Does Half-Day Daycare exist for 3yos?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would do a half-day Montessori for my own DC, but if one really objects to Montessori, then there are MANY half-day "preschools" which are mostly day-care. If one wants the latter, look for a preschool which claims to be "play based", but then check in-person. We find preschools labelled as play-based might or might not really be teaching some things.

"Play based" is not code for daycare. My DC switched this year from a daycare to a play-based preschool and the difference is night and day. The preschool has a curriculum and structured day. DC is learning skills, like using scissors, writing/spelling. DC learns science through (gasp!) play-based experiments. They have music class and fitness class. Play is just how 2-4 year olds learn and stay engaged. It's not code for daycare.

To be clear, my daycare was great. They sang songs, read books, played, did crafts. Each month had a theme, so they would sing, read, play, craft about fish or the Olympics, or kindness. They learned important lessons about sharing and how to communicate with other kids and caregivers for what they wanted. It was valuable, but definitely not the same as preschool.