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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]You have no idea what your child is like away from you/nanny/siblings in a classroom setting. This information is *extremely valuable*. You might find that your child is very timid and shy. Or has trouble making friends. Or can’t regulate emotions on her own. Or needs OT. In the preschool setting, you are provided with a lot of feedback and tools to help with this. Once you get to K, esp in a big public school, children are expected to know how to navigate peer relationships, wait their turns, advocate for themselves, etc. There is much less hand-holding. I absolutely would not skip preschool. Esp if you have $40k to spend on childcare annually. Think about your children’s needs not what’s most convenient for your work schedule. [/quote]

I said earlier she was in daycare from 6 months to 1.5. She was very very social and took to it like a fish to water. Her teachers cried on her last day. I'm not saying she's the perfect kid or anything, but anytime she's been in a situation like that she's flourished. They have been much fewer and far between recently though.

She was put in an emergency daycare last spring for a week because of a complicated situation and had a VERY hard time with that but I think a multitude of factors contributed to that (was only for four days, had never been there before, we were staying with relatives in an unfamiliar house, VERY chaotic week where we were commuting for almost 2 hours a day so sudden dramatic shift without a long enough period for her to fully adjust). [/quote]

I'm not the PP.  Presumably you know your kid and you seem to be confident she will handle it.  I think the transition to K has more in common with the day care situation of last spring than with her placement in day care as an infant.  My older child also was in day care for a time when he was that age and I wouldn't say it had any relevance to how he adjusted to preschool and K.  He also is a definite rule follower but had a much greater capacity for worry and anxiety as a 5 year old than as an infant/toddler.

I don't think preschool has the same value for every kid but I think PP made a valid point about the challenges she may face in K.  For example, I know some kids (not mine, but who went to preschool) who have struggled in the cafeteria because it's loud and overwhelming.  So they would be upset and not really eat and then be even more tired and have trouble focusing, etc.  I would be less worried about whether she's reading and more about whether she will raise her hand to get a new adult's attention when she needs to use the bathroom.  Stuff like that.  I think the challenges will be in dealing with a very large somewhat chaotic environment on her own for 6+ hours a day.  As the PP said, it requires a bit of assertiveness/confidence and unfortunately it may be difficult for a teacher who does not know her, and who has a class full of 5-6 year olds, to pick up on and handle issues the way you may expect.  And I wouldn't necessarily expect a tired new kindergartner to give you a useful recap of the day regardless.  I don't think it's insurmountable but I wouldn't just dismiss the input you're getting here.  [/quote]

I'm not at all. It has given me a lot to think about actually! I just feel like I do know her and a lot of the things you talk about here I am concerned about (cafeteria example absolutely rang true) but generally being able to form a bond with her teacher, follow rules and be social aren't the things I'm worried about.[/quote]

No worries- I think she'll be fine.  I'm sure she'll be fine.  Just be prepared to give whatever extra support you can!  Like for our school district, we get the teacher assignment the week before school and then go in for an open house.  I would talk to the teacher and explain that it's her first time in school (even if you filled out a questionnaire so stating when registering her) and ask if you can just email or check in after a couple of weeks to see whether there are any issues or anything the teacher wants your daughter to work on.

Something will crop up, I don't think any kid gets through K without any challenges!  Like I can tell you my kids both went to preschool, but my older son struggled a bit in K on the playground.  There were like 90+ kids out there at once instead of the 20 or so in his preschool class and a bunch of nights he cried before bed because he said he couldn't find anyone to play with.  It was not the end of the world and we worked on strategies.  But his teacher didn't know what I was talking about because the K teachers were not on the playground at recess (only the K assistants) and she just kept saying that he had lots of friends in the classroom.  Or at some point during the year I remember he got super weird and self conscious about asking to go to the bathroom.  Why?  I have no idea.  He had no idea, but yet had wet pants a bunch of times.  But again, the absence of a kid asking to use the bathroom isn't really something a teacher is going to notice, so I had to just check in with her about it.  I guess my point is just...I was getting great reports from the teacher because he is/was so well behaved and got along with the other kids.  No fighting, good sharing, followed instructions, on target academically.  But still there were a couple of adjustment issues.  I think that's the kind of thing preschool helps with but it's not a silver bullet (obviously, per my experience).  And as the PP said it's a bit more difficult for a K teacher to focus on this type of issue because there is a lot more on the teacher's plate- bigger class, tighter schedule and academic requirements, in and out for specials (art, music, gym, etc) kids who may have IEPs or other special needs, there's a lot going on.[/quote]

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