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Old 07-30-2010, 03:40 PM
 
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Kindergarten in my district is 36 hours a week. There is no option for half days. It's the sole reason why I considered pre-school. I couldn't imagine my dd going from being with me to going to school full time so young with no transition period. I see the benefit of pre-school in getting children prepared for that type of major change.
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Old 07-30-2010, 03:44 PM
 
Location: here
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Originally Posted by Dorthy View Post
Kindergarten in my district is 36 hours a week. There is no option for half days. It's the sole reason why I considered pre-school. I couldn't imagine my dd going from being with me to going to school full time so young with no transition period. I see the benefit of pre-school in getting children prepared for that type of major change.
In my case, 3 yo go 2 days for 3 hours, 4 yo go 3 days for 3 hours, and there is a "bridge the gap" year for fall birthdays, so at 5 they go 4 days for 3 hours. Couldn't have been a more gradual transition to kinder at 3 hours 5 days/week. Except neither of my kids went at 3 yo. They started with 3 days/week at 4yo.
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Old 07-30-2010, 06:43 PM
 
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Originally Posted by rkb0305 View Post
who said preschool has to be 35-40 hours/week???? That is not the norm, as far as I know. Again (for the 3rd or so time in this thread) it is 2-3 half days/week. Every preschool I know has similar hours. That's 6-9 hours/week. And NOT sending your 4 yo to preschool in no way means you are NOT taking an active interest in your kids, or not spending any time with them. There are still plenty of hours left in the week after the 6-9 they spend at preschool. I really don't want this thread to turn into a big argument. If it heads that way, I think I'll bow out.

Even kinder here is only 15 hours/week.
There are several full-day preschools here... I think that they're "preschool" for two or three hours, then daycare for the rest of the day, though.

Like I said, whatever works for you. I was responding to the accusation that parents who do NOT choose preschool are "fearful" or "helicoptering." It's just another parenting decision. Those who don't use preschool are not "afraid" of preschool, anymore than those who do use preschool are "afraid" to have their kids home full-time.
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Old 07-30-2010, 07:29 PM
 
17,183 posts, read 22,792,872 times
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Originally Posted by FinsterRufus View Post
Umm, I don't think TouchOfWhimsy was entirely serious ...

Interesting about the wait list. What happened to the 66 kids that couldn't get in, I wonder?
They probably went to a different preschool. What often happened in the schools I taught in was that the parents applied to more than one school and then went to one depending on what one they got into.

Preschools can be abundant in various places. Some places are *good* and have wait lists, but others can be just as good and be less well-known.
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Old 07-30-2010, 08:29 PM
 
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Originally Posted by FinsterRufus View Post
Umm, I don't think TouchOfWhimsy was entirely serious ...

Interesting about the wait list. What happened to the 66 kids that couldn't get in, I wonder?
It's a peer mentoring preschool. Part of the class has a clinical diagnosis; anywhere from downs syndrome to speech delay; quite varied. But able to function in an assimilated classroom. The other part of the class has been selected to be "peers models" to these students. It's an incredible place, hence the number of parents who would like there children to go there. Yes, my son learned his ABCs and 123s, but he learned so, so much more from those around him, be it his classmates to teachers, that in no way shape or form could I do for him.

Preschool is not for every child. This particular preschool is not for every child.

We live in a decent sized city & there are other options which many parents preenroll in if the first one doesn't work out; that is what I did...he was enrolled in another preschool as backup. The above mentioned one just happens to be well sought out & one that fit our family & son the best.

We also have a preschool that is notorious for parents camping out over night to get their child a spot (it is the only religiously affliated one w/in 3 cities). The school has since then stopped that & incorporated a much more logical application process.

I don't see preschool as a daycare for my children. I see it as fun & new & filled w/ discovery & purpose. My husband & I are very involved in academics and hope to instill a passion for learning & discovery. But we also want our children to be in schools that think outside the box but have an element of tradition to them.

Last edited by 121804; 07-30-2010 at 08:39 PM..
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Old 07-30-2010, 09:03 PM
 
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Originally Posted by 121804 View Post
It's a peer mentoring preschool. Part of the class has a clinical diagnosis; anywhere from downs syndrome to speech delay; quite varied. But able to function in an assimilated classroom. The other part of the class has been selected to be "peers models" to these students. It's an incredible place, hence the number of parents who would like there children to go there. Yes, my son learned his ABCs and 123s, but he learned so, so much more from those around him, be it his classmates to teachers, that in no way shape or form could I do for him.

Preschool is not for every child. This particular preschool is not for every child.

We live in a decent sized city & there are other options which many parents preenroll in if the first one doesn't work out; that is what I did...he was enrolled in another preschool as backup. The above mentioned one just happens to be well sought out & one that fit our family & son the best.

We also have a preschool that is notorious for parents camping out over night to get their child a spot (it is the only religiously affliated one w/in 3 cities). The school has since then stopped that & incorporated a much more logical application process.

I don't see preschool as a daycare for my children. I see it as fun & new & filled w/ discovery & purpose. My husband & I are very involved in academics and hope to instill a passion for learning & discovery. But we also want our children to be in schools that think outside the box but have an element of tradition to them.
I love your description of the peer mentoring school. It sounds wonderful. I had a similar experience in my elementary school, which was the school in our system that housed the DD and OD students. Ten of us were selected to be peer mentors (I'm sure we weren't called that in the 70s, but that's what we were) and work with the disabled students. I can't even describe how rewarding that experience was and how much it shaped who I am today. I wish there was a school like that in my current region.
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Old 07-31-2010, 01:10 AM
 
Location: Australia
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Originally Posted by nana053 View Post
Preschool is not *necessary* but most kids love it. It does give them an opportunity to explore without mommy and to meet other children. A good play-based preschool can be very enriching. You don't need to do it though and exploring with mom can be great.
I agree.

I would not look for a preschool that is too outcomes focussed or promises that your kid will achieve greatness. To me it gives the kid the chance to learn to interact with other kids. Especially these days where parents tend to only have one or two kids and the kids don't get to run in a pack because of fears about safety.

Also it gives mom the chance to go do adult things.
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Old 07-31-2010, 12:01 PM
 
Location: Central, NJ
2,730 posts, read 6,097,170 times
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Originally Posted by FinsterRufus View Post
Ugg Eresh, that's the very scenario I would like to avoid. I'm thinking of sending her next year when she's 4 - does anybody really think 2 years of preschool is necessary? She's going to go to school for the rest of her childhood life - as long as she gets an idea of school structure before she hits kindergarten that should be enough, no?

I have no qualms about her going - I would definitely send her and continue to do outings if we could afford it, but we're looking at 4 to 6 hundred bucks a month - which is going to limit our options as far as going to museums and other things that also cost money. I'm going to look into Mom's Day out as per no kudzu's suggestion, I've never heard of that until now.
No. One year is plenty to teach her the structure of a classroom and she is not going to have the experiences there now that she's having with you. Kindergarten is full day now because people want free daycare, not because this country has rigorous academic requirements.
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Old 07-31-2010, 12:05 PM
 
Location: Central, NJ
2,730 posts, read 6,097,170 times
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Originally Posted by rkb0305 View Post
well, maybe "helicopter" is the wrong term, but I always wonder what, exactly, people are afraid of when they won't let their kids out of their sight for preschool or anything else.
She didn't say she won't let her kids out of her sight. She said she wanted to be the one to teach them how to interact with other children. Manners, conflict resolution, communication - these are things parents used to teach children before people decided that was a teacher's job.
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Old 07-31-2010, 12:26 PM
 
556 posts, read 796,316 times
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Originally Posted by 121804 View Post
It's a peer mentoring preschool. Part of the class has a clinical diagnosis; anywhere from downs syndrome to speech delay; quite varied. But able to function in an assimilated classroom. The other part of the class has been selected to be "peers models" to these students. It's an incredible place, hence the number of parents who would like there children to go there. Yes, my son learned his ABCs and 123s, but he learned so, so much more from those around him, be it his classmates to teachers, that in no way shape or form could I do for him.

Preschool is not for every child. This particular preschool is not for every child.

We live in a decent sized city & there are other options which many parents preenroll in if the first one doesn't work out; that is what I did...he was enrolled in another preschool as backup. The above mentioned one just happens to be well sought out & one that fit our family & son the best.

We also have a preschool that is notorious for parents camping out over night to get their child a spot (it is the only religiously affliated one w/in 3 cities). The school has since then stopped that & incorporated a much more logical application process.

I don't see preschool as a daycare for my children. I see it as fun & new & filled w/ discovery & purpose. My husband & I are very involved in academics and hope to instill a passion for learning & discovery. But we also want our children to be in schools that think outside the box but have an element of tradition to them.


That's how my sons preK was! It starts at 4 but he started at 3 due to a speech delay. It did wonders for his speech, socialization, and he learned a LOT
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