How valuable is 3yo kinder??

[*las*]

I'm really in 2 minds about 3yo kinder for DS next year.

Mostly the cost - $230 per term for 2 x 2 1/2 hour sessions. For that price we could do a tonne of other activities per week!!

He's very rarely away from me/us and we don't do daycare or similar, so I know he's getting to an age where he needs to be able to manage being away from me, but not sure if 3yo kinder is the right option or we do a lot of other activities and maybe 1 day of O/C???

Any suggestions welcome

[Tracey]

I think 3yr old kinder was great for Maddison & I am going to send Indah when she is old enough, as I do think it can be valuable for them..

[Trillian]

I think the cost of it is well justified. It helps set them up for the full days of Kinder/preschool in the following year, not to mention that if you child has any issues that they will be picked up and acted upon alot earlier than if you left it until they started in the year before big school.

[Amity]

It's great. My son loves it.

[Sharmila88]

I can understand where u are coming from.....I have a 3 yr old too and do ask myself whether its really worth it? I guess in the long run it would help them settle in at school.
Good luck!
Sharmila

[BellyBelly]

If you are happy and he is happy, keep him home, its great for him But if you think he would love it or can help him then it might be something to consider. It was an easy decision for me, Marisa was 3, turning 4 in April so I sent her and she was fine. Elijah is 3 this year and will go next year, but I have a feeling he isn't going to have such an easy transition, he's more clingy, as boys often are!

[Rouge]

Having seen a lot of kids come and go through our kinder who haven't done 3 y.o. kinder and have had to do 4 y.o. twice I would say its pretty important. It kinda puts your child at a disadvantage if everyone else has had a year of learning social interaction in large groups, how to say no, how to sit and do activities and yours hasn't. These are the things they need for starting school not academics. These socialisation skills and group skills are what can make or break a schools decision regarding keeping a child back. So IMO it is important. I know 4 children who came through our kinder who hadn't done 3 y.o. and they all had to either repeat 4 y.o. or go back and do 3 y.o. (which is easier as they get two years with the same kids).

Just my opinion though, but I do know of teachers who feel the same way. It would be different I think if it were half that did it half that didn't but as the majority do it the advantage is theirs.

*hugs*
Cailin

[Rouge]

In Vic 3 y.o. Kinder is pretty standard, not many kids go without it. This is what I meant by depending on the school/kinder groups whether they do it or not. My gf in Perth had her son in 4 y.o. only and most of the kids there didn't do 3 y.o. so they were all on the same level.

*hugs*
Cailin

[widdly]

I have never heard of 3 year old kindy here in country SA. However i do reckon it could be a great idea for the childs social developement if they have never been to CC or anything. $230 sounds a bit rich though. I have a lot of family in country victoria and none of their little ones did 3 year old kinder.

[Astrid]

Is 3yo Kinder needed if they already go to childcare a couple of days a week? A lady from the council came to our mothers group and spoke about Kinder etc. I can't quite remember but I think she mentioned that it wasn't needed for children attending some childcare, so it this correct?

[Rouge]

That was the other thing I was going to say Astrid, is that some kids who do 3 y.o. as part of their CC program its fine, in reality CC is like kinder anyway I don't think its as necessary because the children at CC know how to socialise and work in group situations.

*hugs*
Cailin

[Astrid]

Thanks Cailin, that what I thought. I will probably check with my CC and see what they say about their kinder program.

[satya]

Lisa - I'd recommend it. My step daughter has done the equivalent of 3yo kinda & now normal kinda at her day care and she is very advanced for her age in social skills.

[Tracey]

I agree 100% with cailins post... There were many kids whom didnt attend 3yo kinder & went straight to 4yo kinder. I found it annoying as these kids didnt have the skills to draw on paper which had their name written on it & would draw on everyone's work, or paint all over the place not having lerant at 3yo kinder to paint only in the paint area. They wouldnt sit at fruit times or reading times etc they just didnt have that skill, so the first term of 4yo kinder was wasted IMHO on teaching these kids those skills whilst the kids whom had attended 3yo kinder were kinda stuck repeating all the stuff they'd done in 3yo kinder... So Maddy became quite bored.
Thats'just from what i noticed & most of them were told they werent ready for Prep & had to repeat 4yo kinder...

[Willow]

I'm confused - what is 3yo kinder? Do you mean preschool? Here in NSW (well Sydney) you have the option of preschool (which they start at 3) before they go to kindergarten (big school) - is that what you mean?

I'm not sure of the statistics over here re how many go and how many don't, but I'm putting my DDs name on the waiting list in the new year (she turns 3 in January) and depending on the cost she'll go 1 or 2 days a week but am not in any hurry because she won't be starting kindergarten (big school) till 2010 when she is 5.

I started kindergarten at 4 and had to repeat later on so I am going to hold her back. I think 4 is too young to start, especially considering she will just be 4 in January of that year and most kids will be at least 6 months older than her, which doesn't seem like a lot but can mean volumes in terms of maturity, social skills etc.

[~Raven~]

For me it was worth it.

At home we didn't think there was anything wrong with Mason but in the kinder environment it became evident that he just wasn't wired the same as other kids. It was recommended that he do another year of 3yo kinder as he wouldn't have the coping skills to move up and it's harder for them to do a second year of 4yo without going assessments that would "label" him so to speak. It has helped him prepare for 4yo kinder much better.

Angus on the other hand has benefited from 3yo kinder because he has that time with his peers and is learning that his brothers way of doing things is not the only way IYKWIM. He is becoming more of an individual and not a Mason mimic

[*las*]

Thanks everyone, I appreciate the input!

We accepted a place for him back in June, so he has one all set to go, most of our friend do daycare or occasional care instead, so of course everyone is recommending that! It's been great to get such positive feedback on kinder

Guess it's kinda hard too, the thought of my only baby going off to kinder and becoming a 'big boy'

[Pandora]

Willow, what do you have preschool, kinder, grade 1?
In Vic preschool and kinder are used interchangebly for early learning before kids start at school.

In Vic, school starts at Prep, and kids have to either be 5 (min) or turn 5 by 30th April in the year they start. Then grade 1 next, etc

The immediate year preceding prep is 4yo kinder which is govt subsidised, but still costs depending on your council area and how many hours/week the program runs. In my area its 10-14 hours a week, and about $600-$900 a year.

The year before that you can do optional 3yo kinder, but I thought that was all run at
only private centres?

As DS goes to childcare I'm not sure about 3yo kinder. I think his centre has 4yo kinder but if I can work around it I want him to go to proper kindergarten as its a lot more hours a week.