Daycare - Denton,TX

Transitioning her seems like a good thing, unless she is very shy or sensitive to crowds, noise or things like that. It took my son, now 4.5 and starting pre k, months to adjust when he started preschool at 3 (he was not in childcare before). Now he is starting pre-k in the same place with much less stress and adjustment.

I think you could go either way... As a daycare provider I see that MOST kids are ready for a more structured environment where they interact with their same aged peers by about 3 or 3 1/2. Personally, I feel like kids have to conform soon enough, so I chose to keep my own kids out of preschool until 3 or 4 years old. Then I chose a play based preschool vs. an academic one. And that choice, I found, should vary from child to child. The play based preschool was great for my daughter, but I believe that my son would have benefitted from a more structured environment.

I guess my advice would be that if your daughter is happy in her current care situation and the schools are not so impacted that you won't have a spot when you feel she's ready, I'd keep her where she is for a little longer. Kids learn so much through play at this age that you don't really need to push her into a classroom setting yet.

Good luck!

As long as she is getting the curriculm and doing well without being stressed or bored, I would keep her where she is. If you want to help her transition before Kindergarten, wait until next year or so when she is 4.

I've been in the same spot. I moved my kids from homecare to daycare because of job location. My daughter was 4 and my son was 2. My daughter had a rough first month or two. She wasn't used to standing in line or asking to go to the restroom. She is fine now, but I wish we had started her a year earlier - she is much slower to adjust than a lot of kids and the older she gets, the harder it is. My 2 year old did fantastic at his new place. He already knew things by 2.5 that my daughter didn't learn until almost 4 - and he was at a daycare that wasn't overly academic! If you know that you want to move them in the next year or two and you feel comfortable with the church program, I say go for it. The routines and "procedures" they learn at daycares set them up for kindergarten. I was glad I did it.

Yes, I think being in a classroom setting now will help her be prepared for school by the time she's 5.

And yes, being with more kids her age will also help her learn. The teachers will be able to focus on that age's abilities, rather than having to accommodate for the younger ages as well. My daughter's daycare used to just have a preschool age class for ages 3-5. Even that is too broad of an age range. The older kids would get bored with doing activities meant for 3 year olds. Now they have a Pre K class and it has been great!

My daughter has been at this daycare since she was 2 months old. The transition to each room has been amazingly easy! I think it has helped that she started early and is already familiar with the classroom setting. She is in the Pre K class this year and is doing great.

I have two kids and my childcare has run the gamut of home care with different children, homecare as the only child, daycare, etc. But, each of my kids was in a structured daycare center when they turned 2.5 and both of them just really blossomed in those classes. I think that that age is right when their minds are REALLY getting turned on. Plus, the structured daycares have a little bit more structure to the classroom and I think the kids thrive on structure. So, I think your daughter would really love the daycare with children her own age. The only caveat is - she might get sick more often for the first little while because there are more germs in that type of daycare environment.

BEFORE you make the change, really review the current daycare and see if you would be happy with your child there. Review the rules, regulations, how clean the daycare is, what would you do when they are "closed" (my daycare offers no childcare probably 6 days the whole year). Do they offer daycare around Christmas, etc. You need to be clear on all of that.

Good luck!
L.

Really, I think it depends on how you feel and your daughter's personality. I don't think there is any one right or wrong answer. Both options sound like they are good for her. I'm sure you'll figure out what's best for her.

This is a hard question since you are happy with the program provided by the home care giver. Is the school less money? Is it more like a Mothers-Day-Out program or a private school with other grades too. I would say she would be better off with a group of children her own age because she is only with a boy and a girl her age. The curriculum is important too but at 2.5 she has plenty of time to do an actual pre-school program.

Many care givers are losing kids as they reach 3 years old because more and more pre-school classes are popping up in church private schools and public schools too. It may come as no surprise to her if you move your daughter. Good luck in your decision. It truly sounds like you have 2 good choices.

I went through this myself. What I found and what I also ended up being told by the home daycare lady is that once a kid turns 3, a home daycare is not the best option. I completely recommend the lady that watched my little girl for over 2 years, but as she said she can't provide the advanced learning and more so socialization a kid of 3+ needs. Another child at my daughter's home daycare left a couple months before we did. He left since his Mom said at ~2.5yo he told her he was bored. I chose a MDO that seemed real good and was the one the friend took her son too. She got invited to bday parties and she got to be around kids her age in school and not just via playdates.

Is there any way that your daycare provider would consider taking her (and the other older children) to a Mother's Day Out program 2-3 days a week. Of course, I guess everyone would have to agree to that. I lot of people here do that and it gives them the best of both worlds. The close-knit feel of a home daycare and the interaction with kids their own age and more formal classroom exposure.

Good luck!

Yes! It will help her get prepared for kindergarten and really get a headstart on learning the basics. I would switch her. Home day care is wonderful! Please don't take it the wrong way, but I think now that she is older, its best she moves on. Good luck.

M

Personally, I would leave her where she is for now. She is happy and has bonded with the other children. It is more of a family type setting and she is learning things there that she will not learn at a preschool type setting.

If you are concerned about her academics then you could pick up a couple of books and make suggestions to the provider. I'm sure she would be open to it since she has 3 about the same age.

Let your little girl be a little girl for a while longer. Around 3 1/2 is probably when you want to move her into a preschool.

Hi R.,

I believe at 2 1/2 she's better off in a small setting where she gets more individualized attention. I would wait until she's closer to 4 to move her to a school type setting. After all isn't Kindergarten around age 5 supposed to be the transition into school? It seems like we're demanding our very young children do school work in a structured and sometimes demanding setting when what they really need at this age is to "play" out their learning.

That being said...Have you sat in on the church class to see if it feels right for your daughter? Go with your gut. You'll know what's best for your daughter.

Good luck,
K.

I think you should transition her. First of all, a structured curriculum is always better (in my opinion) and she will do so much more and learn so much more by being with kids her own age! My daughter in an in home daycare from 12-24 months then we moved her to a daycare where she was in a smaller class with only 2-3 year old kids. It's amazing how fast she learned and picked up on other things (potty training, certain words, etc) just by being around other kids. Since she's one of the oldest at her current daycare, I do think it'd benefit her more to be in a class of kids her own age.