Who is using all these preschools?

[Anonymous]

Day cares run preschools for the children of that age - they get a few hours of preschool-like instruction during the day, and some hours that are more laid back.

[Anonymous]

My child attended a NAEYC-accredited daycare program, in a now defunct elementary school building, with a cafeteria, gym, huge playground, library, etc. etc. It was wonderful. available 7 am to 6 pm.

They are out there if you look.

[Anonymous]

Pre-school is not the end all be all. There are highly successful people who probably never went to a NAYEC accredited pre-school. What do you think Obama's mom did for pre-school? What about Michelle?

Andrew Carnegie is one of the most well known American dream stories. Rags to Riches with no education and then became one of the most noteable philanthropists for the poor our nation has ever seen. His trust funds still are benefiting the world today.

If you think you are going to send your kid off to ANY daycare and preschool and expect your kids to grow into well rounded individuals, you are wrong. The MOST influential and important person in a child's life is their parents. Nothing beats or dad sitting with their toddler, singing the ABCs or learning to write their name. One of the most important things as well is a parent modeling behavior. If you want your kid to be a reader, make sure your kids see you reading books (yes, that meands that you do not have to engage them in play all day, but can sit on the sofa and read your book while they play). If you want your kids to be hungry to learn, let them witness you always seeking knowledge. You are a fool if you leave everything up to the schools.

People-get a grip of yourselves!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Perhaps not--but can really good preschools do it all? I don't think so. They teach children for the appropriate amount of time a child can reasonably focus in one day.

Then you could throw children into a daycare situation where it's a free-for-all or you can get a nanny/nanny share, whatever.

But, I would be surprised to find a daycare that would provide a level of preparation similar to that which preschools. Mainly because of costs, licensing, and professional development (yes, preschool teachers have certification requirements.)

My day care does. It's NAEYC accredited. As a PP said, there are great preschools and bad ones. And there are great day cares and bad ones.

So does mine - daycare is NAEYC accredited and facility and teachers are fantastic - child teacher ratio is also great. But agree that the most important thing is the parents. I hate how people generalize on this board so much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Perhaps not--but can really good preschools do it all? I don't think so. They teach children for the appropriate amount of time a child can reasonably focus in one day.

Then you could throw children into a daycare situation where it's a free-for-all or you can get a nanny/nanny share, whatever.

But, I would be surprised to find a daycare that would provide a level of preparation similar to that which preschools. Mainly because of costs, licensing, and professional development (yes, preschool teachers have certification requirements.)

Again, this is uninformed and insulting. A good daycare with a preschool component is not a free for all, even after the academic part of the day is over. That would simply not be good care. I send my daughters to a daycare preschool (play based) and I would quite frankly never use a nanny, it is a trust/transparency issue for me, I have know several people with serious nanny problems. You describe all daycares as someplace that people have parked their children for the day, you clearly have no idea what you are talking about.

I looked at a variety of more traditional preschools for my older daughter this past fall because she will be 5 too late to start kindergarten and I want to change her school next year. I have to say I did not see very many that impressed me over what she has gotten in her daycare preschool. I also received comments from experienced teachers that she met with as part of the pre-K application process that she was very well prepared academically and had clearly been in a good program.

Additionally, I have spoken with several parents of my daughter's peers who have had their older children go through our daycare/preschool and then on to kindergarten. My understanding is that not only were they appropriately academically prepared for school, but also that many received multiple comments from their children's next teachers about how well socialized the children were as compared to their peers. This was in the context not of bragging about their children but more talking about how happy they remained about the daycare/preschool program and how it had helped their children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can anyone name a daycare in DC that has all certified teachers with advanced teaching degrees?

In DC, I believe that they still require a daycare teacher to have a 4 year degree related to education and if the degree is not in education 15 credit hours in education in addition to their degree. Assistant teachers have less stringent requirements.

Local preschools may not be subject to the same requirements as daycares and I would never assume that the teachers are degreed in education or even have an advanced degree. I tend to think they do have teachers who have worked there a long time but then again quantity does not always equal quality.

In the end most daycares are going to offer a "preschool" program in the AM and then free play in the afternoon.

[Anonymous]

It's funny how some people just don't know anything about daycares like to comment on the topic. Like other PPs, our daycare has a NYAEC accredited program. My 2.5 year old has a great vocab, can count to 15 and knows the ABCs (well, can say them and recognize some letters). He also has a great sense of humor, imagination, and - while he doesn't always like to like all 2.5 year olds - he certainly understands the concepts of sharing, taking turns etc. I'd say he's doing pretty well if not better than my friends kids w/nanny and private day care.

I also went to a daycare. Not accredited. And was fine. (Have a graduate degree, earn good $$, etc)

My sister (much younger) went to a private daycare (with one of the programs that are often cited on this board). Hated it - to this day will talk about her dislike of it. Graduated high school with poor grades. Went to only 1 year of college. Has not held a steady job.

Of course I'm not saying that the private pre-school route was the cause of how things have turned out for her. But, my point is the daycare route is not at all terrible. I'm constantly surprised when people bash it. Esp since they seem to be people who do not have kids in these programs.

for OP - as other posters have indicated, look at the NYAEC website. There should be a list of all day programs. Frequently daycares are more difficult to get into at the younger ages so you may be able to get your DC in. There are several people I know whoses kids transitioned into our daycare between 1.5-2.5 years and they are very happy with their choice. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

If preschools geared towards SAHPs are so amazing, then why do studies show that daycare children do slightly better academically in elementary school? What possibly is going on in those daycares?

[Anonymous]

To the PP- That studied showed any academic gains disappeared by 3rd grade.

[Anonymous]

I also found this very frustrating. I sent my older child to a pre-school a few mornings a week while on maternity leave but then switched her to a full-time school when I went back to work. This is very hard. We are going back to the preschool and getting a nanny because that works better for us. It's astronomically expensive whichever way you go. I suggest finding the right fit for your child and your family - in preschool with nanny or full-time school - because they have different social, emotional, physical impacts on the child. And think about what works best for you.

I had this same issue last year and really wished I had thought about it more before I thought full-time school was the right option. It's all about what works best for your child. Each school has its benefits, and I agree with a PP that the parents are the major influence on education.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: Am I missing something?

Yes. Preschool is school. Teachers in preschools have degree in education and various certifications to keep up. A great preschool has NAEYC accreditation.

Daycare is babysitting.

So target a few preschools, find out if any parents at these schools do nanny shares, and then make your decision. Early childhood education is very expensive--hence the push for pre-K in public elementary schools.

Untrue. Many daycares (in fact all 5 that I toured before choosing) have accredited pre-schools w/ certified teachers. In fact, one of them even had a kindergarten class. This poster has not done her homework. My 18-month-old is currently in a daycare that has a great pre-school program that I plan to utilize. The program runs the entire day so that there's no need for aftercare.

[Anonymous]

Agree with PP. The daycare/preschool divide on this website is a bit confusing. The very general idea appears to be that daycare has a longer day to meet the hours of working parents and that it also begins at a younger age. Some daycares, however, also have a preschool component geared towards 3-4 year olds, with the option of early and extended day hours. Also, some preschools have programs for infants and may have a pre-K or even K and older classes. The distinction between a daycare and preschool is not at all clear.

Also, NAEYC-accreditation is a good filter, but is not a guarantee of a good fit. Many good smaller programs, for example, do not have NAEYC-accreditation.

Perhaps this confusion indicates a need for the DCUM Forum to have just one "early childhood center" category rather than the preschool/daycare split?

[Anonymous]

Seriously, some people are so misinformed. My daughter is in a terrific preschool program in her daycare, and I just had her parent teacher conference yesterday where we went over a single spaced 3 page list of age-appropriate skills they had evaluated her for to make sure she is on track for her age. Lets see, she is 3.5, she has learned all her numbers (up to 30) can identify all her letters and is beginning to match them to sounds, she knows her colors, shapes, animals etc. She can do some basic addition and can count objects accurately, and she can match things. She can draw recognizable pictures of all kinds of things. She can dress herself fully, brush her own teeth, go to the bathroom, wash up without assistance, pour her own milk from a pitcher. There were a lot of physical skills they practice that we discussed, like hopping, that are important to the development of their gross motor skills.

Right now they have a butterfly net with 6 cocoons that they are watching and waiting for them to turn into butterflies. They take care of fish and some kind of lizard creature, and are growing flowers from seeds. Recently they learned about recycling and pollution for Earth Day and now she takes great pride in carrying things to our recycle bin.

They read, sing, dance, cook, tumble, and do a ton of art projects--not just coloring but sculptures, mixed media, collages, chalk and paint.

To put things in perspective, my son went through this daycare too, and started at our local elementary school already at level, for all skills, that they expected him to be at the end of the year, except for reading, where he was at a third grade level. And my son is a smart enough little guy but I don't think he is exceptional--he just had great preparation. It really helped him to start school with confidence and enthusiasm for learning, which he has maintained to this day.

None of this really matters to me as long as my kids are happy and secure, but to say that daycare is "babysitting" is an insult to all of the wonderful teachers in daycare who have fostered my kids' interest in learning about the world and in being creative and curious and joyful.

[Anonymous]

To post 10:19 - HERE! HERE! I could not have said it better myself!! My 4 1/2 year old is in a lovely daycare with preschool component, has a far greater knowledge than I did at his age, or most children that he knows who were not in a formal preschool/daycare setting. Creating the false dichotomy just serves to stir up all those mommy-war issues that are better left unstirred. Some mommies and/or daddies stay home and do the 1/2 day preschool. Some don't. Children turn out equally well in both situations. As a dual-income couple, I wish there were MORE opportunities for full-time preschool/day care and it was cheaper, but c'est la vie, thank goodness we have the income to pay for high quality full-time preschool and daycare. I feel for those who don't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To the PP- That studied showed any academic gains disappeared by 3rd grade.

Yes, when the other kids caught up.

Some people are suggesting that daycares offer an inferior early childhood education, which seems to contradict what actually happens when the child enters school and competes with the children who presumably attended these "official" preschool programs. My child is in part-time daycare and the morning consists of circle time, craft time, live music (the teacher plays guitar), spanish language instruction, and classroom instruction. After that they go outside, eat lunch and nap for 2-3hrs. After they wake, they have any number of activities, one of which is yoga (suprisingly this is the kids favirote) and of course more outside time.

Point is, the whole thing is silly. All daycares offer a structured preschool program and often "free play" is structured in some way as well.

Possibly the academic delta lays in the the fact that the daycare kids attend year round where as the "preschool" kids have longer breaks and therefore don't cover as much material.