Missed out on 3yo council kinder :(

[Mak]

My DD has not received an offer for 3 yo kinder from the council run centres, massive undersupply is pretty standard in this area. All the privately run centres are full for this and next year - including private schools.... DH is freaking out as he is mega serious about school
I can get a long day care kinder spot for her but am concerned that the kinder program will get lost in the child care arena.... staffing etc.
What are others experiences????

[Olive]

what area are you in?

[Mak]

Bayside Melbourne....

[Olive]

im really sory you've missed out i dont know anything about creche kinder but perhaps something is better than nothing, do you have your name on waiting lists at the kinders?

[Coolabahdee]

Sorry you missed out, keep your name down on the wait list though, you never know what might pop up!!! Being in Qld we didn't have a 3yr old Kinder, just day Care and playgroups, which were fantastic.

[Mak]

Thanks! It definitely is not a disaster - I just have to convince DH of that... She will go to care for a day a week when I head back to work so she will have that!

[Nai]

My understanding of 3yo kinder is that they mainly focus on learning socialisation and thing around taking turns, following instructions, listening tot he teacher etc. There is very little in the way of "school" type learning so if you can get a couple of days in a childcare centre that has a 3yo program then that would be fairly much the same. If you can get one in an area where it is close to the 4yo kinder or school that you hope to send your child to then they will meet other children who will also probably attend them.

I have DD1 in childcare 3 days a week and she will be attending the 4yo kinder with these children and I know that a majority will be attending the local primary school with her. This is an advantage as it means that they know people when they start school and it isn't unfamiliar to them.

[Erin_25]

that's such a shame you have missed out, keep your name down and see what happens & then perhaps in the time whilst waiting just go with the Child Care one....it's prob better than nothing.

I'm also in QLD & our kindy has the option for 3yr olds but only if it's not full with 4yr olds....not really standard like most places. Therefore my DS will certainly miss out as we only have one in our town & it is 100% full!!!! I will be sending my son to the Child Care centre 2 days a week in the Kinder room.

[Astrid]

I have spoken to a number of people in the childcare and kinder area. The opinion I got from all them was the if your child already goes to some form of childcare, then 3yo is not really needed. It is more for the kids who have never been in any form of care so they can learn what to do in a group situation away from their parents. Not sure how many hours your is for, but down this way it is one session of 2 1/2 hours. When I compared that to a full day of child care and what I had been told I decided not to worry about 3yo kinder.

Anyway is it shame that you have missed out on what you wanted.