If your 4yo does not attend preschool/pre-K

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I assume OP you are planning to quit once your new baby arrives and stay home with the kids. Lots of moms do that and their kids are perfectly happy and healthy.

Don't let anyone tell you that not sending your child to preschool will make them a socially awkward misfit who will struggle in kindergarten. That isn't true.

You can still ensure your kids socialize without preschool. You will need to find activities and programs and kids for him to play with but you will also get to be part of his growth and development in a way you couldn't before. Kids really benefit form watching and learning from adults as their role models. The reality is that same age peers aren't great role models or teachers as they are at similar developmental stages. You spending more time with your child is not detrimental to his well-being.

+1!

[Anonymous]

There are preschools in NW DC with openings, and that will have openings mid-year if you want to go that route. In our situation, I wish that I had kept my DS out of school until pre-K. He didn't like school; I kept thinking it would get better, and it did at the very end, but there are so many other fun things that we could have done together. He has a great group of non-school friends (he's about a year older than your son), so you can meet friends outside of school.

The other reason that I wish he had not been in school last year is that I found all of these great programs (many free or low cost) that took place during school hours (probably for school groups) that we could not attend, b/c he was in school. Some of these programs also would be perfectly fine for a baby to attend. For example, we spent nearly 4 hours at the Air & Space seeing a special Elmo movie then going to story time/arts and craffts. And that was before we even saw any of the exhibits. The theater at the Smithsonian has great programs; we've seen "Tot Rock", a juggler, and all sorts of other things geared for the 3-4 year old set.

The Kreeger Museum on Foxhall also has programs either once or twice amonth geared for 3-5 year olds. It's an hour-long program, story, short museum tour, and then an art project. The museum keeps a card with your child's name on it, and my DS loved collecting the stickers on his card showing how many times he attended. There is also the Wilson Pool. It opens at 6:00 AM (I think). We are frequently there by 8:00. My kids love it.

My point is that there are SO many options that you AND a baby can do with your DS. My DS would have loved to not have been in preschool and to have me with him full-time. Every child is different, but I truly think it can work, if you want to make it work.

We have a friend whose DD did not go to school until Kindergarten for medical reasons. She is the kind, outgoing, well adjusted and has a large circle of friends. She had no issues acclimating to K. Her mom just kept her out and about.

[Anonymous]

Oh just keep him home. My four yr old was enrolled in a couple classes and we did a couple playground. I also had a young baby and we still got out and hit museums, gyms etc. he is in 3rd grade now (and well adjusted and quite social) and I cherished the time we spent together- it goes much faster than you think.