I got a call from the local elementary school and found out that a spot opened up for Arielle in their pre-K program where she has been on the waiting list for 6 months now. I felt like I won the lottery and all sorts of joy filled in my heart at this wonderful opportunity to prepare Arielle for kindergarten when she starts this fall. And then they dropped the bomb on me – the $250 bomb that would drop every month. Ugh.
When we found out that the pre-K program was full last fall and looked for other programs, it ridiculously expensive – $1200 for 2 hours 3 days a week at the park district. Uhh…no thanks! So since our first option was full and our other options were too expensive, we decided to teach her as much as we could at home to set her up for success by the time Sept 2014 came around.
She’s already well socialized from going to Sunday school and having a ton of cousins her age to play nicely with. She even takes dance classes and can follow instructions well. So I wasn’t as concerned about the socialization.
I was more concerned on preparing her for the things she really needed to know by the time she entered kindergarten like her alphabet and numbers. We went all out on setting up an at-home preschool environment – we bought her school supplies and got her excited about the “back-to-school” season. I did research and started Pinterest boards on home preschooling activities. I bought workbooks and craft supplies. We had lesson plans to get her to write her alphabet and practice everyday with the nanny that we had at the time. I was even thinking about starting a new blog series on it and calling it “Arielle’s Academy.”
Truth is, she would get bored easily here at home. Uninspired, easily frustrated. I’ll even admit that I lacked discipline to be consistent in the lesson plans and pin-worthy crafts and activities.
I was thrilled when I found out there was an opening for her at this pre-K program at her future elementary school. I thought it was free, not $250 a month. It actually ends up being only about $12.50 a day, but this was just not an additional expense I had budgeted for in 2014 and they needed to know by tomorrow.
I was second guessing whether we should spend the money on pre-K now, or just let her start her education as a kindergartener this fall. My mom told me not to worry about pre-K and that she will learn eventually. She’s already bright, observant, articulate, and curious – signs of a potentially great little scholar. She’ll catch up quickly. According to my mom, I didn’t go to preschool or pre-K. My early childhood education program was called Sesame Street and I turned out it just fine!
But something tells me that kids these days are expected to just know just about everything short of calculus by the time they get into kindergarten. One kindergarten teacher on a local mom’s support group on FB mentioned that all the kids that walk through her classroom doors already know how to read. Other moms said that they can tell which kids would succeed in life because they could point out which ones attended preschool and which ones stayed at home with their parents. I read this article on the WSJ that mentioned:
“Those who go to preschool will go on to university, will have a graduate education, and their income level will radically improve.”
Sheesh! I guess $250 a month is a small price to pay for a guarantee that my child will go on to grad school and have a stellar income level. No brainer!
My husband and I are on board and will enroll her first thing tomorrow. We agreed that she is under-stimulated here at home and that pre-K would be a fun, new adventure for her! Plus it’ll be at the same elementary school where she will start next fall. I told Arielle that she will be starting school soon and she was thrilled! I guess I wasn’t mentally prepared to have my daughter start school mid-January, but I will have to get over it quickly.
Cheers to 2014 and new adventures!
Did your child go to preschool or pre-K? Do you think they did better in kinder as a result?
xoxo // gracielle.
Awww, I’ll probably have this dilemma soon. My son is only 2 years and 7 months.. I’ve also read somewhere that says all kids should go through preschool or something of that sort but I’m probably not amenable to some moms saying they can actually point out which kids will succeed or not based on their preschool education but that’s just me, hehe. I admire you for making your own decision even though your mom says otherwise. As parents, I think we only want what’s best for our kids even if it means paying a hell lot! Excited for your “Arielle’s Academy” series! 🙂
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I’m so excited! She starts this MONDAY. I took tomorrow off to make sure I have all the paperwork and doctors forms filled out. I’m thinking of enrolling my son in pre-K this fall. He’s 2 years 9 months – pretty close in age to your son! He doesn’t speak as clearly and he lacks social skills that Arielle had when she was his age. I know you’re not supposed to compare, but I think he’ll benefit more if I enroll him in pre-K at an earlier age.
Thinking of that too especially that my son doesn’t have any playmates here in our house, it would really help his social skills too. My son doesn’t speak clearly just yet but is very responsive! Please let me know how it works for you so I can follow through and get some tips, hehehe. Thank you in advance! 🙂
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It starts tomorrow!!! EEEEKKK! I’ll let you know how it goes…I’m sure she’ll do great, but I cannot promise the same for myself. I already started crying about it today. It’s happening all too quickly!
Sheesh! What a big decision to have to make so quickly! Malone goes to preK at our public school from 12:00 to 3:00 pm everyday. It is the perfect amount of time for him. He’s learning tons about being in community and working well with others. He’s also picked up a ton more “school skills” from being in that environment. I think Arielle will have a great time at school and I’ll be thinking about you guys as she makes that transition! xo
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Thanks, NJ! She starts this Monday. Eek! I’m not ready…so I took tomorrow off to get all the paperwork and doctors forms filled out. It all kinda happened at once – plus my husband is out of the country and I could really use his support during her first week at school. 🙁
I am a big fan of Pre-K (my girls both did it), but I totally get that the shock value of the cost is a bitter pill to swallow. You will not regret it, though! She will learn a TON and feel really confident heading into kindergarten! :)-Ashley
Thanks, Ashley! I’ve been hearing tons of positive feedback from moms who sent their kids to pre-K so I’m feeling more and more confident about my decision. Ask me again how I feel at 8:15 Monday morning when I drop her off…
Big fan here, but too early to tell you how it will affect kindergarten! She started going pretty early on at age three and she’s not on her second year. Des has a June birthday so he’ll be three in time for September 2015 and I’ll be sending him to the one she’s at now. It’s expensive but we LOVE it.
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I’m actually thinking of enrolling Zavie this upcoming fall since he turns 3 in March. It’ll work out nicely since his Pre-K class and Arielle’s Kinder class will be at the same times. He doesn’t speak as clearly and isn’t very good with social skills, so I think he will benefit more with an earlier start. Arielle is super excited and she starts on Monday!
We just did one year of preschool (or pre-K) with each of our boys. They went 3x a week for half days and it was plenty. I don’t know if they really learned anything that they didn’t already know but I loved the setting and the social interactions they developed!
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Oh my have time has changed. Those show would still work (like Sesame Street). But I think the way you teach her now is great . Because you are a great mom !!!!
My son is in kindergarten now. He went through Vpk (ours is free but I had him in aftercare which was $170 a week). He is in a magnet school now. They had a pre-screen test before kindergarten that I really stressed out about. However, he did very well and continues to do well. We had a lot of behavioral issues the first couple months of school and it turned out he was bored. Due to the wide range in Kindergartners skill levels, the first half of the year is a review . My daughter is a year behind him and our pre- school is at our daycare. She used to get jealous of his homework so his teacher have me two copies. She did the Vpk work at three years old. This year she is in VPK but misses so much school due to her JIA. I would ask the school how the pre-school curriculum differs from the kindergarten curriculum.
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Bryson is in PreK. His is $123/week. Oy! He has been in a daycare/preschool since he was a baby. They started the teaching part around 2 years. He will also start Kindergarten in the fall. Here they don’t require them to read but they have to know all their letters by sight and sound, their address and their phone number. I am so glad he’s in PreK simply because I feel that he’s already used to the “school scene.” You are a great mom and I’m sure you made the right decision!
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Very nice that you get to put her in school like you want. She is so cute in that picture. I’m actually homeschooling my kids. JR and I already do things everyday. Most situations is a learning opportunity. I like the unconventional, flexible learning style he’s getting from it. He’s really learning and growing so much every day.
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Speaking of unconventional, flexible learning – have you seen this kid’s TED talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h11u3vtcpaY It’s really inspiring!
I didn’t go to pre-K either! I don’t agree that just because you don’t go to preschool you are not going to succeed in life. I learned from Sesame Street also! LOL. My parents simply couldn’t afford it. It’s expensive everywhere it seems,which is too bad. I have to say I turned out pretty ok regardless. I had to go to ESL classes the first two years, and then I ended up taking Honor’s English classes in high school, and now I have my masters. And you turned out smart and successful too! See! But I am planning to enroll my kiddo in pre-k too when the time comes.
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I’m not sure I agree with that quote from WSJ either. There’s so many factors that play into a child’s success other than the fact that he or she went to preschool. Either way, lots of moms were encouraging and had nothing but positive things to say about their kiddo’s preschool experience. We’re super excited. She starts TOMORROW! I already started crying a bit today. It happened all too quickly!
Both of my kids went to pre-school for a year and it was only a half day. They both loved school and interaction with other kids.
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Thanks, Jeanne! So far all the other moms have nothing but positive things to say about pre-K. She had her first day today and did great!
My son is in VPK ( voluntary pre k), it’s free here in FL. It’s 5 days 3 hours. We have him go the extra 2 hours (extended day) so he can eat ouch and get used to the hours and eating at school since kinder next year is full day. I had the same dilemma about how much they actually learn but after a few weeks I was blown away! We worked with him so he knew his letters, numbers, write his name, etc. but they learned Spanish, months of the year, the pledge, the national anthem, days of the week, and sight words.. It does coast us $160 a. Onto for that extra 10 hours a week but it’s well worth it. They seem to have more patience at a school then with their parents. But he LOVES it, and it seems every weekend there is a birthday party to go to! Very social. We’re planning on sending our 2 daughters next year to the program also. Your daughter will do amazing and you won’t regret it!
My daughter loves it so far! She’s thriving off of the daily interactions with her new friends and the different activities in the classrooms. I think it’s a step in the right direction and I’m thinking of enrolling my son in the preK program this fall since he’ll be 3. Thanks for explaining what VPK means – I couldn’t figure out what the “V” stood for. LOL Thanks for stopping by and your input, Eileen!
we’re similar in that i never went to pre-K and i turned out a perfectly capable, responsible adult! that said, i am a firm believer in educating early on. parents have it totally backwards when they save up money for their children’s college education. WRONG! by the time parents are ready to foot the bill for a child’s college education, all of their habits have already developed and it’s a waste of money by that point. i don’t care the cost, i’m going to research the best, most prestigious pre-schools and elementary schools. that’s when it matters…not in the later years. speaking of cost, i have my eye on a certain preschool that is $2000 a month. granted it’s full time, but thought you’d appreciate a comparison.
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Totally agree that the learning habits and discipline start at a young age! I also think that it’s a combo of good school system, parenting, and their peers that determine how well a child will do in school. Delicate balance, but as parents we do as much as we can to set our children up for success!