Should all kids be required to attend at least 1 year of preschool before going to Kindergarten? Why or why not? Should it be mandatory or should that 1 year of preschool be elective? Here’s my personal thoughts on kids and Preschool.
I think it should be elective…however, we have had Princess Gia in an official preschool since she was 3 years old…this is her 2nd year and she goes all year long (no summer break) and goes all day long. She is WELL AHEAD academically than other kids her age who don’t go to preschool. She knows her abc’s, can count to 50, can read about 30 words from a book, has excellent speech & grammar…great social skills and can write about 12 words completely. She is 4 1/2 years old and I feel that preschool is an amazing thing to help our kids get ahead & be well-prepared for Kindergarten.
When our daughter was little she didn’t have the opportunity to attend preschool. We just couldn’t afford it. Instead, we had her in daycare (babysitting) for half a day, three days a week while I worked. She got great socialization skills from daycare but the babysitter didn’t work with the kids at all on anything really educational. When she entered kindergarten she was at an average level…not an above-average level like our granddaughter.
I personally feel that if parents can afford it…Preschool is a wonderful thing to help get your kids prepared for school. If you can’t afford full day preschool…perhaps you can find a program that offers half days. Some areas have grants for low income families to apply for if they need help with preschool costs. Make sure you check out all avenues that may be available to you.
Congratulations to the 2 winners.
I think preschool is a great idea, but it probably should still be elective. My only problem is that a child who is really well ahead of her/his peers might be bored in kindergarten unless the teacher can divide the class into sections according to ability or just make sure that that child is given more advanced work.