Pros Cons of kinder in daycare or just kinder 4 y o VIC

[feeb]

Both my boys are in CC 1 day a week currently and where there rooms have set themes for a few weeks such as space, dinosaurs, Australian animals etc they still change the other things in room regularly for extra activities. The out door area is great and varys they also have a vegi and herb garden that they all help care for. Yes 3 rooms use same out door area but the older kids are never bored as they change things around and bring extra things out for a change.

[Cally]

DD does both. She had been to the same daycare for a while and moved up the rooms and I wanted her to go somewhere where she wasn't in her 'comfort zone'. She's also going to a primary school that no-one from day care was going to be going to so going to preschool has allowed her to meet a few that she will be off to school with next year..

I haven't noticed much of a difference between the two curriculum wise - both use the early learning framework. Cost wise are the same for us (after we get tax rebate for cc). Main difference is preschool has much better play area, shorter hours (9-3) and is only term time (although DH is a teacher so DD doesn't do child care in holidays anyway).

I think it would really come down to what your options are in your area. Also how the shorter days can fit around with working - if they only do a half day, that is just really hard.

[Phteven]

If the kinder is attached to the school she will be going to there is a good chance that they will do transition activities. DS's school bought them over to assembly towards the end of the year and they had 'playdates' with the kids that were going to be their year 5 buddies the next year and classroom visits where they went to the kinder classrooms for a few hours and met the teachers and a library visit as well. Also they started kindy with friendships already in place from the year before.
Also they were familiar with the second language because one of the teachers from the school did language activities with them once a week.

[Astrid]

Went through the same issue with DD2. For us:

CC was the most convenient with hours and the fact it is open during the school holidays. Some of the children there will be going to the same school as DD2 (but not as many as the kinder)
Kinder has an integration program with the local primary where DD1 currently goes (so therefore so will DD2). Over half the children end up going to the local primary school, so she can make friendships that will continue on (so important here in a smaller community, much harder for newer kids to fit in).

We have chosen a combo of both due to my work hours, childcare will be on off kinder days with one combo day. Kinder has after kinder care for 2 of the 3 sessions (hence the 1 combo day)

For me the integration and the social side of kinder was more important than the difference in learning between a stand alone kinder and a kinder/childcare program.