Better preschool class-large or small group of kids?

Question

At my son's preschool you can choose 1-5 days per wk-whatever days you want. I chose monday and friday but most kids are going Tues, wed, thurs. So his class has a total of 5 kids. (including him) I think it's great because he is getting that extra attention. Others have mentioned that kindergarten may come to a shock to him after such a small preschool group. I can change my days if I ever decide to. He has been will all other 18 kids several times with parties and the Chirstmas program & didn't seem overwhelmed. What are your thoughts?

Answer 1

It is great for kids to learn to socialize in all group sizes and it sounds like he is getting that kind of exposure.  I seriously doubt that kingergarten will come as a shock as he is clearly well adjusted in various environments.  And yes the smaller setting is more ideal for a preschool student because the attention is more individualized, preschoolers need a great deal of stimulation, especially language stimulation and that is easier in small groups.  Happy kids adjust to the evironments they are in, but if he has formed good relationships with the teacher and other students I think I would leave him in the class that he has adjusted to simply for consistency.

Answer 2

small

Answer 3

small. the teacher can monitor the kids easier and control them easier. also he/she can send home more details about your son/daughter's behavior than a large class.

Answer 4

small is better. your son's teacher can spread the attention around more.

Answer 5

Whatever he is most comfortable with is fine. Five kids or 18...either way he is able to socialize. what a good mommy you are! :)

Answer 6

Small class sizes are always better.  The NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children) recommends small class sizes and group sizes to enhance the one-on-one time that children of this age need.  Besides, as a teacher, you cannot adequately meet each child's needs, ensure safety of the students, and make sure you are charting progress if you have more students than you can handle.  Kids who have learned how to handle small group experiences have little difference learning how to deal in larger groups, and perhaps may be better equipped to deal with it, since they will have had more personalized instruction in social skills and conflict management than children who have only been in large group settings where they may have gotten away with more aggressive forms of social interaction.  The more children you have in a group, the more the teacher's role becomes that of "child wrangler", where it is all about getting through the day alive, rather than worrying about whether or not each child's needs were met and goals were worked on.  The goal becomes survival- not teaching.  I highly recommend keeping him in a smaller class size to benefit his developmental needs the most.

Answer 7

It depends a bit on the classroom environment as well as your child's personality.  If he seems socially and emotionally mature and your primary goal for preschool is to build up his academic "readiness" skills, then the small class may be a great way to get him the individual attention.  Even if he is just a bit on the quiet side, but otherwise manages himself well in larger group settings, the small class size may give him an environment in which to blossom and build confidence that will serve him well later on.

If however, he is already smart as a whip, but challenging behaviorally or socially, while the small class size may help him now, he will need to learn to be more self-directed in order to assimilate into regular sized classroom settings.

Some other factors you may want to look at are how his birthdate compares with the ages of the other children in his class on each day.  You would want him to be either right in the median age or slightly older than the other students so he will be sufficiently challenged without getting frustrated and also to give him a chance to develop leadership and social skills with true peers.  Also, will these kids be the same kids he will be attending kindergarten with?  If one day or the other would put him with a potential buddy or two to bond with and ease the transition from preschool to kindergarten, that might be a reason to attend that day (especially if it's with a mom that you trust and have rapport with that might be a good carpool or playdate contact.)

If none of these lines of thinking gives you any clear direction, ask his teacher what she thinks.  She may have insights from observing him and the other children that you hadn't considered.  You may even want to pick a day to observe him yourself (unseen if at all possible.)  

If you take these actions, your mom's intuition should give you a pretty good idea of the correct path to take, but if nothing seems to jump out at you, then just pick the days that are the most convenient for you and don't worry about it!

Answer 8

He will be fine! Leave him in the class and let him get the attention for as long as he can before he is in overcrowded schools for the rest of his education. I didn't even go to preschool and kindergarten was not a shock to me. Don't worry, back in the days before preschool the kids were not traumatized by kindergarten.

Answer 9

Large enough to  help the kids learn to socialize with all kinds of kids.  Small enough to give them personal attention.

Answer 10

small group of kids.  Your child will take time to adjust to everyone. You don't want to overload them.

Answer 11

I think he will be fine! Kids just naturally adjust to new settings! It isn't going to be a big change for him when he goes to school! My son is in preschool and there are only 8 kids in his class! And when we go to functions at his brothers school with 24 kids he just fits right in! And he is so relaxed I don't see your son having a problem! Good luck!

Answer 12

I think he will be just fine in kindergarten.  Most kids are a little overwhelmed at first weather they have been in a preschool with 5 kids, or 15 kids.  The first month of kindergarten is an adjustment period for all of the kids, parents, and the teacher!  The key is that you actually HAVE him going to preschool, interacting with other children and adults/teachers.

Answer 13

small more 1 on1

Answer 14

I think both large group and small group experiences are excellent.  Depending upon your child's age, may also depend upon how many days you want to send him as well as group size you would like him to experience.  I teach both large and small group classes and they both offer just as much socialization opportunities,  one on one help, and often very close to the same curriculum overall depending upon ages in the room.  I think sending him those days in a small group is great!  Either way he should do fine in Kindergarten.  Even if children are a bit overwhelmed, they tend to adapt pretty quickly.

Answer 15

Kids are adaptable. He will manage in kindergarten.

Also, my advice is to teach your child to read.  Get The Bob Books and get going.  Especially a boy could use this leg up in school.  Maria Montessori had kids learn to read at age 3 1/2 in her schools.  Kids are way ready before age 5 to learn to read.  In my own family, the first 3 who their dad taught to read at age 4 turned out to be gifted, etc.  The 2 in the middle were not even read to, totally neglected, and one who I'm sure was gifted, she was a very alert baby, the daycare made this comment to me, well, she didn't test gifted.   And those 2 went on to have to be in summer school twice in 5th and 6th grades, and never tested as well as their siblings.  Although she did recover somewhat, she scored 28 on the ACT in reading in 11th grade, but we didn't have a television set since the oldest was 5 and it broke and thus you had to read if you wanted a good time in my house.  Which got most of my kids doing a lot of reading, not so much for the 2 in the middle who were out playing more, though, and I recommend not having a tv to you, as well.

The last 2 I taught to read, having learned my lesson from the 2 in the middle, and they are both gifted, and read a lot and score high on tests of reading comrphenesion now in 8th grade (the boy) and high school (the girl).

I never helped any of my kids with their homework, lazybones me, and only the 2 in the middle really needed me to show that interest, and I think it was due to the lack of early reading that they needed the extra help they never got.

Learning to read at age 4 does something to kids to ready them for school.  

Hope you learn from my sad experience!

Answer 16

I think the small class size is definetly the best thing you can do. The extra attention will get him ready for Kindergarten. As he matures, he will be able to handle a larger class, but right now take advantage of the extra attention. A larger class is always considered a negative.