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DS1 will be doing 3yo kinder next year (or possibly even starting mid year, at the rate we're going!).
I had initially thought we'd do it through his day care centre, but he only goes one day a week, and I don't fancy paying for three days a week ....
Did you go through day care? Local? Skip it entirely?
Pros? Cons?
DS1 started 3 year old kinder this year and goes to long day care one day a week.
I love the 3 year old kinder program and would strongly recommend it if you can make it work. Compared with childcare it feels so much more like school and is more structured. I can see now why 4 year old kinder is so important for school readiness and this will help him cruise into 4 year old next year. He seems so old when he tells me what he has done at kinder and he gets a buzz out of it, much more than childcare.
Until my parents retired community kinder was never going to be an option for us due to the short hours not being compatible with DH and I both working, so I never really gave it much thought. But I am so glad that life worked out in a way that has made community kinder possible for us.
I had a thread somewhere about doing it through daycare will link if find it. For us all it really came down to were hours - impossible to do it outside of daycare with us both working - four year old we may have been able to get two long days (not really long enough when working) buy three year old no way. DD has been in the three year old kinder room for almost six months now, she is very happy she calls it kinder and corrects anyone who suggests it is daycare :-)
3yo kinder is usually only one 2 hour session a week and can be quite expensive. Personally, I'd go through day care.
DD1 did 3yr old kinder last year (stand alone, not cc based). She went 2 days a week for 3hrs both days and loved it. She has cruised into 4yr old kinder this year.
DD1 is doing preschool for 3-4 yr olds only one day a week and she loves it! I was initially against '3 yr old kindy' as I didn't see the point sending her for 2 hours twice a week. Personally, it seemed like more of a hindrance than anything - DD2 would just be asleep and I'd have to go back to collect DD1! Anyway, the centre she goes to is gold, it runs on day care hours (more or less) so it's open from 8am - 4pm. I don't work so I drop her off around 9am and collect her by 3.45pm. I have to supply her lunch and 2 pieces of fruit to share for morning and afternoon tea. You can get the childcare rebate there too (although I obviously can't due to not working). We all love it!
Both DH and I are very impressed by the program they offer and how much DD1 is learning. She's a Sept bub so doesn't start kinder until next year but she is certainly ready. It's worked out perfectly. She also goes to another preschool which is Reggio Emilia but is more like day care but it's only for 2-5 yr olds. She really enjoys that too.
So I'm stoked we found something for her to do while we wait for the start of kindy but I wouldn't have sent her to 3 year old kindy at just 2 hours a session. I selfishly wanted a break for two of us. What we've found is perfect.
Of the two I've had a *brief* look at, one is 1 x 3hr session weekly, the other is 2 x 2hr sessions weekly. Both are around $200 per term.
Our daycare is about $90 a day, and we get about half of that back.
The difference is likely the kinder program is taught by a teacher with a Bachelor of Early Childhood Education rather than a childcare diploma or certificate.
I'd choose kindergarten every time.
It really depends on the program and the teachers. I much preferred daycare to kinder but when the daycare leader left the whole centre went downhill. However the nearest kinder to me is awful and I wouldn't send a child there. I suggest you get a feel for both places and choose the one you think will best suit your child and your routine and if you can, leave cost out of the equation.
I am pretty sure that to work on kinder room at a cc they must be a qualified kinder teacher not just a child care worker.
We didn't do 3 yr old kinder as were in cc 1 day a week and in kinder room so doing kinder program 0900-1530 day ds1 was there. This year he is at cc 2 days a week and attending kinder 4 yr old 3 days a week. The kinder program at cc is very good and has to
Adhere to early years framework, but cc is a 20 min drive from home and kinder is a 10 min walk and is next door to closest school which is most likely where kids will attend school
So more did it for friendships.
Have a look and get a feel for it and decide, but be careful of judging on staff as they change. The teacher who ds1 had at orientation last year was covering mat leave so is not there this year.
I have just changed my girls to a new daycare centre and could not be happier. I am in NSW so it is just called preschool but DD1 loves it. She is there for about 7 hours one day a week going to 2 days a week next and in that seven hours, week they slowly introduce the school rediness program and in the last term of the year they get a bit stronger with it.
My biggest concern was that DD has atleast 13 years of school ahead, more if she goes to Uni or tafe. I wanted her to be having as much fun as possible before going to school. I like that the day care is helping her get ready without really making it about school. She has 3-4 teachers in her room during the day and 2 of them are Early Childhood Educators and so is the director.
I think we're going to stay with the two DSs going to daycare for one full day.
Three year old kinder would have a higher priority for us if DS didn't get much socialising etc, or if he wasn't familiar with the concept of school (now we're sitting down, now we're doing an activity, now we're having a play, etc).
4yo kinder we'll have to sort out a new routine - but everyone's in the same boat ;)