Help maneuvering daycare/preschool - preferably in Arlington but all help is welcome

[Anonymous]

My child is almost one and we have had a part time nanny at home. We are probably going to have him start an in-home daycare around 14 months. Is this a decent age to do so? It will be much more affordable for us. So I am wondering if this sounds like a good age or if I should wait/ send sooner (if I can). And then I am curious about next steps after that and would love to hear your stories. Like when they turn 2 1/2 is it good to start preschool? I'm like ok so there is daycare, preschool and prek - and I feel overwhelmed about how it all works/ the difference and if it is necessary to do all. Like ive heard some daycares are like preschools (?). Would love to hear what you all did for your children! Sorry if this is a hodgepodge of questions with a few questions in one.

-When did you send your kid to daycare if after 1 years old? Is 14 - 15 months decent age?
-If you had a nanny how long did you wait to send your kid to daycare or preschool? Did you do both?
-Did you send your kid to preschool and/or Prek? If so, what age? And also what is the difference between the two? Is it good to do both? I feel like that is a lot of waitlists.....
-Did you chose Montessori or play based or immersion and why?
-OH and then if Preschool or preK is not full time what did you do for after if you couldn't afford a nanny also?

I'd love to know your story and where you went. Preferably in Arlington, but honestly even just hearing the trajectory of how you did things would be helpful for my ADHD brain.

[Anonymous]

oh oh and if you did a Nanny share interested to hear how long you did that for and what you did next as it could be an option for us instead of inhome daycare.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My child is almost one and we have had a part time nanny at home. We are probably going to have him start an in-home daycare around 14 months. Is this a decent age to do so? It will be much more affordable for us. So I am wondering if this sounds like a good age or if I should wait/ send sooner (if I can). And then I am curious about next steps after that and would love to hear your stories. Like when they turn 2 1/2 is it good to start preschool? I'm like ok so there is daycare, preschool and prek - and I feel overwhelmed about how it all works/ the difference and if it is necessary to do all. Like ive heard some daycares are like preschools (?). Would love to hear what you all did for your children! Sorry if this is a hodgepodge of questions with a few questions in one.

-When did you send your kid to daycare if after 1 years old? Is 14 - 15 months decent age?

14 months precisely. I went back to work when my kid was 11 months. We initially had a nanny, but she quit to move back to her hometown. She had a part-time schedule that was hard to recruit replacements for (it happened to work for her schedule, but it's not popular among nanny job seekers). So we opted for daycare at 14 mos.

-If you had a nanny how long did you wait to send your kid to daycare or preschool? Did you do both?

See above.


-Did you send your kid to preschool and/or Prek? If so, what age? And also what is the difference between the two? Is it good to do both? I feel like that is a lot of waitlists.....

I send my child to full-time daycare because DH and I both work full-time. I believe preschool implies half-day, for SAHMs or part-time working moms (that is what I attended as a child, at a church-based program). My child's daycare class level is called "preschool" but it is a full day. It has enrichment activities, too, though, just like a preschool. Pre-K is the year before kindergarten and I think it can be either a full-day program or part-time -- main purpose is to prepare a child for the structure and setting of kindergarten.

-Did you chose Montessori or play based or immersion and why?
I chose what I could afford, the best quality and most reasonable sick/COVID policy I could afford and the most convenient. In an ideal world I would have chosen Montessori, I think. But a lot of what my daycare does instills similar skills to Montessori. Kids play with miniature kitchens, for example; sometimes they are allowed to immerse themselves into a "project"; they learn to do things for themselves like wash up after lunch and put their plates away. DD has become much more independent and self-reliant since starting there.

-OH and then if Preschool or preK is not full time what did you do for after if you couldn't afford a nanny also?
Daycares like mine offer full-time pre-K. I will plan to use that. One DD is in K (public school) I will do the county-sponsored aftercare, like SACC.

I'd love to know your story and where you went. Preferably in Arlington, but honestly even just hearing the trajectory of how you did things would be helpful for my ADHD brain.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My child is almost one and we have had a part time nanny at home. We are probably going to have him start an in-home daycare around 14 months. Is this a decent age to do so? It will be much more affordable for us. So I am wondering if this sounds like a good age or if I should wait/ send sooner (if I can). And then I am curious about next steps after that and would love to hear your stories. Like when they turn 2 1/2 is it good to start preschool? I'm like ok so there is daycare, preschool and prek - and I feel overwhelmed about how it all works/ the difference and if it is necessary to do all. Like ive heard some daycares are like preschools (?). Would love to hear what you all did for your children! Sorry if this is a hodgepodge of questions with a few questions in one.

-When did you send your kid to daycare if after 1 years old? Is 14 - 15 months decent age?

14 months precisely. I went back to work when my kid was 11 months. We initially had a nanny, but she quit to move back to her hometown. She had a part-time schedule that was hard to recruit replacements for (it happened to work for her schedule, but it's not popular among nanny job seekers). So we opted for daycare at 14 mos.

-If you had a nanny how long did you wait to send your kid to daycare or preschool? Did you do both?

See above.


-Did you send your kid to preschool and/or Prek? If so, what age? And also what is the difference between the two? Is it good to do both? I feel like that is a lot of waitlists.....

I send my child to full-time daycare because DH and I both work full-time. I believe preschool implies half-day, for SAHMs or part-time working moms (that is what I attended as a child, at a church-based program). My child's daycare class level is called "preschool" but it is a full day. It has enrichment activities, too, though, just like a preschool. Pre-K is the year before kindergarten and I think it can be either a full-day program or part-time -- main purpose is to prepare a child for the structure and setting of kindergarten.

-Did you chose Montessori or play based or immersion and why?
I chose what I could afford, the best quality and most reasonable sick/COVID policy I could afford and the most convenient. In an ideal world I would have chosen Montessori, I think. But a lot of what my daycare does instills similar skills to Montessori. Kids play with miniature kitchens, for example; sometimes they are allowed to immerse themselves into a "project"; they learn to do things for themselves like wash up after lunch and put their plates away. DD has become much more independent and self-reliant since starting there.

-OH and then if Preschool or preK is not full time what did you do for after if you couldn't afford a nanny also?
Daycares like mine offer full-time pre-K. I will plan to use that. One DD is in K (public school) I will do the county-sponsored aftercare, like SACC.

I'd love to know your story and where you went. Preferably in Arlington, but honestly even just hearing the trajectory of how you did things would be helpful for my ADHD brain.

wow I REALLY appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions. This is so helpful. If you dont mind me asking, are you based in Arlington - curious what daycare you use because it sounds great.
Not sure if we can afford Montessori yet either. Lastly, at what age did you have to sign up for your daycare in order to get in? Thanks again

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My child is almost one and we have had a part time nanny at home. We are probably going to have him start an in-home daycare around 14 months. Is this a decent age to do so? It will be much more affordable for us. So I am wondering if this sounds like a good age or if I should wait/ send sooner (if I can). And then I am curious about next steps after that and would love to hear your stories. Like when they turn 2 1/2 is it good to start preschool? I'm like ok so there is daycare, preschool and prek - and I feel overwhelmed about how it all works/ the difference and if it is necessary to do all. Like ive heard some daycares are like preschools (?). Would love to hear what you all did for your children! Sorry if this is a hodgepodge of questions with a few questions in one.

-When did you send your kid to daycare if after 1 years old? Is 14 - 15 months decent age?

14 months precisely. I went back to work when my kid was 11 months. We initially had a nanny, but she quit to move back to her hometown. She had a part-time schedule that was hard to recruit replacements for (it happened to work for her schedule, but it's not popular among nanny job seekers). So we opted for daycare at 14 mos.

-If you had a nanny how long did you wait to send your kid to daycare or preschool? Did you do both?

See above.


-Did you send your kid to preschool and/or Prek? If so, what age? And also what is the difference between the two? Is it good to do both? I feel like that is a lot of waitlists.....

I send my child to full-time daycare because DH and I both work full-time. I believe preschool implies half-day, for SAHMs or part-time working moms (that is what I attended as a child, at a church-based program). My child's daycare class level is called "preschool" but it is a full day. It has enrichment activities, too, though, just like a preschool. Pre-K is the year before kindergarten and I think it can be either a full-day program or part-time -- main purpose is to prepare a child for the structure and setting of kindergarten.

-Did you chose Montessori or play based or immersion and why?
I chose what I could afford, the best quality and most reasonable sick/COVID policy I could afford and the most convenient. In an ideal world I would have chosen Montessori, I think. But a lot of what my daycare does instills similar skills to Montessori. Kids play with miniature kitchens, for example; sometimes they are allowed to immerse themselves into a "project"; they learn to do things for themselves like wash up after lunch and put their plates away. DD has become much more independent and self-reliant since starting there.

-OH and then if Preschool or preK is not full time what did you do for after if you couldn't afford a nanny also?
Daycares like mine offer full-time pre-K. I will plan to use that. One DD is in K (public school) I will do the county-sponsored aftercare, like SACC.

I'd love to know your story and where you went. Preferably in Arlington, but honestly even just hearing the trajectory of how you did things would be helpful for my ADHD brain.

wow I REALLY appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions. This is so helpful. If you dont mind me asking, are you based in Arlington - curious what daycare you use because it sounds great.
Not sure if we can afford Montessori yet either. Lastly, at what age did you have to sign up for your daycare in order to get in? Thanks again

nope I'm in Alexandria - we go to Discovery Time. there was no waitlist when we started, although when I was asking around at other daycares, there was a short waitlist for several -- maybe 2 or 3 weeks. I think we also had a bit of an advantage because we started in 2020 and people were still much more wary of COVID then, so daycare demand may have been down

[Anonymous]

I sent my son to an iPhone day care at 6 months. It included a Waldorf/ Montessori/ play based curriculum. The owner sort picked and chose. I kept him there until kindergarten. She knows has an actual center that includes an infant room and a preschool. I highly recommend her and would send a baby/ child there. c Care Inc on S Glebe near Fleet/ TJ. It’s Christian based but not overwhelmingly so.

[Anonymous]

also does preschool typically start at 2 or 3?