Two of my kids went to nursery school and 2 of them started right in kindergarten. I really saw no difference in peer interactions. The 2 who went to pre-school felt “big” like their older sibling as they were also going to school. My grandson is in pre-school now and it is the best thing that could have happened.

I stayed home with my kids and my oldest i know is behind but he was premature and is only behind on speech and some motor skills. But we have already talked about what preschools they are going to and sincce i tought preschool for ayear in high school we are going to send them there. Our oldest will do two years in the younger class with his brother joining him the second year. We are doing this for him just so he doesnt have to struggle later on in school.

My son is 15 months right now and I don’t think that I will put him into preschool and possibly not Kindergarten either. I may wait until 1st grade or possibly even homeschool through elementary. I’m undecided. I think we tend to rush our children into schooling. Some kids in kindergarten still need to take naps and instead they’re forced to focus and expected to excel?

It’s definitely comes down to personal preference and depends on the personality of your child. I am a Montessori believer and a Mom who thinks rigid schedules for our little ones (birth-6 especially) is just too forceful. We can provide them with socialization through playdates, parks, playgrounds, experiences in general… but again this is tricky depending on your situation and your child’s preference.

I’m not a mommy, but as a preschool teacher I can tell you that finding a program that best suits your child and your family life as a whole is definitely hard work! Lots of parents go into the preschool search looking for things like convenience of location and whether or not the school potty trains on site. They may also read the school’s mission or philosophy statement, though I would warn that many schools that claim to be nurturing and child centered are not ). That’s a great place to start. I would also advise parents to spend a good deal of time at a handful of schools once they’ve narrowed it down and observe how the teachers (and director) approach teaching and interact with the children. This will be the surest way for you to get a real sense of the program’s flow and the kind of people who will be caring for and acting as role models for your child! Lastly, even the most wonderful program may not be the best fit if it doesn’t work with your family’s schedule. Do you have to drive all the way across town to drop off your child or interrupt a long established morning ritual? If you have caring adults available to you (like a sister or grandparents!) preschool becomes less a necessity and more of an option. There are other options for your family such as taking weekly art or music classes (where children can learn in a more formal setting) or mommy and me outings that are available in small groups so your child has a chance to interact with other children. Of course, neither of these is quite like preschool so you’ll have to weigh the pros and cons yourself. Lastly there are many misconceptions about schools that are labeled Montessori or Reggio. While they are big names in early childhood education many parents assume that simply because a school is Montessori that it’s a “good school”. Did you know that Maria Montessori believed that children should be taught to use toys in very specific ways (for example, a set of blocks may be designated to use only for building towers starting with the largest blocks on the bottom–try to make a giraffe and the toy will be taken away because it’s not being used “properly”)–that doesn’t sound like the best way to foster creativity does it? In short, do your research. You’ll be glad you did.

Here’s a thought, if you aren’t ready to completely give up the nanny route right now. R stays with his grandmother three days each week (i.e. lots of one-on-one time), and he goes to preschool two days a week. He loves both his days with his grandma, and his days with his friends, and I feel like he is getting the best of both worlds. R currently goes to a Chesterbrook in our area, and we love it — and they are SO flexible with him being part-time. We can switch up the days he goes each week if something comes up. We can also send him there more than just two days a week with little to no notice (i.e. Grandma is sick), or when my mom plans a vacation, etc. We really like having that back-up for my mom.

My advice is preschool ASAP!
I’ve had my son in FT daycare since he was an infant. His daycare is now morphing towards full on preschool, (he’s 2.5, at around 3 it’s “officially” considered pre-school, with 6-1 instead of 4-1 ratio).
It’s a montessori based school, and we are just thrilled. He’s freaky smart, social, engaging, etc. Allow me a mommy moment to toot his horn: he can use “photosynthesis” correctly in a sentence LOL.
Of course there are the drawbacks, yes there was the two weeks where he was bit/biting… pick up some bad habits from other kids, etc… good with the bad you know but good far outweighs!

And, there are TONS of recent studies out there to emphasize how IMPORTANT early childhood learning is.

All this to say… don’t delay on preschool. Harry will LOVE it, you will be thrilled to watch him learn. I am a huge fan of the Montessori type schools, but pick whatever looks best to you. You won’t regret enrolling him sooner rather than later, I promise! (&, part time is always an option too!)

Well, here’s my take on it – NOTE: not judging that this is the best option for all moms.

We have a nice balance of preschool 2x a week and my parents watching them 1x a week. Having a shy child, I feel like it is preparing him and helping him develop social skills.

Also? I’m not a great teacher so I love that he gets a well-thought out curriculum. He started preschool at 3-years-old and because of when he was born he will have two years of preschool and one year in pre-k classes. I am very happy with our decision but you’re right. You must find the right class for him. It took me two tries :)

We are right where you are. My son was born a few weeks before Harry and we are looking to start him in preschool in the fall. However we are limited in our area because many schools do not take kids unless they are 3 on September 1st.

I stayed home with him the first year, and for the past year and a half he’s been going to a small in-home daycare with 2 other kids his age (and now one infant). The daycare provider is a trained (Waldorf) preschool teacher, so she has started doing a lot of preschool activities with the kids already.

We’re only doing half days, 2x a week for a lot of reasons. One is that we love where he’s at now with the 1-on-1 attention. Plus she already does a lot of preschool activities with them. He also has sleep apnea and our nights have always been rough and most likely will continue to be rough for awhile. Sometimes he needs a really long nap, sometimes he needs 2. Sometimes he needs none. In the 1-on-1 environment he’s in right now he can get that individualized attention that he can’t get at a preschool. But I do want him to have some of that social interaction and teaching in a larger environment. So 2x a weeks seems good for us.

The one we will probably go to is a parent-cooperative close to us. We liked the Montessori school but it just wouldn’t work for our little guy (he’s very tactile and likes to pretend and use things in different ways to figure things out, and this particular school wouldn’t let the kids do that with a lot of the toys, plus he would have had to go all 5 days a week).

Good luck!

I vote for part time preschool.

I’m a full time SAHM to my 2, but they are both in a preschool program. My 2 year old is in a Mother’s Day Out program that basically is teaching her how to interact with other kids her age. My 4 year old is in what I consider the best preschool in our town, but it did have a waiting list that I had to get him on when he was 3 months old. He just started this year. He too, is part time. To me, that is the best of both worlds, they still have their time with mommy, but they also get the interaction with the other kids. Plus, it is helping my 4 year old be ready for kindergarten.

I don’t know where I stand on the thought that if you DON’T put them in a program, they won’t be ready for “real” school. I feel that is a bit too broad of a statement.

I DO agree that it may take a try or 2 to find the perfect fit for him. Good luck! Big decision for sure!

I have Wesley (2) and Liam (4m) in an in-home daycare. It’s a 5 star program, and having just turned 2 in December, I am happy to say Wesley can say all his ABCs and can count to 10. I won’t be enrolling him in a separate preschool program, as he’s already being exposed to the curriculum my DCP has for the older kids in her care. He’s also very social, so I don’t really see the need in taking him from where he’s comfortable, happy, and obviously learning. It’s entirely YOUR decision, BA. If you enroll Harry, I’m sure he’ll benefit, but there are plenty of children out there who do just fine without it. Socially-speaking, Wesley and I would love to have a play date if you’re interested at some point – we’re in your general area.

We are looking into preschool for my 2.5 yr old. My parents watch our girls when I’m in the office. We’re interested in preschool for the social aspects. Most schools around here are 2 days/week for about 2-2.5 hrs/day for 3 yr olds. I think that will be perfect for my daughter. She loves to be around other kids but she usually just watches them. I’m hoping preschool opens her up a bit around other kids.

I toured 3 different places – all were religious based (1 Catholic elementary school, 1 UCC Church, & 1 Lutheran). We are going with the one that *feels* right.

Good luck to you!

I disagree with those who say preschool is a necessity… I teach kindergarten and used to teach preschool and while there are certainly kids who are at a disadvantage if they enter kindergarten never having set foot in a classroom, there are others for whom it makes no difference. We are lucky enough to have family who watch my two little ones (1 & 3) while I am at school and thus far we have not felt the need to send them to school. My mom takes them to gymnastics and the library story time every week and I take them to a music class and the big one to a cooking class weekly as well. They see plenty of other kids and while my oldest certainly isn’t overly social, she is just a shy kid and I don’t think being in school will change that at all. That said, we do think that next year we will send her to the local public preschool two mornings a week, but that is mostly because she has some medical history and will likely need speech services that I would like to stagy sooner rather than later so they can be more effective. Bottom line. do what works for you and your family. If you think he’s fine, he probably is and if you are concerned that he’s missing something or needs more peer interaction, there are lots of ways to add that into Harry’s day!
Good luck with the decision!

I chose a daycare/preschool out of necessity. There is just no one near by that I trust with my child in-home. We chose the one we did because a) Best security B)location C) cleanliness D)appearance of children (when visiting several times the children were all happy, playing, clean etc) E) philosophy..not exactly in that order.
We have been supremely happy with our choice. Our son is very well adjusted, truly enjoys being there with his friends and we don’t have the pressure of playdates on the weekend and just wallow in family time..which is good because we know so few people with kids near his age nearby.

My daughter did not attend pre-school and she is all the better for it. While preschool has many benefits, no one ever discusses the negatives. Not only will your child learn to socialize, wait his turn, and sit on the carpet square; he will also learn words, expressions, and behaviors from other children that you may wish he wasn’t exposed to. Positive preschool-like experiences can also be found on the playground, at the library (story time is great!) and through programs like Gymboree – my daughter took music, art and sign language there as well as ballet from a sweet little studio near our home. While I was blessed to be able to take my daughter to experiences like these, you can certainly arrange for your sister to do the same for you and you can take him on weekends. Today, my nearly 7 year old is a leader in her first grade class socially and academically. In fact, last year one month into kindergarten we discussed the possibility of moving her to first grade. The only reason we didn’t was her late birthday would make her nearly 2 years younger than many in the class ahead of her. She is often selected to represent the school at citywide events because of her stellar behavior. Additionally, she never went through a hitting, yelling or biting stage. She never threw a tantrum. And you know what else? She potty trained in less than a week and is one of only a handful of her friends (all of whom went to preschool) who can tie her own shoes. Many of my friends were outraged at the thought that I wasn’t sending my daughter to preschool but we love the idea that for 5 years we had the opportunity to shape her into the little person we wanted her to be with little outside influence. Looking back I have no regrets and am 100% certain I would make the same decision today.

I run a Nanny Share out of my home and it works out great. This allowed me to stay home with my daughter, being a single Mom with no family in the area there would be no way to hold down a good paying job without support for back up for illness ect; But the socializing for the kids is a great factor and it begin a Nanny Share, I reduce my price. Maybe your sister would like to take in another child and earn more money while your son gets some social time?