We did this (a little bit older, my kid is one of the oldest in his grade) specifically for the purposes of transition. Once he went to preK, he was in school full time 8.30-5.30. That's a looong day, and a huge transition from 100% home all the time.

Preschool teacher here! This totally depends on the kid and the family. A lot of kids thrive in preschool at that age, some are clingy and have a harder time adjusting. You might not realize how great a little extra alone time feels during those 9 hours a week—though it goes fast!

This is OP, thanks for all the responses! We're looking at a few of the CC pre-schools, since a few of the others are really expensive for PT and those just really don't seem worth it for us. We live near the zoo. With sibling pref we really hope our younger child will get into PK3 the following year when she's eligible. We haven't been big on activities in the past other than swim which isn't that social, so this may be added reason to prioritize preschool for a year based on responses!

As a SAHM I did it for the break 3 mornings a week, but no I don’t think my child cared until maybe the pre K year.

It was worth it to me. But if money is tight I think preschool for 3 year olds is totally optional as long as you are making time for socialization elsewhere but preschool for 4 year olds is essential.

I think it's worth it, if you can afford it. Frankly a half hour round trip doesn't seem like a big deal to me, but I realize everyone's driving schedules are different.

We needed a nanny because we both WOTH, and I didn't find preschool to be worth it. Wish I would have just done some type of classes for socialization, and spent more of that money on weekend trips and vacations while the kids were young. We sacrificed those and that was DUMB.

Worth it to me.

I'm going to edge toward no.

I put my daughter in preK 3's in 2019 when she was 2.75. I see in hindsight she was a little too young for it. Just a year later, she is SO much more social, separates more easily, more interested in "learning," etc.

HOWEVER, I really need it back then because I had a new baby and needed a break. Unless the SAP really needs those mornings off from both children, then I would say it's not quite worth it. Particularly if you have to drive that much.

If your SAP doesn't need those full mornings off, and they are into it, I've discovered this year that preschool "homeschool" is actually kind of fun. With your older child in school, this would be a cool time to do some really simple letters, numbers, art, etc. with your youngest child. It's been really fun for me to watch my daughter learn things this year, vs when she was in preschool last year and I would get random art projects home and be like wtf is this?

Yes, worth it.
I am a second career preschool music teacher.
The socialization for that age group is important.
And now with COVID, I’m guess your kiddos aren’t getting a lot of play date / playground socializing right now.
Preschool is ‘learn through play,’ which is especially good for younger siblings who become accustomed to playing with older siblings, who then have to go to school.

For me it would be worth it. Our preschool was about 15 mins away too. I think its a personal preference.

I sent my son to preschool at that age twice a week for 2 and a half hours. It was worth it to me! I could run a lot of errands in that time.

Yes I loved our part-time preschool at this age! It's a nice transition. Where are you considering OP?

Depends on the child and what else you are doing. Some kids (though not all) do start to need some socialization at that age. It can really help with developmental stuff, and ease the transition to PK when she is the right age for PK3 in public.

But this might not be your kid, especially with a sibling so close in age. I would look at how she is around other kids her same age, and also how she does with organized activities like story time or a kid's dance class. If she enjoys that stuff and has no issues with being around other kids in those settings (and you keep taking her to those settings until PK3) I would say you could skip PK next year.

But if she struggles or doesn't seem to like being around other kids, or is very shy, then she could benefit a lot from a part-time PK program. My DD was like this at the same age and we sent her to a 2-day a week co-op. It helped so much for her to see the same kids each week and get used to that routine, and made transition to PK so easy. But she is an only, so we really felt like she needed that exposure to other kids.

Our daughter will be 2.75yo next Fall, missing the DC PK3 cut off. There are 3-4 part time preschool options, all about 10-15 minutes drive from our house in NW D.C. None are really walkable, we'd have to drive. These programs are mostly 9am-12pm. We have a SAH parent, and an older child who will be in K. Is it worth sending our 2.75yo to school 3-5 days a week for 3 hours, when we have to drive 30 min round trip to bring/get them, so 1 hour total a day? Seems like a lot of driving for 3 hours of preschool, but are the benefits of school and having about 2 hours of "free" time for the SAH parent worth it?