Preschool for 4 Yr Olds

I won't be putting my children in preschool, because I think they will get a lot more attention at home with me and their siblings rather than in a preschool with one or two adults and a room-full of children.

Absolutely necessary. Illinois is setting up public preschools for 3 and 4 year olds. Soon I hope it will go national. I could never provide the level of stimulation at home that my kids get in preschool. All the stuff I teach them at home get's reinforced plus the very important social lessons with their peers that lead to good self-esteem and problem solving.

Also, 4 is a good age to start Suzuki music lessons or another activity they might enjoy. One at a time though.

I sent my girl who will also be 4 to preschool last year for the social interaction and time away from me. She loved it and it allowed her to crafts and projects we don't get to do at home, since her little brother isn't old enough to enjoy some of those activities. I sent her 2 days a week just in the morning which seemed like just enough time.

Despite the increasing push for academics in really young kids, preschool is not necessary. In fact, really good preschools are the ones that let kids learn through play and creativity. Academic stuff is fine as long as it's secondary.

If you want to do preschool at home, I would recommend checking out www.funshineexpress.com. Their curriculum is for formal preschools and parents who want to teach at home. I've used it for the past two years with my kids and am happy with it, and my boys enjoy it.

I think preschool is vital to a child's learning and studies show that it is beneficial. If you don't have access to a state-funded [free] program and don't have the money to pay for a private one, then I suggest you look into a Home-school program designed for preschoolers and do that. Also many day-cares provide a pre-K learning program so check into that if you need full-time care. If you go the home-school route, be sure to also enroll her in an activity or something so that way she gets consistent exposure to the social aspect of school and learning how to be a part of a group, take turns, respect for the teacher, etc. Hope this helps!

not sure if there are any where you are but try a head start program they are designed for entering school my kids lived it

I think it depends on the child, and on the general family circumstances. My oldest was very bright and outgoing at 4, and I knew he had to be in a preschool. But part of that was because I had two younger ones--a 2 year old and a newborn--and I couldn't give him the stimulation and opportunities he needed.

All of my six children, except one, attended preschool. Again, some did very well and some didn't. The one who didn't attend was not at all ready for structured learning of any kind. We tried, but it wouldn't work for him. At that time I was better able to "teach" him at home (he wasn't ready for teaching of any kind, though, and wanted only to play) and that worked well for him. Now he's a hard-working college sophomore. So, again, I would say that it depends on the child.

Hi M.,
Typically, 4 year olds go through an intense 'social' phase, where they really identify with and crave peer interaction. For some parents, this is reason enough to enroll in preschool. But then again, lots of 4 year olds prefer to stick close to home, and get their social exposure during the week's activities. I don't believe preschool is ever a necessity. For working parents, it can be a feel-good babysitting tool. Some would contend that kids will be delayed somehow if they don't join their peers in a couple of years of preschool before K. That may be the case if you completely ignore your child and leave them to themselves or with the TV all day. If your situation allows you to provide your daughter with plenty to explore, learn and experience, she can acquire all the skills she needs from you. You could not only help her to learn basic educational tools like counting, reading, writing, tying shoes ; ), but how to do simple household tasks with you, take turns, serve others, be sensitive to others, be nurturing (to people, plants, animals, etc.), learn to wait and take turns, be creative, etc. Her social interaction could also come from other activities... sports groups, Sunday school, play dates, etc.

All for preschool! :) As a teacher and mommy. It will prepare her so much while building self esteem and confidence in her early on, which is crucial for girls these days. Also, begins preparing both of you for the seperation of mom and dot ;). Then the fact that we only have a small window of time when children are young to stimulate the brain neurons which build pathways to right and left sides of the brain, making it easier to find information and pull it back out. I can go on and on for this, but yes I would do it if you can afford it!

Blessings your way,
Amanda

The preschools of today are more like the kindergartens of teh 60's and 70's. In prechool they play with paints and blocks and start to sound out words. Some even start teaching time. By kindergarten the children are expected to know how to sit in a group, how to be quiet when teacher talks, how to raise their hands., THese are taught in preschool now.
I had my little ones going to a drop in day care from a very early age. I am a stay at home mom and did drop in so I could have a couple hours to myself. By two they were in 2 days a week at three, three days a week adn at 4 5 days a week. All three of the youngest did very well in Kinder. My eldest had no preschool and indergarten was awful.

My oldest children (now adults) went to preschool and public school and did not do well. My younger 5 children 3 to 15yrs, stay at home and are homeschooled and are wonderful children that are smart and well behaved. People compliment us where ever we go on our children. Pray first before you decide and God will lead you to make the best decision...M.

preschool is the best it prepares the child for kendergarten. its a big thing to be tossed into school help get your little one ready by sending him to preschool.
p.s i have a freind who has a little boy who has never been around other children or people besides family and sister and when in a situation with other children he has no idea what to do. its not a good thing to seclude children they need peers.

I think it depends on how much you work with your child at home. I was told that if I didnt send my 4YO to preschool that she would be so far behind when she got to kindergarden she wouldnt be able to catch up and have to repeat. Well she hasnt even started preschool yet but we went to registeration (she starts in the fall) and while I was doing paper work the teacher was playing with the kids and my DD colorerd and wrote her name on her paper when she was finished and the teacher was very impressed and told me she was already very advanced. I told her what I was told and she said that was more for the parents who dont work with thier kids or teach them anything. I work with my DD at least 3 time a week doing workbooks and stuff I get fom the parent/teacher store kinda like home preschool and I've been doing it since she was about 18 months. So basically I believe preschool is important if you dont already work with your child cause they need to already know certain thing going into kindergarden fron what I understand.

I am not sure that I would say it is a necessity, but my kids have really enjoyed it. I have friends whose children have not gone to preschool, and are doing just fine. One is home schooled, the other is not. Both are very bright, social kids. My two older girls went to preschool at three and four yrs. They both loved it and made lots of new friends. At three they went for two days and at four they went for three days from 9am-noon. They spent their mornings with their peers learning, singing, playing, and preparing for Kindergarten. Being a stay at home mom, I also enjoyed another outlet that connected me with other parents.

I highly recommend preschool. These days the Kindergartners are expected to already know many things and unless you are a VERY invovled parent and go over the abc's, how to tie shoes, numbers to 50, etc I think it is good for their self esteem, good for social skills, good for learning to work well with others, learn to listen to teachers and instructions, etc You can find a 2 day a week school that would still give you 3 days with your child at home. We put our son in preschool at 3 1/2 yrs old and then he did so well we put our daughter at age 2.

If you are in my area and need any referrals, let me know.
W.

I have worked at a preschool for 10 years. During this time I've talked to a lot of moms. Going to preschool will make your child's adjustmet to kindergarten much smoother. Even children who go to preschool 2 days have adjustment problems going to school everyday 6 and 1/2 hours a day. It is a lot more tiring than you think. I suggest talking to kindergarten teachers.

My daughters started dayschool at 4. They went on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:30 until 2. We sent them so they could get used to a school routine before kindergarten. They loved it. Our son is in their 3 year old program now.

I like preschool for many different reasons. like you said, they're sponges.I like it because it allows my kids to socialize and get into a routine for kindergarten. I felt both of my children needed school for different reasons. My daughter is very shy and likes routine, so preschool was good for her. My son is quite active and he needed an outlet to play and socialize as well. We started with one day a week, then two days, etc. It gives me some down time too or time to catch up with things a few days a week that they are in school.

Hi M., I have had all of my girls in preschool from very early ages (all around age 2). I do not think it's a necessity, especially if the parent is going to work hard at socializing their child. This is (obviously) for the benefit of the child so that he/she doesn't go into a culture shock in kindergarten. Church nurseries, Sunday school, playgroups, group classes and other group activities can do great things. Preschool does offer lots of advantages that home socialization does not, however. It allows children to have a schedule, it allows them to follow instructions from other adults and establish respect in that area, it allows children to respect larger groups of other children, the list is really endless on how it prepares them for kindergarten and the years ahead. When my older two girls entered kindergarten, I would volunteer quite often and observe the diversity of levels of the kids coming in. Many of the kids (who had not been socialized in a structured manner, some even by their parents at home) struggled with going into such a busy, confusing and overwhelming environment. They would act out, be withdrawn, etc. All of their energy was towards the social adjustment so you can imagine how far they would get behind on the academics. I could really tell which ones had been exposed to this type of structure before day one of K. With all that said, I don't want to offend anyone that has worked hard with their kids to socialize and prepare them for Kindergarten. But I do feel like preschool allows them a jump, and helps them to concentrate on the academics as well as ease into the social aspects. Even if they've been to preschool three years prior like we had, going into a classroom of 20+ kids for K is a huge difference in sweet little comfortable preschool. A whole new world! Good luck with your decision... (ps preschool has never really been much of a babysitter for me, a) there's not enough time to do much, and b) my kids love(d) it so much it was a win/win and allowed me an occasional trip to the grocery store unaccompanied lol).

Hi M.. I think the dissention starts with me,lol. I disagree with the posts touting preschool education as vital to long-term learning.(I also think you can find online the results of a long study concluding that the benefits from the federal Head Start preschool program disappeared by third? grade). Now, I am no teacher but I do have a bit of experience with these little people. I need to tell you that I have never encountered a child who was NOT bright,other than a couple of autistic children who have "focused" intelligence,just different than most. But most kids, I believe, are born with a similar CAPACITY for learning.(I'm not alone on this either,do an online search for info). I believe very strongly that HOME is the factor in predicting future academic success(or failure!). If you read,are inquisitive,etc, your children will model this behavior and it will naturally be part of them, as it is familiar and comfortable,the "way life is". If you make opportunties for teaching your children in everyday situations, your children will mimic this and become natural "detectives",always wanting something new to learn.I believe it is HOGWASH that this education can only be formally taught by some other people other than parents,in fact I think its nearly impossibe without you :).I think your child will do beautifully just because you want her too and you are concerned about her education! I wish all parents were so concerned about education! But,again, I want to say that schools(our society) have began pushing knowledge too fast on small children for the cleverly disguised sake of international competition. Knowledge is NOT INTELLIGENCE,so your child can safely put off learnig the state capitals until first grade,lol. Children should be allowed to learn in environments where numbers and higher test scores are not the primary goal.I believe kids want to learn naturally and burdening them with competitive, adult-like learning can BACKFIRE. Let kids be kids!!!They will have enough stress as adults.My oldest daughter came home from school crying one day shortly before the manic week-long standardized testing in sixth grade. She feared she wouldn't be able to do well on the test and therefore stain her "permanent record"..It took me an hour to calm her and undo the hype of "test week". I told her she didn't even have a permanent record, and not to fret about it. She is a sweet young lady of 18 now,graduating with high marks and on her way to college to be a veterinarian. She is very kind and gentle and wise.. AND she has "balls" about her too (sorry). She will do what she sets her mind to do. Noone wants rude or rebellious kids,but a tiny bit of boat-rocking is in order sometimes. Your daughter will do fine with or without preschool. My three year old goes and loves it! He goes to a very nice (NAEYC accredited) center at my college. He does learn new things(he would if he was hangin' out with me all day too), and goes 3 days,5 hours each. The school reinforces what he is getting at home and offers new stuff too, and its just preschool so noone is threatening him with the scenario of eternal poverty if he doesn't perform well,like teachers do in junior high,lol...go for it, your kid will like it. :)

I think pre-school is a definite must. Kindergarten is not the same as it use to be. My kids started sight words and sound blends the second week of school and were reading before Christmas break. They are now expected to start kindergarten already knowing their alphabet, numbers and also writing their name. I did pre-school 2 days a week at a part-time church preschool and we also home-schooled on the other days of the week. I would hate to think how frustrating it would be for kids that have not had the exposure.

Hi M.,
Here is my opinion on preschool; I think it is a good thing. Maybe not a necessity, but still a good thing. To me, preschool is not just about getting a jump start on academics. It is also about learning how to socialize with other children their age and also learning to respect adults other than just their parents. It is a time that allows your child to get used to the structure that Kindegarten will bring without the harsh dose of reality that some children face when they go to Kindegarten.
I am sure you will have strong opinions of both sides of the issue, but there is mine. Hope it helps.
Betsy

There have been articles that promote preschool and there have been articles that report that there may not be a great advantage to preschool. What I gather from that is that a child can benefit either way. If you have the time to teach your child the things that a preschool would teach and take your daughter to community events (like library storytimes) where she can interact with other young ones, you could save yourself some money on preschool. Some children who do not attend preschool will test as high as children who have been in preschool upon entry into kindergarten. But if you think it would be better for her in a structured setting, you could look into preschools too. Regardless of what you decide, it could be a good learning experience to go visit/tour some preschools. It would prepare you for choosing a school for kindergarten in a year.

My twins are in public kindergarten this year and I have been amazed at how far ahead they are. They started pre-school when they were two and they already knew how to read when they started kindergarten this year. By contrast, there were kids in their class who didn't know the alphabet at the beginning of the year. Certainly, there are many things you can do at home to prepare her, but I think the kids who have never had pre-school are starting kindergarten at a disadvantage. I also think that your little one will have a hard time adjusting to kindergarten 5 days a week if she has never been to school before. If you can afford to send her to pre-school you will be doing a wonderful thing for her.

I sent my 2 year old to a preschool program that was 2 mornings a week (9:00-1:00), and I'm so glad I did! Now he's 3 and goes 3 mornings a week; next year he'll go 4 mornings a week. He loves it, and I think he really gets a lot out of it. As for the "book learning" (letter recognition, numbers, shapes, etc.), he had already learned that stuff at home, so he's "acing" all his lessons. Ha! But there is a lot more learning to be had at preschool... socializing, class structure, group interaction, etc. In general, I feel like it really is easing him into the whole idea of school, so he hopefully won't feel overwhelmed when it's time for kindergarten five days a week.
Best wishes to you and your family!