Do you think it is good for a child to have 2 years of preschool, or is one year sufficient...?

Question

They have 3 yr & 4 yr old classes....I am putting my son into a 3 yr old class this fall. A friend of mine whose daughter is about a month older thinks they dont need 2 yrs of preschool.....I figure if nothing else, it will be good socially....

Answer 1

it is a good idea to let your child have 2 years of pre school so that they learn to cope from being away from their mum and dad for a few hours.it helps them socially they also learn more academically than what they would at home. pre school is there to prepare a child for school the longer they attend the less of a shock it will be when they start school

Answer 2

2 years is good but 1 is ok to its just up to what you think your kid needs

Answer 3

My son had been an only child for almost 3 years so we enrolled him into the 3 yr old class.  My niece and nephew (only 1 year apart) grew up like twins so their mom thought they didn't "need" that extra year of socialization.  They only went at age 4.

My niece and nephew are now in grade school and excellent students.  If my son had more friends to play with (not many kids in our area), maybe I would have waited another year to send him to preschool.  But he really wanted to go and I really think he needs it...for the socialization.

Answer 4

I think on this one, to each his own... I do think that day care or more years of pre school definitely help out with social skills...

Is it absolutely necessary to have two years of preschool?

I say, no.

Is it a bad thing to have two years of preschool?

I say no again...

I think you're doing just fine and you shouldn't depend on another parent's opinion to make your final decisions...

Just my two cents!:)

Then again, you shouldn't really necessarily listen to my opinion either I guess!:) lol

Answer 5

It depends on how much social interaction your child gets otherwise. Also, does your child need the structure that preschool provides. My daughter has disabilities and went to preschool for 3 years and it prepared her that much more for when school started. I am going to do the same with my other daughter who has no disabilities.

Answer 6

This suggestion depends solely on the child... Is the child ready for seat work. Can the child sit still and write for 15 minutes and stay on task  (can the child do the task for 5 minutes?) Preschool is a FUN time for the child and gets them READY to read by teaching alphabet sounds and numbers 1-10.  If they can count to 20 with out messing up 13, 14, 15. and they can recognize upper case and lower case letters they they are ready to begin reading a little at a time  start with beginning sounds, then thy ENDING sounds... This can be done without pencil/paper  just do it verbally  "what is the first sound you hear in the word... "cat"... then proceed to the ENDING sound, then do the MIDDLE sound.  if they can figure it out, they have been well prepared for reading and are ready for Kindergarten!  :)  If the can count to 20 flawlessly they well prepared for ready for Kindergarten!  If they can only count to 10 mess up number 13, 14 or 15 that is ok, most kindergartners get it by the first couple of weeks. One of the things that help children learn counting skills is the circle time "calendar"  where the teacher works with the class on todays date with a calendar... This definitely irons out any problems with counting the child ever had.  by the 4th week most kindergardenter can count fluently to 30!  Dont worry about it too much...

The purpose of Preschool is to have fun and get ready to read... The purpose of Kindergarten is to prepair the child for seat work in first grade. by the end of Kindergardent the child should be able to sit still and do seat work for at least 15 min.

Also, Children will do what other children do... In-other-words if the child is not able to sit still at home... watch him/her at preschool from a window where they can not see you... I will bet you he/she is cooperating and doing exactly what they are asked/expected of them... Teachers are pretty good at gettin the child engaged in the activities expected of them... Most importantly, The child must enjoy the preschool years!  If he/she is not give her another year of preschool! You need to decide what is best for your child, not someone else.

GOOD LUCH!

Answer 7

the child needs the two years, because in the first year the school is new for him and he will enter anw relationship with it.he will have some friends and teachers. in the second year he will begin to have the right meaning of the school and we can learn in that place.this is my opinion. by the way i'm a teacher.

Answer 8

Well my oldest had 2 yrs and my youngest had 1 due to bladder issues.

I personally think 2 yrs is good because it eases them into it. My oldest only went 2.5 hours 2 days a week the first year and I was a SAHM so I think it was great social interaction for her. And if my youngest had not had bladder problems she would have had the 2 yrs.

Answer 9

You are right. Socially it is good. I taught preschool for 25 years. If your child is on target I would not send them until next year. If you want him to socialize find some programs where children can interact occasionally, library story time, Parents as Teachers group, Play Group for Mommy's Day out.

Answer 10

Socialization is he important thing at that age.

Every child is different so that you cannot make a general statement about how much pre-school is needed?

If you place your child with the four year olds can the child be placed later withe the three year olds if necessary. Can the child then go another year if necessary.

Try to select a program that has flexibility so that you can change if necessary. Also what is good for you is not necessarily good for your neighbor.

Best of luck.

Answer 11

As long as your child is attending a quality preschool, then why not enroll him/her for two years? You are right, preschool is great for social development. But is also offers opportunities for speech, language, play, intellectual, and emotional development.

Answer 12

One year is good, but two years is even better.  I teach both three and four year old classes, and they are very different.  The three year old class is based on socialization and play.  Both of these things are very important.  A child this age learns through play.  My four year old class also focuses on socialization and play, but it is also more academic to prepare the students for Kindergarten (which is all day at my school)

As long as you can afford it and your son enjoys it, I would send him for both years!  Studies have shown that children who attend preschool perform better throughout their academic careers!