Comments on: Thoughts on Preschool

By: Jen

Jen — Fri, 31 Jan 2014 23:55:10 +0000

Just came across your blog and this post stuck out because I grappled with the same issue not too long ago. My oldest is five now, and he started kindergarten in the fall. I’ve been a stay-at-home mom all along. I decided against preschool for a few reasons. First, he’s precocious, and there was nothing they could teach him, academically speaking, that he didn’t already know. I didn’t want him to be bored. Second, it is freaking expensive! We just miss cutoffs for public preschool (which fills up quickly anyway), and I wasn’t going to fork over hundreds of dollars per month when I didn’t really feel he would benefit all that much. Really, I couldn’t fork it over even if I wanted to. Finally, I realized how quickly time was flying by, and I just couldn’t push him out of the nest any earlier than I really needed to. The one thing that had me questioning myself, though, was the socialization aspect. He spent an awful lot of time as an only child (he has a baby brother now), and had some pretty severe social anxiety around other kids. I decided to try taking him to free library programs a few times a week to see if that helped. It took him a while, but I think it did the trick (and some of it was just him needing to mature a little). We did workbooks and crafts at home a bit, too. Now he LOVES school and is comfortable around other kids. I have no regrets.

I’m not anti-preschool (in fact, for a time I was almost certain I’d send my son), but I’ve realized it’s not a must. Nothing wrong with keeping them at home just that little bit longer.

By: One Frugal Girl

One Frugal Girl — Tue, 28 Jan 2014 21:45:16 +0000

In reply to Ellen K..

Hi Ellen — Thanks for coming back to comment. Three years does seem like an awful lot of school. Especially since he has so many years of school in front of him. I wonder if he’ll be bored in the early class too. He will be with two year olds, because of his age, but he is quite advanced and I wonder if he will get bored of the things the other children are doing. I think you just made my decision even harder 🙁

By: One Frugal Girl

One Frugal Girl — Tue, 28 Jan 2014 21:42:50 +0000

In reply to ND Chic. Thanks ND Chic. Some of the preschools are similar to daycare in that there is less structure and a lot of free play. Others are much more structured and I wonder if the structure aspect would be a bit much if he goes for three years. I wonder if I send him in the fall if I should look for one that is more play focused. Thanks for the insight.

By: One Frugal Girl

One Frugal Girl — Tue, 28 Jan 2014 21:41:30 +0000

In reply to Tamara. Thanks Tamara. The 3 year situation is definitely adding to my waffling :)

By: One Frugal Girl

One Frugal Girl — Tue, 28 Jan 2014 21:40:51 +0000

In reply to Ellen K.. Thanks Ellen K. I hadn't thought about my son making friends on his own. I love that idea!

By: One Frugal Girl

One Frugal Girl — Tue, 28 Jan 2014 21:39:16 +0000

In reply to Sarah. Thanks for the comment!

By: Ellen K.

Ellen K. — Mon, 27 Jan 2014 13:45:06 +0000

Coming back to agree that 3 years of preschool is likely too much. Some of the girls’ classmates are in their 3rd year of preschool and are bored — and it shows in their behavior.

By: ND Chic

ND Chic — Mon, 27 Jan 2014 04:09:49 +0000

I think preschool is important but three years of it is a lot. My daughter will have one year and she is more than ready for kindergarten next year but she’s always been in daycare. It kind of depends on your kid.

By: Tamara

Tamara — Sun, 26 Jan 2014 23:49:57 +0000

It is certainly not necessary but there are lots of benefits. One is that it expands your social circles and your childs. 2 or 3 half-days is a gracious plenty in my opinion, if you are home and want to make sure you still have lots of time to do your own thing with your child.

I had one child go to preschool for 2 years, and one went for 3 just because of birthdays and cut-offs etc. Sounds like you might be in a 3 year situation. If so, it certainly would be fine to wait another year if you are waffling. Plenty of time!

By: Ellen K.

Ellen K. — Sun, 26 Jan 2014 05:06:20 +0000

I’m a WAHM; my daughters (5yo twins) have never been in daycare. They are in their second year of parochial preschool (Nov bdays). At first they went 2 mornings/week, and for the past year they’ve attended 3 mornings/week, which (IMO) is well worth the extra morning because of the greater sense of routine. I am not crazy about the multi-age classroom format of their own particular program, but there’s no question that preschool has been terrific for our family — my husband and I have made new friends, I’ve learned more about my daughters from their teachers’ feedback, and my girls seem pretty happy and have made friends on their own, separate from playdates/organized activities.

The half-day format is nice if it’s available.