Anonymous wrote:Thanks 15:31. I'm not actually panicked about dd behind behind and meant it a bit as tongue in cheek. Although I do want to make sure I'm thinking of the right things and have some idea of a good timeline. We are actually living in rural Mississippi now so not much to compare to here regarding academics.

But can anyone comment on differences between structured daycare vs preschool and prek? Why does everyone think preschool/prek is so important if they are learning all the same things in a structured daycare setting?

If it makes you feel any better, we moved to Faifax County from the God-foresaken Delta -Greenville, Mississippi. (And I love Mississippi, just not the Delta) My kids were in privates (obviously) at Lourdes and St Joes. The youngest was in preschool (3) and the oldest was in high school. They were actually ahead of their peers at Lake Braddock when we moved. We were shocked! My daughter was a national merit scholar despite attending 6th, 7th, and 8th grade in very rural Mississippi.

My kids are grown now but have benefited so much from living and going to school all over the world. I grew up an Army Brat and the education I received by living all over everywhere simply cannot be replicated in any one school. You can drop my kids anywhere and they will adapt and succeed. I have one child teaching Engiish in China, one serving as a military officer in Afghanistsn, one in Iraq with his National Guard Unit, one in college at Ole Miss, and one in the Air Force in Texas. All did great in college. Your kid will be fine no matter where she goes to school. It's about the experience!

Do not let what you read on dcum or anywhere like dcum cloud your judgment. It's just preschool! If she learns how to share, play nicely with her friends, and follow directions, she's doing fine! She could get that at a church based moms morning out program.

Oh lord.

OP - there's a line on the second page of the Ivy Consortium Common Application that asks about the philosophy of the preschool attended by the applicants, and whether the applicant was reading upon promotion. They also ask 3 check-the-box questions about toilet training and night time dryness.

Anonymous wrote:So does the term 'preschool' refer to multiple grades? If so, what grades? What age did your daughter start preschool and what age did she start prek?

2.5 preschool with other 2-4yo
4.5 preK

Most everyone does PreK around age 4, and many people start preschool by age 3.

Thanks 15:31. I'm not actually panicked about dd behind behind and meant it a bit as tongue in cheek. Although I do want to make sure I'm thinking of the right things and have some idea of a good timeline. We are actually living in rural Mississippi now so not much to compare to here regarding academics.

But can anyone comment on differences between structured daycare vs preschool and prek? Why does everyone think preschool/prek is so important if they are learning all the same things in a structured daycare setting?

the woman in that article is really stupid, imo. Of course preschool admission is arbitrary - the kids are 4! There's nothing to prepare for. All the work comes from finding out about schools and then applying. Nothing to do at age 18 months. Maybe in NYC where you might put your kids in certain classes so you can meet people and get recommendations, but not in Houston or DC. Maybe put your kid in a class so they can follow instructions (if you don't draw a picture when the admission director asks you to, you won't be admitted). There are tons of good schools, don't stress.

I get what the article says- its in the title. But the author spent 80% of the article describing all the hoops she had to jump through to make sure her daughter was on par with where she thought she should be.

OP, we're all sympathetic to the fact that you're a FTM (all of us were once, too), but truly, you have got to calm down and stop freaking out over things like this. You will never make it through her adolesence with this level of neurosis. Let alone toddlerhood.

So does the term 'preschool' refer to multiple grades? If so, what grades? What age did your daughter start preschool and what age did she start prek?

Yes, of course you are.

Seriously, please. Come on. You are behind in not being a paranoid nutter.

Golly, you have a lot of questions.

uh, that isn't what that article says at all.

omfg.

We are very happy with my daughter's preschool (it's her third year there; she's now in PreK). We started the search the summer before, when a variety of competitive montessoris, play-based preschools, and Goddard schools still had openings.

I'm a FTM to my 18 month old DD. I hear all these stories about getting your kid into a great school from the start. My concern is mostly spurred by the Wapo article today where the author started looking at schools for her daughter when she was 6 months old. Is this normal? I realize the answer from the DC crowd will be biased.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2014/10/09/admissions-officers-rejected-my-daughter-from-kindergarten-for-being-bossy/

We don't intend on sending DD to private school from the beginning as long as we are in a good school district. We will be moving in about 1.5 years from now (military family) so we can't be sure of some of the factors until then. Should I panic that we haven't applied for a school yet or determined the school district where we'll live? We started a college fund when she was born and I thought we were ahead of the curve!

I also have some basic questions: What age do they start school. Is Pre-k the first year of school or is there a pre-pre-k now? Is pre-school different than pre-k? Is pre-k ever a full time program or is it always part-time? She is in full time daycare now where they have quite a bit of structure (circle time, reading time, organized play) so going to a part-time pre-k seems like a step backwards. And how is pre-k any different than a structured daycare program?