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Pre-School for your child?

My daughter goes to pre-school this year. She goes to a private nursersy school. I checked out tons and tons of schools and this one seemed the best. We pay $174 a month for Tue/Thur 8:30-11:30. I think it seems really expensive, but it's a lot cheaper than the Gurnee Park District and other church schools.

Next year my son will be 3. He is getting the evaluation through the school district in February because of his speech. I am hoping he gets in. But, I was told that there are 300+ kids on the waiting list just to get tested so it is not that likely that he will get in since he is only "at risk" in one area. If we were low income he would have a better chance. I do not think that is fair at all, but hey, what can I do? I will just keep paying a **** load of taxes every year for a school that he can't get into...lol...Either way, we will send him to preschool for two years since he isn't in daycare. He needs it.
 
My 4yo goes to the Joliet Inwood Park District 3 mornings a week (they also have a 2 morning a week option), I can't express how much I LOVE their program! They also DON'T require the child be potty trained. Wish I had know that when DS was 3 and not 100% potty trained. I would have sent him if I had known. We pay $135/mth in district and I think the out of district is about $150/mth for 3 mornings. Two mornings a week is $125/mth out of district.
 
I also agree that preschool is so important. Kindergarten moves at such a rapid pace and many skills are expected to already be introduced or mastered.

I think that you should call your park district and ask about any discounts that may be available. For example the Chicago Ridge Park District gives everyone who recieves ANY type of public aid a 50 percent discount off of everything. Even just if your kids just have the All Kids insurance. I'm not sure if this would even apply to you but figured I would mention it in case it could help others who live on the southside. My sister lives in a neighboring town but now uses their preschool/ tot programming because of this. (Her kids have All Kids) I don't rememeber the exact price but it made for cheap preschool! It never hurts to ask!
 
I put my kids in preschool and by kindergarten they knew how to read simple books.

My cousin did not put her two girls and regretted it because they where behind. She put her son in preschool because she learned her lesson.
 
velviita said:
Did you put your child in pre school? My DD will be 4 next month, she is not in pre-school yet. Mainly b/c she wasn't 100% potty trained by the start of school in the fall. Another reason was b/c of the cost. It is expensive!

I was looking online today how to register. I saw they had a 2.5hr 2 day class for 4 year olds, which I was happy to see b/c it is cheaper than the 3 day class. I assumed we were a resident of Channahon park district, b/c it is literally like 5 minutes from us. But we are not, so we have to pay the higher costs. It is like $200 differnce. $700 something we would have to pay for the 2.5 hour class, $1089 for the longer one.

I don't have an extra $1000 lying around!

I know she needs to be in some type of class and I know she would enjoy it, once she got over the initial shock.

I am just curious - how many of you skipped pre-school for your child and they still turned out to be a well adjusted kindergartener???
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I didn't go to pre-school and I think I turned out ok!! LOL!

I think there are many different reasons to send your child to preschool. I send my DD4 to a private daycare/preschool 5 days a week for half day sessions. The are two main reasons we sent her. First, we thought my daughter was ready and needed some friends/playtime with children her own age(there aren't a lot of children her age in the neighborhood).And second Grandma who watches both my children is up there in age and needed a break! It wasn't for the education. And my daughter adjusted very well the very first day. She LOVED it!!

I can't comment on the kindergarten aspect since my daughter is still in pre-k. I do think if your child has been around children and playgroups, I doubt they will have trouble adjusting to kindergarten.
 
Pre-school seems to be a bigger deal here in Chicagoland than in other parts of the country where I've lived. It looks like the norm around here. I wasn't sure I wanted to send my son to preschool. We had playgroups with lots of friends and I stayed home with him. I enjoy being with him and we did lots together. He didn't need the education either and I was not sure it was worth the $$ to send him.

I was in charge of some things with mom's club and noticed that preschool was a hot topic so I planned an event where we invited several local preschool programs to speak... 2 churches, school district, Montessori, etc. In the fall we went on some visits to my favorite programs to consider attending the following Fall..... he listened to the teacher, walked over to the circle and sat down for circle time. He was 2.5. This was a four year old room. He almost cried when we made him leave.

I realized HE was ready and would benefit from preschool and they enrolled him for the next month right there. He went straight in to a 3yr old program (he was almost 3) and has enjoyed much about school. He has learned basics about how school works, an interest in art and lots of new ideas. We learned he had delays in handwriting and needed intense work at home in fine motor. He is on his third year of preschool this year and now at a school that will teach him at whatever level he is. So he gets to do addition/subtraction and read 2nd/3rd grade books with his reading partner at school.

My best advice is to visit the schools and then take your child to visit.... you will quickly figure out if this is what you need or not and how he fits in the school. I rejected our Public School Preschool because I felt their program was way too structured and "school-like" for beginners. I found one of the church preschools to be the best match to my parenting philosophies. I liked play-based programs for beginners.

As far as money, we saved a little each month which made the payment in the Fall so much easier.... except the first year when we found ourselves unexpectedly enrolling right away. Divide up the amount you'll need with the months you have left to get it together. Save that amount in an interest bearing account like at ING (www.ingdirect.com --- if you need a referral pm your email and I will send it(this gets you bonus $25 for opening the account with $250 and me $10 for referring you) there are no fees or minimums and it's great for small saving goals. I transfer funds from ING to my checking a few days before tuition is due and not being in the regular account keeps it from being spent elsewhere.

I hope you will be very happy with your decision about preschool. It felt like a tough one at the time but looking back it seems like such an obvious choice and I wondered why I fretted so much!
 
All five of mine went to pre-school. It is for social reasons--
The cheapest pre-school we did was with my fifth child--we went to the local high school--their child development class does a pre-school--it was only 200 for the entire year! Not as fancy as the other schools--but it was very social--they rotate teachers in and out--so you have lots of new ideas---the main teacher at the school is the one that watches over the entire program and teaches the high schoolers what to do--so lesson planning etc is done--they give you a calendar with a theme--we did not get the field trips my other kids had--but since it was so cheap we LOVED it--and we thought it went well---so try calling your high school and see if they offer something like that--or call other high schools--much cheaper and really nice (I am in the Wheaton school district)
 
I do not know you area but the YMCA is pretty cheap most of the time and they may give you a discount if there is one in you area. Also most church based( owned by the church not renters} programs will give you a discount some without checking your income. Alot of times they have fee reduction programs as part of there outreach programs. They do not always advertise that because funds may be limited but work with people that ask. You can also check your local High School some times they have early childhood programs that are run by instructors and it is a learning program for the highschoolers. All so if you have a Safari Day care in your area they do a preschool program in the day care and have hourly rates($5.25 by me} so you could say you need day care on MWF from 9-11 pay about $32 a week $128 a month. I have not used any of these options cause my kids always went to work with me but I have worked in early childhood for over 28yrs and directed a day care for 15yrs. so I know the system good luck.
 
Boy how times have a'changed. I skipped preschool and kindergarten and went straight to first grade with no problems. Started a little older than 4 1/2 y.o.

Is it mostly for interaction? What do they teach there? Colors and numbers?
 
DS went to a Catholic school for a few months and I hated it there. We had him evaluated for speech and switched over to the public school. The bus services and the schools are free. DS really likes it there, so I am really glad that we switched.

If you are looking to get your child evaluated for any reason, do so sooner rather than later as there can be waiting lists to get the evaluation.
 
Tazznum1 said:
Boy how times have a'changed. I skipped preschool and kindergarten and went straight to first grade with no problems. Started a little older than 4 1/2 y.o.

Is it mostly for interaction? What do they teach there? Colors and numbers?
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It is more so to teach you to know how to do what you are supposed to do in school too. It also teaches things like colors and numbers, but most kindergarteners can now read simple books and are expected to be able to write all their letters and recognize them. It is a bit more than the nap time and social interaction it used to be. In Indiana Kindergarten is still not a required grade though. But obviosuly, I am not the person to give advice to OP as I hope my DDs never have to attend a conventional school ever, but I to was surprised even 10 years ago when DS started school with how much you had to now know for school
 
il does not require K---but Mrs. Melton is correct---you will be shocked at what kids know now before K. Mine were always ahead of the game--but my Dh was shocked when he saw that what I was teaching them was normal ---Though they will teach them all the letters and numbers etc---they do expect them to know their colors, and to read the colors, a lot of schools like my district teach jolly phonics--which was different for my last child---since he was already reading--but it gave him some good reinforcement--though I had taught him all the sounds of the letters ---and we made up songs etc-- Mine could count to 100 by ones, fives and tens--but that was not the normal--all of mine could write their name--though see what kind of writing they are teaching--it changes--my oldest they taught denealian, my last was back to manuscript like we learned---I taught my kids just with playing with them--we would count how many steps it took to get to a mail box, we would play I spy with colors--and I would spell I spy something R E D--instead of saying red--in the beginning I might say I spy something RED___R E D---- the best thing though to help prepare is to read with your child---sad to say the more kids I had--the more I put that on the back burner--and though they all did fine--they did not fall in love with books--with my last since there is a 10 year difference between the fourth and fifth--I read more--and he was so ahead of the game--and I think it is because I read and read and read to him--we couldn't go anywhere without him wanting to read a book---we just made it fun--we would read all different types of books--and he picked up on it--
Now not every child will know everything for K---but by introducing the concepts you will have a HUGE head start---
If you talk with a K teacher--most will say they can identify which kids have gone to pre-school and which have not. I have a very dear friend--her husband had his PHD--she has her masters--her husband did not believe in pre-school so none of hers went--and so far the 2 that have graduated high school graduated top 5% and the one that is graduating college is graduating magna **** laude----so not sending won't have them not go to college--HOWEVER< she even said--she wishes she had sent them for SOCIAL reasons, she feels it would have made a huge difference (her masters is in school psch) she said--she too could see a difference--the only reason she didn't send hers was her DH said NO--and at the time she was a stay at home MOm and couldn't argue the money thing (not that they didn't have money, but her DH gave most of the money they made away to charities---he considered pre-school a luxury and thought the money would be better spent on giving back to God)
Anyway, I say YES to pre-school--I think it is a great way to get kids use to routines and a great way to get them socialized---
 
Tazz, KMJ is right. In K they now are expected to know colors, shapes (including 3D like Cones and Pyramids) letters, numbers, phonics, write sentences, be able to read by the end of the year, as well as simple addition and subtraction. Not to mention sight words and spelling! My MIL who has been teaching K for over 30yrs says Kindergarten is now what 1st grade used to be.
 
Mom2Dee said:
Tazz, KMJ is right. In K they now are expected to know colors, shapes (including 3D like Cones and Pyramids) letters, numbers, phonics, write sentences, be able to read by the end of the year, as well as simple addition and subtraction. Not to mention sight words and spelling! My MIL who has been teaching K for over 30yrs says Kindergarten is now what 1st grade used to be.
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Another topic for discussion, but I wonder what happens along the way....how are we teaching kids things a year earlier or more, yet they are dumber when they enter college than ever? My DS learned long division 2nd grade, I remember thinking I KNOW I learned that in 3rd. Plenty of things he learned earlier that I remember, but somehow he knows less now that he is in highschool than it seems we had to know, or maybe it was just my honors classes....just a thought.
 
I know---things have really changed! My DH went to a parent teacher conference with me and was shocked at what the kids had to know--then in high school--it is so different! In my honest opinion I think we are pushing the kids too fast--they are not learning the basics--and just getting band aides for future grades--other teachers have to hope your child picked up on a topic or that they will cover it next year---it really is sad. Teachers use to be able to take time to teach all aspects and now they rush through to get the curriculum done--AND sadly a lot are teaching to the test not teaching the subject matter---that is what they have been told to do--I have had numerous talks with teachers in our district--and a lot of them think it is pretty sad---now technology is a good thing--we have taught them a lot to keep up with computers etc--smart boards--smart pens etc--HOWEVER, they are taking history off the mandated tests and will also be taking creative writing off and going with expository writing--it is kind of sad! When it comes to college, it depends on the professor and what they expect you to know--I laugh at the differences my kids had with curriculum expectations at our junior college (ours is rated top in the state and in the US) but it all depended on the professor as to what they expected. When I went to check out colleges--they all said look at the district you came from--we consider that a higher district and when looking for acceptance your GPA is higher than what other smaller schools --so we accept people from your district as compared to a different one===You would think state standards would be the same--but look at what different schools in the area offer--I know my friend --her child took sign language as a foreign language--we didn't have that offered in our district-----
I also think part of the high schoolers thing --is their selective memory process--they remember what they want to remember (we just were talking about WW2--and I was amazed at what my kids did remember--and which ones had no clue as to what we were talking about--all went to the same high school, all had the same teacher--and yet--the boys could remember so much more than the girls)
 
Tazznum1 said:
Boy how times have a'changed. I skipped preschool and kindergarten and went straight to first grade with no problems. Started a little older than 4 1/2 y.o.

Is it mostly for interaction? What do they teach there? Colors and numbers?
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Only my youngest brother did a year of preschool and a year of kindergarten. All my other siblings and didn't go to preschool and kindergarten, we went straight to first grade. I was 4 months before my 7 years old birthday when started school!

Thought about time changed, my nephew went to preschool at 2 y.o. niece was a little later at 4 y.o., that's because she went to a nanny at 4 weeks old. My nephew was potty trained at 20 months, but he was not ready for preschool socially, the preschool teachers reported often that he didn't want to join in the activities, he is a good kid and very smart, just doesn't like people!

Nowadays, parents in Asia are very pushy, they put their children in day care/preschool/kindergarten and expect the children to start academic learning at a very young age. I lost a lot of my students in the prechool I used to own because I was focusing on developing gross and fine motor skills and social skills for 3 years old instead of academic (yes, writing, reading and spelling in three languages + math). Well, the academic inclined children like my nephew will excel and move on, but majority of children just aren't able to cope with all the expectations. My niece is not so well adjusted nor doing well in school academically!
 
I really hope we don't have a lot of stressed out adults with as much as we are pushing these kids. Yes, there are the smarter ones (my little guy is really above the crowd) but my others were just average or a little ahead--and truthfully when I volunteer in the classroom I see kids picking at their eye lashes, blinking a lot and showing signs of stress. I just hope that we are not pushing them so much that they lose the art of being a child--the time is precious--and I hope parents realize that yes both are important--but we are children for a reason, there is a reason we learn to do things in a timely manner!
 
Tazznum1 said:
Boy how times have a'changed. I skipped preschool and kindergarten and went straight to first grade with no problems. Started a little older than 4 1/2 y.o.

Is it mostly for interaction? What do they teach there? Colors and numbers?
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You went to first grade at 4 1/2???? That's interesting.

I'd say it's for letters, colors, numbers, rhyming, patterns, social interaction, how to behave...

Reading and Math and social readiness.

These days I feel it's a necessity! By third grade we are writing 4-5 paragraph expository papers with elaborations. And in math the kids not only have to solve problems, but have to explain in words how and why they did what they did in solving the problems. Third grade reading-kids have to respond to literature with proof from the text and their own knowledge...more than just a comprehension question.

School is MUCH MUCH different from when I went to school as a kid!
 
kmjlovesjesus said:
I really hope we don't have a lot of stressed out adults with as much as we are pushing these kids. Yes, there are the smarter ones (my little guy is really above the crowd) but my others were just average or a little ahead--and truthfully when I volunteer in the classroom I see kids picking at their eye lashes, blinking a lot and showing signs of stress. I just hope that we are not pushing them so much that they lose the art of being a child--the time is precious--and I hope parents realize that yes both are important--but we are children for a reason, there is a reason we learn to do things in a timely manner!
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Are we even surprised that Korea and Japan are the top two countries in the world with extremely high teens suicide rates! I am pretty sure China is catching up!!
 
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