Is 3 or 4 the Right Age for Preschool?

Hello A.,

I started my daughter at the nursery/preschool at 1.5yrs. But would definately suggest 3yrs rather than 4. In the 3yr old group they develop the socialization, but learn various topics ABC, 123, colors, shapes, art, etc. In the 4yr (Pre K which is with naps or Jr K which is without naps) old group it is a little more structured and will get them used to Kindergarten's schedule of various subjects. The biggest thing is you don't want to put them in the 4yrs old (Pre-K and Jr-K) and get overwhelmed with the structure. To me the 3yr old begins to prepare them in a fun, leisure way. Open house at Action Day/Primary Plus is Aug 1.

It seems that if a lot of the kids start the preschool at age 3, your child would be joining the group a year later after the others have already made friends. For that reason, I would think starting as a 3 yr. old might be better.

My kids went to a parent co-op, too. (Cupertino Co-op by Fremont High School in Sunnyvale) It's a great experience for the whole family.

I think the earlier the better for preschool, and it's a great way to meet other mom's with children the same age. Since you are a stay at home mom, you might want to consider a co-op (or parent participation preschool). It's such an amazing experience to be a part of your child's education and you really get the chance to know their friends, plus make some of your own. My kids go to Discovery Parent-Child Preschool off of Leigh and Camden Ave in San Jose. Here's the website if you want more info http://www.discoverypreschool.org (or you can email me if you have specific questions). We love it and have made a ton of lifelong friends. It's play based education, so they still get explore and have fun while learning.

It depends on the child. It sounds like your child already has good social skills. The other thing preschool might provide is structure (sitting, listening, transitioning between activities, following rules--but he could probably get that in the "play and music" program you mentioned) and some earlier exposure to academic subjects (age appropriate counting, letters, coloring, science)...but if you are not concerned about this and think he is a quick/easy learner, or seems ahead for his age, then the music program would serve him just as well---public schools are usually not well funded as far as music education, so this might be a good opportunity for him if he enjoys music, and he could still do preschool next year.

I think it depends on the child. There is a big trend now towards much more playbased learning, rather than trying to teach ABCs, numbers etc. In many countries (e.g. Scandinavian) they don't formally teaching reading til the kids are about 7, I believe, but their test results are very high compared with other nations. I am planning to see how my son develops over the next 6-12 months to decide when to begin preschool. If he seems like he would enjoy more varied activities with a set of peers, then I will probably start him in preschool around 3. He is very sociable and adventurous, so I think preschool will be exciting for him. I can see that for a shyer kid, it might be more of a challenge at 3 and I might think about waiting later. You could also try visiting some different preschools and seeing how you feel about their program and how your little one might fit in.