I dont know if it is compulsery or not, When i put DS2 into daycare one day a week, i was informed that it can be classed as the year befor school. Meaning he wouldnt need to do the year at a kinder.(providing he met the age requierments) Maybe speak to your cc and see if the goverment has the same view on there center?
Rivlas - thanks for that tip, I never thought of popping in a note about the days
Mak & Traveller - Thanks for your thoughts, I am still trying to weigh it all up.
meow - We have playgroup on Wednesdays (really well run with various activities inside, free outside play and then a story. All up 2 hours). Swimming Thursdays (45 mins) and then every second Friday she goes to my mums.
Olive - No need to apologise, I thought I must have written my post incorrectly (it was late last night)
I have to a pay a $55 holding fee (for the place) that is put towards her first term fees. If I pay and she doesn't go, it is non-refundable. I have until the 29th July to decide what I do. I could always just keep her in her current activities and do some stuff at home to prepare her for school (such as learning to write her name etc...)
Hun I am the same with Izzy and J next year - DH leaves the house at 6:15 and is home at 4:30 and I work 2 days possibly 3 days so one of them will be missing out next year. Just need to work out logistics myself but I hadn't considered that they could go for 2 days instead of all 3 so I am going to look at that as well. Our creche is ace and although they don't do a formal kinder program I don't have any huge worries about her missing out on 4yr old but she really enjoys 3 year old this year so will see how we go.
Definitely not compulsory..many a child at DS1's school started prep without having ever spent time away from their parents or any paid care.
Our Kinder is really tough to get into as well. Our council goes by DOB and thankfully not first in first served. So I have been fortunate that the boys are August/September and got my first preferences.
I put down as many preferences as I could to work around the days I needed. Do you get to pick a particular group?
I work, so would just work around it. DS1 never went to kinder on a Wednesday as I worked and he went to creche, I advised the teacher's of this and they were fine. If something special was being done on the Wedenesday I would arrange to either have a day off or get a friend to pick him up from creche and take him.
It's a juggle, worth it for DS1 as he was a quiet kid and having the creche and kinder helped him socialise better.
I got to put down three Kindergarten preferences & she got in the first preference, which is the closest to home but you don't get a preference for days and times. You can find out at the AGM in November/December of the session days & times. From what I understand they just allocate days & times and I also understand it is three days per week at either three or four hours per day. It wouldn't be that difficult but I'd have to take her out of swimming during the week & try to get her in on a weekend and my mum would have to take her to kindergarten every second Friday. I guess it seems that she will be in alot of care for five 'days' per week (2 full creche days, 3 part Kindergarten days). I'll have a chat to my mums group and see what they think. I think they are all putting their kids in either kindergarten or creche' with a kindergarten program.
That's a strange system RhichiChi..as in not knowing days and times. Our ones are all set at the start, so you pick your preferences on on day's and times(around March/April) from the get the go and know from the the first round of offers what you get which is usally around Septemeber time. Much easier to organise around. You attend ther AGM to guarantee your spot and it's compulsory.
Our creche also has a 4yr old approved Kinder program as well, so both DS1 an DS2 get and got the added advantage of both programs.
Tell me about it!! City of Casey (council) is strange. I think they have too many kids to cater for in the area and can't cope, so they do it that way. Really, you would think if they were giving you your place preference they could do the days and hrs at the same time....
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