Has anyone pulled their kid out of prek3 due to lack of readiness?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But daycares are also taking note of development right? Our daycare actually uses gold.

It’s a misconception that DCPS PK teachers test. Watching a student engage in conversation is 1) their job 2) not testing 3) technically gold. So I’m confused about gold taking up so much of their teaching time. If your child’s teacher is entering gold during instruction then yes that’s a problem but that’s not how it should be set up and doesn’t represent dc PK.

daycares have MUCH less bureaucracy and red tape to deal with. TS Gold takes up a lot of time, whether during school or after. It did not add anything to my kid’s PK experience at all. Daycares are geared towards taking care of kids, not instruction and assessment.

yes and no. the licensing requirements (ratio, nutrition, etc.) in many cases are stricter for daycares than for public PK. And day cares have to deal with advertising, rent, tuition collection, and other stuff that at DCPS at least is more centralized.

I have no idea what TS Gold is. My kid loved daycare and loved PK3. I didn't notice any discernible difference in the experience.

Actually, there was one--the kids did get less time outside in PK3, especially during the winter. However, they still seemed to do a lot of fun activities inside--it's not like they were sitting still all day. To me this was a minor gripe in the grand scheme. There were still many other positives to PK3, and overall I felt my child was well-loved and cared for. I'm sure this varies by school and teacher, but ours was a pretty small school where the PK3 teacher was handpicked by the principal among several teachers who wanted the PK3 position.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But daycares are also taking note of development right? Our daycare actually uses gold.

It’s a misconception that DCPS PK teachers test. Watching a student engage in conversation is 1) their job 2) not testing 3) technically gold. So I’m confused about gold taking up so much of their teaching time. If your child’s teacher is entering gold during instruction then yes that’s a problem but that’s not how it should be set up and doesn’t represent dc PK.

daycares have MUCH less bureaucracy and red tape to deal with. TS Gold takes up a lot of time, whether during school or after. It did not add anything to my kid’s PK experience at all. Daycares are geared towards taking care of kids, not instruction and assessment.

Insert Jennifer Lawrence okay gif here.

huh? I am explaining why MY kid wasn't ready and why daycares can be different.

Then maybe say “our daycare” rather than daycares?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But daycares are also taking note of development right? Our daycare actually uses gold.

It’s a misconception that DCPS PK teachers test. Watching a student engage in conversation is 1) their job 2) not testing 3) technically gold. So I’m confused about gold taking up so much of their teaching time. If your child’s teacher is entering gold during instruction then yes that’s a problem but that’s not how it should be set up and doesn’t represent dc PK.

daycares have MUCH less bureaucracy and red tape to deal with. TS Gold takes up a lot of time, whether during school or after. It did not add anything to my kid’s PK experience at all. Daycares are geared towards taking care of kids, not instruction and assessment.

Insert Jennifer Lawrence okay gif here.

huh? I am explaining why MY kid wasn't ready and why daycares can be different.

Then maybe say “our daycare” rather than daycares?

Obviously daycares and DCPS and charters differ individually. But I had my child in three different daycare/preschools and DCPS between 3-5 so I have some basis to compare. And I was also advised by professionals (school consultant and child psychologist) that daycares are usually lower key and less stressful, particularly when you add in after-care. I am well aware that many kids do great in DCPS PK3 - my response is specifically to OP's question about those kids not ready for public PK yet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I'd suggest that you give it until Halloween to really determine if it's working or not. It sounds like you are doing a lot of comparing between the experiences of your two kids - do your best to let go of that and trust that your son will have his own way to do PK3 that will work for him.

I sent my late September boy on time to PK3 - he'd been home with me and never in a sitter's care for more than a couple of hours before his first day of school. It took a few weeks to adjust, but he had a great, great experience in PK3 and it was so revelatory to watch him learn things that didn't come from me. And he's now a rising 3rd grader and I can't imagine it any other way.

Thanks so much, I really appreciate your perspective.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They’re 3. How are they not ready to be in pk3? It’s not college we’re talking about.

Right ! If a 6 week old can go to daycare 12 hours a day I'm sure your son can handle playing at preschool.

OP here. Just because they CAN doesn’t mean they should. A 6 week old in daycare is normally due to financial circumstances and our governments terrible approach to parental leave, not the best interest of the child. I know he CAN go, just not sure he’s developmentally ready. Also, daycare is different than school in that the “teachers” are trained as caregivers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They’re 3. How are they not ready to be in pk3? It’s not college we’re talking about.

Actually he is 2 (won’t be 3 until a month after he starts), but it’s the full time 5 days a week I’m worried about, not being in preschool. My daughters birthday is October 1st so she started prek3 a full year after he will because of 7 days difference in their birthday. She did great but she had also been in full day daycare since she was 15 months and so I feel like the transition for her was easy. And i was always surprised by how much littler the September to December birthday kids in her class seemed in comparison, many still in pull-ups and needing to be held for most of the day.

Not sure if I’ll be able to deal if he screams and cries every day for weeks or more. I’m definitely going to try it but I’m also nervous and feeling guilty that I have the option to keep him home (at the moment I work very part time from home) and I’m not.

Thanks so much for your inputs everyone.

I haven’t read through all the posts so others might have given a similar account, but we decided to keep our son home and skip pk3 altogether. We had friends who really beat us up over this decision, and others who really celebrated it. In other words, here at DCUM and in the real world, there will always be people who applaud or condemn the decision you make. And that’s ok.

We thought long and hard about what was best for him, our family and his younger brother, especially given that I was not working outside the home.

I work with him on letters, writing, numbers, etc. and he’s been part of classes at the zoo and music classes, plus has a great Sunday school program. We go to museums at least twice a week. I say all this to say that you can provide academically and socially engaging opportunities for him if you choose to keep him home. If you’re super worried, look at OSSE’s (or is it DCPS?) standards for what kids should learn/know by the end of pk3.

On the other hand, your son may really thrive in school. Only you can make this decision. But you’re not crazy and others have chosen to keep their children home for pk3 (and even pk4) and moved on to the next grade or repeated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They’re 3. How are they not ready to be in pk3? It’s not college we’re talking about.

Actually he is 2 (won’t be 3 until a month after he starts), but it’s the full time 5 days a week I’m worried about, not being in preschool. My daughters birthday is October 1st so she started prek3 a full year after he will because of 7 days difference in their birthday. She did great but she had also been in full day daycare since she was 15 months and so I feel like the transition for her was easy. And i was always surprised by how much littler the September to December birthday kids in her class seemed in comparison, many still in pull-ups and needing to be held for most of the day.

Not sure if I’ll be able to deal if he screams and cries every day for weeks or more. I’m definitely going to try it but I’m also nervous and feeling guilty that I have the option to keep him home (at the moment I work very part time from home) and I’m not.

Thanks so much for your inputs everyone.

I haven’t read through all the posts so others might have given a similar account, but we decided to keep our son home and skip pk3 altogether. We had friends who really beat us up over this decision, and others who really celebrated it. In other words, here at DCUM and in the real world, there will always be people who applaud or condemn the decision you make. And that’s ok.

We thought long and hard about what was best for him, our family and his younger brother, especially given that I was not working outside the home.

I work with him on letters, writing, numbers, etc. and he’s been part of classes at the zoo and music classes, plus has a great Sunday school program. We go to museums at least twice a week. I say all this to say that you can provide academically and socially engaging opportunities for him if you choose to keep him home. If you’re super worried, look at OSSE’s (or is it DCPS?) standards for what kids should learn/know by the end of pk3.

On the other hand, your son may really thrive in school. Only you can make this decision. But you’re not crazy and others have chosen to keep their children home for pk3 (and even pk4) and moved on to the next grade or repeated.

Yep. If you can and want to keep your 3 year old at home, totally fine! 3 is very little; enjoy childhood the way that is best for your family.

[Anonymous]

We kept our PK3 kid home and he continued going to his Co-op preschool. He loved it. I do not regret the decision for a minute.

That said, he didn't get into any schools we would have considered for later in his academic career.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I'd suggest that you give it until Halloween to really determine if it's working or not. It sounds like you are doing a lot of comparing between the experiences of your two kids - do your best to let go of that and trust that your son will have his own way to do PK3 that will work for him.

I sent my late September boy on time to PK3 - he'd been home with me and never in a sitter's care for more than a couple of hours before his first day of school. It took a few weeks to adjust, but he had a great, great experience in PK3 and it was so revelatory to watch him learn things that didn't come from me. And he's now a rising 3rd grader and I can't imagine it any other way.

Thanks so much, I really appreciate your perspective.

This is great advice. And go easy on yourself, it's a huge transition for everyone, parents included.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the difference between all day daycare and PK3 (minus the fact that daycare can be longer hours)

My son's day care and the PK program he was in were both play based so it was basically the same thing.

Daycare's priority is keeping kids happy, rested and fed, and parents happy. Public preK is set within a larger school and tends to fit the kids into a structure rather than the other way around - eg limits on recess, moving around for "specials," rules about potty training, more testing/assessments, shorter naps. ius its public school, so parents don't have the same authority or standing as in a daycare, and the administration has to deal with a whole host of issues and constraints not present at a daycare.

This. DD went to PK3 at Two Rivers and we pulled her after a few weeks. We put her back in her daycare. It was just too much for us at such a young age.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They’re 3. How are they not ready to be in pk3? It’s not college we’re talking about.

Actually he is 2 (won’t be 3 until a month after he starts), but it’s the full time 5 days a week I’m worried about, not being in preschool. My daughters birthday is October 1st so she started prek3 a full year after he will because of 7 days difference in their birthday. She did great but she had also been in full day daycare since she was 15 months and so I feel like the transition for her was easy. And i was always surprised by how much littler the September to December birthday kids in her class seemed in comparison, many still in pull-ups and needing to be held for most of the day.

Not sure if I’ll be able to deal if he screams and cries every day for weeks or more. I’m definitely going to try it but I’m also nervous and feeling guilty that I have the option to keep him home (at the moment I work very part time from home) and I’m not.

Thanks so much for your inputs everyone.

I have a son who was definitely not ready for PK3 and was still 2 when school started. We actually had pretty terrible issues and he didn't adjust well, but stuck with it because I was so fearful we would lose the spot at our charter. I would go ahead and start school but if there are issues I would recommend meeting with your teacher and asking for advice. I never asked it it would be possible to defer enrollment although in retrospect I wish I had. He ended up repeating PK3--a great move for him because his teacher was fantastic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the difference between all day daycare and PK3 (minus the fact that daycare can be longer hours)

My son's day care and the PK program he was in were both play based so it was basically the same thing.

Daycare's priority is keeping kids happy, rested and fed, and parents happy. Public preK is set within a larger school and tends to fit the kids into a structure rather than the other way around - eg limits on recess, moving around for "specials," rules about potty training, more testing/assessments, shorter naps. ius its public school, so parents don't have the same authority or standing as in a daycare, and the administration has to deal with a whole host of issues and constraints not present at a daycare.

This. DD went to PK3 at Two Rivers and we pulled her after a few weeks. We put her back in her daycare. It was just too much for us at such a young age.

Did you lose her spot? I'm the PP whose son repeated PK3. I was terrified we would lose his spot so stuck with it even though it was a pretty terrible year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the difference between all day daycare and PK3 (minus the fact that daycare can be longer hours)

My son's day care and the PK program he was in were both play based so it was basically the same thing.

Daycare's priority is keeping kids happy, rested and fed, and parents happy. Public preK is set within a larger school and tends to fit the kids into a structure rather than the other way around - eg limits on recess, moving around for "specials," rules about potty training, more testing/assessments, shorter naps. ius its public school, so parents don't have the same authority or standing as in a daycare, and the administration has to deal with a whole host of issues and constraints not present at a daycare.

This. DD went to PK3 at Two Rivers and we pulled her after a few weeks. We put her back in her daycare. It was just too much for us at such a young age.

Did you lose her spot? I'm the PP whose son repeated PK3. I was terrified we would lose his spot so stuck with it even though it was a pretty terrible year.

Of course she did.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the difference between all day daycare and PK3 (minus the fact that daycare can be longer hours)

My son's day care and the PK program he was in were both play based so it was basically the same thing.

Daycare's priority is keeping kids happy, rested and fed, and parents happy. Public preK is set within a larger school and tends to fit the kids into a structure rather than the other way around - eg limits on recess, moving around for "specials," rules about potty training, more testing/assessments, shorter naps. ius its public school, so parents don't have the same authority or standing as in a daycare, and the administration has to deal with a whole host of issues and constraints not present at a daycare.

This. DD went to PK3 at Two Rivers and we pulled her after a few weeks. We put her back in her daycare. It was just too much for us at such a young age.

Did you lose her spot? I'm the PP whose son repeated PK3. I was terrified we would lose his spot so stuck with it even though it was a pretty terrible year.

Of course she did.

Why would they keep an entire spot open for the entire year?? Entitled much?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, your kid may well be fine so hopefully you are able to keep an optimistic outlook and give it a few weeks before making any decisions. The book "the kissing hand" and the Daniel Tiger "Mommies Always Come Back" are good for your kid but may make you tear up a bit!

To the second part of your question, many schools will not let you put an older child in PK3. You can talk with the myschoolDC folks and the principal at your school about it if you do wind up thinking of pulling him (bearing in mind that principals can change year to year) to make a more informed decision if it comes to that.

Typically you will have to lottery for/enroll in PK4, but after a day or two the principal can move your child into PK3. Same with K/PK4. But it is up to the principal, ideally in consultation with you. But whatever issues you see, they will need to see too.

This is not accurate. You can lottery next year for PK3 again; you can choose to let an older child go into a younger grade, just not the other way where a young child goes into an older grade. Call MSDC if you have questions.