preschool or no?

I have my MS in Curriculum, and my BSEd in 1-8. We went for a Preschool evaluation at the Early Childhood center when the twins were 3.5 yo, and they said, "they are ready for kindergarten".
Should I just keep doing what I'm doing, save my money, and put them in public Kindergarten at the right time?
Should I push to get them into public Kindergarten for this fall?
Should I push DH to fork out the dough for private 4K? (no public 4K offered here, it seems)

I feel the girls need something more than I can give them at this time. But I also recognize that they aren't "geniuses". I'm not sure they are emotionally ready for half day public kindergarten. ....

 

Waiting until they're older for the sake of a date on the calendar makes no sense to me so in my mind it's purely about where they are emotionally. Is there something specific that you're concerned with? I was an early enrollee myself and did just fine. My mother's concern was that I wouldn't talk to strangers AT ALL and so she was stunned when I took the early admission test that I spoke with the examiner. Sometimes they surprise you.

 

My oldest daughter has been going to occasional care held in a kindy during kindy hours since she was 2, and mostly joined in all the kindy activities. She LOVED it and never had a single problem nor tear.
I don't think my second daughter will be as ready so early though, she reacts with tantrums if she doesn't get her own way and kicks and bites. so definitely not ready for it.
I have just finished up as a kindy director at a small, rural kindy here in Australia where they do rural entry (children start at 3.5). For the most part, they love it and have an absolute ball, and do lots of things they would never do at home.
I say go for it! Kids need lots of stimulation.

 

My very non- professional opinion is this....(please take it for whatever you want!)
Preschool is about more than the academics. It's about learning to take direction from another adult, learning to take turns, stand in line and that you don't get every single thing that every other kid has. It's about learning to play with other children and learn the foundations of making friends.

I LOVE preschool. I love that my wall flowers are flourishing and learning on TOP of all the things I listed! So, for me - it's worth it! Your preschool might have a pre-K?! Just a thought...that would be more age appropriate. You could potentially enroll them in K and if it backfires, pull them and wait. (I think you can do that!)

Those are my .03!

 

I would NOT push for them to go to K in the fall. You would be putting your 4 year olds in a class of 5-6 year olds. Like Diane said, preschool really isn't about academics, it is about all the stuff that goes with being part of a classroom.

I have a MEd in Elementary Ed, and certification in Special Ed, and I didn't even consider not sending them to preschool for all the reasons Diane mentioned. If you can afford it, I would send them to 4 year old pre-K. If not, keep them home another year.

I can say, my neice did 3 year old pre-K last year, and because they moved, she became eligible for K this year--she is a Sept. birthday. My SIL says she struggles a bit in school this year, and I think a big part of it is that she was being "prepped" for another year of pre-K, and then got pushed ahead, and simply wasn't ready to go.

 

We are also in the same situation except my girls could not do K next year since they will not be 4 until Oct. (cut off is Dec 1st here).

That said we *may* not be able to afford Preschool next year so it will be up to me at home and go straight into K. Right now my girls are on par with preK, K in some skills---but socially in no way could they handle it. One does not have the fine motor skills either.

Right now, my girls are in a 1/2 day 2x a week program ( for 3-4 year olds) and we do a lot of community activities. The preschool they are in now 'academically' they know it (letters, numbers 1-10, write name, etc)--but it really is the social aspect that is important. They have learned to listen teacher, talk to their peers, wait in a group, participate in group activities, and express thier needs verbally. They also have made 'friends'-- which is something I really can not replicate at home.


I would do what you think is best financially for you and emotionally for your girls. Also is K all day or 1/2 day? All day would be a long day for a 4 year old.

Do you have community programs?? We have an abundance of library times, nature center activities, playgroups, etc that would help them grow and learn while they wait for K.

School is important for emotional growth as much as academic. Each child is different- If you have concerns talk to the local K teachers- they would probably give you ideas and thoughts on ways to keep them learning and excited until they can enroll in K.

 

QUOTE(~* dfaut *~ @ Jan 20 2009, 06:24 PM) [snapback]1155075[/snapback]
My very non- professional opinion is this....(please take it for whatever you want!)
Preschool is about more than the academics. It's about learning to take direction from another adult, learning to take turns, stand in line and that you don't get every single thing that every other kid has. It's about learning to play with other children and learn the foundations of making friends.

ITA!! I also have a Master's in Elementary Education and would never start my children in K early. For one thing, K is all day here in MD and it is very academic. I saw too many kids who were not "emotionally" ready and were much less mature than their peers because they were on the younger end. Just my 2 cents.

 

I know it is hard to look that far down the road.....but if your kids go to kindergarden at 4, they will be graduating from high school awfully young. My girls are 4 1/2 & are in 3 days of half day preschool. I will place them in 1/2 day kindergarden next year & then full day kindergarden the following year. I want them to be well over 18 when they start deciding on college & 19 when they begin college. My oldest dd turned 18 the first month of her high school senior year 7 was 19 when she went away for college - any younger than that, she would have not been ready to strike out into the world. My feeling (non professional, but I have been a mom for 28 years ) is that no matter when you put them in kindergarden, as long as it is not too early, they will all end up at the same place in a few months anyway.

 

Well, I have not read all the responses, but let me give you my opinion as a kindergarten teacher AND as a mom of twins your kids' age.

Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.

It is crazy because my kids are currently more advanced than some of my kindergarten students. (They can independently write approximately 10-20 words, know all their letter sounds, can blend phonemes to read simply CVC words, can identify several sight words, can cut curved lines, can draw detailed pictures, etc.) So I can easily see where one would think, they are ready for kindergarten. BUT, they would never in a million years fit in with my students. They lack the social/emotional maturity to deal with others still and I honestly believe that preschool should be 99% about social development. I know my kids could not handle the pace of my classroom, nor the personal independence skills (keeping track of their supplies, turning in work, pacing themselves during independent academic work time, etc.). They just don't have the attention span.

I know in my state, legally they would not be allowed to enter the public school in the fall. So it is a non issue for us. But really, there is no rush. Keep doing all the wonderful things you are doing and let them thrive at home or at preschool. They have their whole lives to do school. PM me if you want to chat some more about it. I honestly think it is neat to be able to teach kinder and raise two toddler sponges at the same time!!!

 

I wouldn't push to send them to kindergarten this fall. It's just too early.

I agree with the PP's who said there is much more to be learned from preschool than just academic stuff. My older DD learned colors/numbers/letters/etc. years ago, is currently reading chapter books, and is just a smart cookie. She'll be 5 next week, and I still think starting kindergarten this fall will be the perfect time.

In preschool, she's learning how to deal with kids in a social setting. There is a little girl in her class that she really likes, but this kid tends to be a bully, so Nadia has had to figure out how to be friends with her without getting pushed around. It's not an easy thing to learn, but I'm so glad she's dealing with this sort of stuff now, because I'm sure there is much more social drama in kindergarten.

Her "cubby-mate" has severe allergies to peanuts, eggs and dairy, so she's learned to be accomodating, and to follow the rules on not sharing her lunch, washing her hands thoroughly, etc.

And then, there's just the standard stuff -- waiting your turn, walking in a line, raising your hand to speak, coughing and sneezing into your elbow instead of your hands, etc. And even just the motor skills -- learning to maneuver tights or unbuttoning jeans when going to the bathroom by herself proved to be a challenge.

Anyhow -- I think preschool is great for all this stuff, not just colors/numbers/reading/writing...and, I think it's important to have a handle on these things before starting K!

 

From reading through others post, obviously we call kindergarten something different here in Australia. Kindy is for kids 3.5 - 5 years old (I think what you are calling preschool). Kids heres first year at school is callled reception and they are not legally allowed to start until they have turned 5. Hope that explains my post somewhat. I agree with others about not doing early entry to school. They need unstructured play time first.