. Children need a little more time to be young before the highly structured life begins.
My limited input is this: Ask the school she will attend for kindergarden what expectations they ahve. What is considered low, average, high. Discuss that with her sitter in case the sitter needs to step it up or not.
You NEVER know what you get in a preschool. Chain preschools can be the worst. Unsatisfied employees coming and going. Kids not knowing how to properly do child guidance or a handle a dysfunctional child. If everyone is happy, just make sure your sitter is in touch with expectations and let everyone continue being happy. Doubt you could get her back if you let her go.
I worked at Raintree Montessori and would definitely recommend them. It is an awesome school with very well educated and caring teachers. In the classroom there are 2.5-6 year olds, so I think it really helps them learn from the older kids, and they can also be a helper to the smaller ones. If I still lived in Lawrence that would be where my kids would go, I still even think about moving back so they could! I've never seen a more loving, nurturing place for children. Good luck in your search!
