My son’s preschool offers before and after care. I think that means your child can be at school 8-5. The preschool hours are 8:30-3. My son’s preschool is one of the famous ones in DC. It has fantastic teachers, specialists and professionals. Beautiful buildings and playground. It’s about $36,000 I think not including before and after care. Starts in September and ends in June.

All of my kids have thrived there and are now in great private schools.

They would have probably been happy at daycare too

Anonymous wrote:Daycare and preschool are mostly just marketing terms and don't really mean anything. The care and education they provide can be exactly the same, and whether they call themselves child care or preschool doesn't tell you all that much (other than that a preschool probably doesn't have infants and a child care center probably isn't part-day only.) Places within each category range from terrible to mediocre to good, and you need to focus on finding good ones. But there's no reason to assume that either child care/daycare or preschool is any better or worse than the other.

Very few daycares actually use that word daycare. Many use early learning center.

Oftentimes a preschool has lots of days off and doesn't run during the summer, though they may offer a summer camp for a few weeks. They may or may not offer before/after care. Imo the difference between a daycare and a preschool is that a preschool is a pita for working parents.

Daycare and preschool are mostly just marketing terms and don't really mean anything. The care and education they provide can be exactly the same, and whether they call themselves child care or preschool doesn't tell you all that much (other than that a preschool probably doesn't have infants and a child care center probably isn't part-day only.) Places within each category range from terrible to mediocre to good, and you need to focus on finding good ones. But there's no reason to assume that either child care/daycare or preschool is any better or worse than the other.

OP, you may want to look at this thread on Reddit regarding what accreditation means: https://www.reddit.com/r/ECEProfessionals/s/lsx1CVAOUi

I put my kid in a NAEYC accredited daycare at my work (not Bright Horizons) which was a good choice for us. It covered ages 0-5 so, while it was not technically a preschool, they used Creative Curriculum and did preschool stuff.

However, commuting with a kid was the pits, so every year I toured daycares and preschools nearer my house. Most were not NAEYC accredited because, as a PP mentioned, it's expensive. I never switched to a local preschool because --
(1) hours and dates: lots of preschools take long breaks or weren't open for the hours I needed childcare;
(2) in some cases, concerns about how individual schools recruited and screened teachers, whether teachers had any education on early childhood development, and whether the "real" teachers were there for more than a few hours a day since several schools seemed to use teens from 3 pm on;
(3) in some cases, concerns about the curricum, e.g., Abeka or their own made-up version of Montessori.

NAEYC was important to me, but mostly as a shorthand for teacher training and oversight. Otherwise, OP, you have to shop around and ask questions.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NAEYC is a national accreditation that is very difficult to get. Only 8% of preschools in the country are NAEYC accredited. This accreditation ensures that parents know they are receiving a top notch preschool education and experience.
Daycares do not typically have a concentration on goal oriented learning, preschools do.

Most licensed daycares in the DMV use a preschool curriculum as part of the day (e.g. Creative Curriculum). Some are even NAEYC accredited. The distinction you are making between "preschool" and "daycare" is not applicable to the choice OP is describing.

Accreditation is one factor parents can consider when choosing a daycare or preschool. The most important factors are warm caregiving and low turnover. Some of the most miserable, disengaged teachers I have observed on tours happened to be at NAEYC accredited centers so I would not base my choice solely on that.

This is such a backward comment. Just because you believe they were “unhappy” doesn’t give credence to your point. NAEYC accredited preschools prove that they have low teacher turnover, credentialed and degrees teachers, high quality programming and care, strong administration, etc.. Your feeling has very little to change that.

Look I am not saying NAEYC accredited centers are bad but not all of them are good. Bright Horizons has a ton of accredited centers and they have a history of treating their teachers horribly. NAEYC accreditation is expensive to obtain. Many great centers don't get it because they can't go through the process and keep their rates affordable for their families.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NAEYC is a national accreditation that is very difficult to get. Only 8% of preschools in the country are NAEYC accredited. This accreditation ensures that parents know they are receiving a top notch preschool education and experience.
Daycares do not typically have a concentration on goal oriented learning, preschools do.

Most licensed daycares in the DMV use a preschool curriculum as part of the day (e.g. Creative Curriculum). Some are even NAEYC accredited. The distinction you are making between "preschool" and "daycare" is not applicable to the choice OP is describing.

Accreditation is one factor parents can consider when choosing a daycare or preschool. The most important factors are warm caregiving and low turnover. Some of the most miserable, disengaged teachers I have observed on tours happened to be at NAEYC accredited centers so I would not base my choice solely on that.

This is such a backward comment. Just because you believe they were “unhappy” doesn’t give credence to your point. NAEYC accredited preschools prove that they have low teacher turnover, credentialed and degrees teachers, high quality programming and care, strong administration, etc.. Your feeling has very little to change that.

Anonymous wrote:NAEYC is a national accreditation that is very difficult to get. Only 8% of preschools in the country are NAEYC accredited. This accreditation ensures that parents know they are receiving a top notch preschool education and experience.
Daycares do not typically have a concentration on goal oriented learning, preschools do.

Most licensed daycares in the DMV use a preschool curriculum as part of the day (e.g. Creative Curriculum). Some are even NAEYC accredited. The distinction you are making between "preschool" and "daycare" is not applicable to the choice OP is describing.

Accreditation is one factor parents can consider when choosing a daycare or preschool. The most important factors are warm caregiving and low turnover. Some of the most miserable, disengaged teachers I have observed on tours happened to be at NAEYC accredited centers so I would not base my choice solely on that.

NAEYC is a national accreditation that is very difficult to get. Only 8% of preschools in the country are NAEYC accredited. This accreditation ensures that parents know they are receiving a top notch preschool education and experience.
Daycares do not typically have a concentration on goal oriented learning, preschools do.

Anonymous wrote:Some people believe daycare is worse because some studies suggest more hours in care lead to worse outcomes. The effects are small and if the alternative is a distracted, stressed out parent I doubt that is better than a good daycare.

You may also find more qualified teachers in a preschool, but there's not evidence that teacher credentials predict quality.

To add, it matters that whatever you choose works for you. Unlike the daycare vs preschool choice, parenting is hugely consequential for child outcomes. You can't be a good parent if you are also trying to work full time with only part time child care.

Some people believe daycare is worse because some studies suggest more hours in care lead to worse outcomes. The effects are small and if the alternative is a distracted, stressed out parent I doubt that is better than a good daycare.

You may also find more qualified teachers in a preschool, but there's not evidence that teacher credentials predict quality.

NAEYC accredited means that they adhere to the higher standards of being accredited (best practices in education and hygiene). Both part-time preschools and "daycares" with preschool programs can apply for accreditation. Also, NECPA is a highly regarded accreditation similar to NAEYC but a little less well known. Generally an accredited program gives you some assurance that best practices are being followed. However, you should also look at the licensing website for violations. Both part time preschools and "daycares" are subject to essentially the same licensing standards. There is nothing inherently better about a part-time preschool. Hope that helps.

I'm aware daycares offer longer hours to accomodate working parents but aside from that,

Is there a big difference in what they teach?

What is the cost difference?

I work from home and have a flexible schedule so could do either, but daycare hours obviously makes life easier for me. But if preschool is much better than daycare for whatever reason, I may go with preschool.