my oldest child went through the fours class and then the fives "PreK" class at CDC (fall birthday, we held him back) and was absolutely ready for kindergarten. I wouldn't overthink it too much - if there is space for your child at CDC, you will be totally fine keeping him there.

That's a good program - I would stay there if I were you. (We got in, but I had concerns about my daughter being potty-trained in time to start, so we went with our other option.) A lot of places with 4's/5's programs are teaching pre-K - it's just implied and not explicitly stated.

Our friends whose kids have gone there (and stayed till kindergarten) said their kids were prepared for K. no need to throw in another transition, and I bet if you talked to the teachers or administration, they could tell you all the things your son will be doing for pre-K.

Anonymous wrote:I just want to know what the difference is before we make a decision. If there really is a difference that is.

There isn't really. There's a bogus distinction for some people, especially those who need to feel good about themselves and say "oh, I would never put my child in daycare. And if you need full time coverage, definitely stay where you are. I was in a daycare with a fabulous curriculum, and I have friends in a "preschool" with crap.

Are there particular places you are interested in? I'm personally not aware of any stand-alone PreK's in that area. Most of the full-time preschools have a 4s Pre-K program.

I just want to know what the difference is before we make a decision. If there really is a difference that is.

If you are happy with his daycare now and they have a fours class, why waste time looking around?

DS will be 4 in the spring, he is currently in full day preschool at columbia baptist in Falls Church. He is out first so we are new to this.. Should we look for an actual PreK program or is the what "4 year old" programs are? He is in the 3's class and we love it. We have no worries about social, emotional or academic development as he isndoing very well. If he is already writing letters/numbers, counting, speaking properly and following direction is there any other benefit to a specific Prek program? I just want to make sure we are not missing out on anything important.

Any PreK programs around Falls Church City that we should tour?