Setting up for success!

Preschools are INDEED very expensive! The average cost of a preschool in the US is $11,666 per year ($972 a month) for infants-toddlers and $8,800 a year ($733 a month) for preschool age children. Click here for more info about preschool costs A good quality preschool is worth the money. I think it is important for children to socialize, follow rules, learn from their peers, and get used to respecting and listening to teachers. I am neutral on whether or not to put a baby in a preschool. Some parents have to, and some don't...I don't think that it is necessarily "bad" or "good." However, around age three I do think it is important to start kids off on the right foot! They will have 2 years experience before going to Kindergarten, which sets them up for success. I did not go to preschool and I can remember having a really hard time in Kindergarten. At home, I did not have to sit for long periods of time, share supplies, and socialize with 15+ other children. I was always labeled as "shy" and I attribute that to not being exposed to large groups during preschool age.

I think that preschools are always developing and getting better. Most are really focused on curriculum, but I that has to do with changing research about how the brain is developed and grows very fast in the first few years of life. So many connections are being made in the brain, and without the opportunity for the connections to be made, it will not develop. The preschool should definitely have a good balance between curriculum based learning and free, explorative play. Children need to learn both ways.

At the schools that I have observed, I have been impressed. The Voyager was really nice, open and clean. The teachers all seemed very invested in their students and classrooms. There seemed to be a wide variety of different cultures. There are also different cultures at Primrose School, but the majority of the students are Caucasian. Primrose School focuses a lot on curriculum but the children are allowed free play during the day. I like the push for academic learning; it challenges the children and they love it! Of course, the teachers do not "push" the learning too hard. All children are different and the teachers take this into account. If a child is frustrated, the activity will be downgraded and not everything has to be perfect or right! They try to teach to always do your best. [Primrose students score in the 90th percentile on a nationally normed measure compared to peers] [School Readiness at Primrose]