I opted to keep DD1 in childcare but also send her to our local kinder. So on Mondays, she goes to kinder in the morning and childcare in the arvo (which has a kinder program), same on Thursdays. On Tuesdays she goes to kinder in the morning.

So a lot of dropping off and picking up but both are literally a 5 min drive from us and 2 minutes between the two of them, so no great hassle.

Last year, the kinder program run by childcare looked like a complete schermozzle. Lots of kids, not much structure, just didn't look well-run at all. That's why I wanted her to do the kinder at the local kindergarten too PLUS I wanted to take the opportunity to get to know other mums in the area.

Since then, childcare kindy has really upped its game. It's now very well structured, there are fewer children and overall, I'm quite happy with it.

However, DD much prefers kinder at kindergarten. Not sure why. I think because she thinks of it as a 'proper' kindergarten because there's no babies there, there are teachers and it all feels a bit more grown up. Plus, no rest time. She hates rest time.

I should also add, that our local kindergarten has a very good reputation, the newest teacher has been there for 15 years and I almost burst into tears the first time I went in because it was all just so lovely (not so much the building as the vibe).

And yes, I pay for full days at childcare even though she's doing half days. There's another childcare centre in town that doesn't run a specialised kinder program so will take transfer kids to and from the local kindergarten in their minibus and only charge you for half-days.