It's that time of year, kids have started back to school, and I'm seeing "first day of school" photos all over the place, and let me say, they are adorable!
I have noticed that parents with 2 year olds are sending their tots off to preschool a few days a week and started wondering if this was the new norm. I mean, I didn't start preschool until 3 or 4, and before now, I haven't known anyone that sent their 2 year olds to preschool. I'm wondering, is this the new thing to do?
M currently goes to daycare a couple times a week, and her daycare is set up like a school. It isn't just a babysitter type setting. They do offer a preschool type class half a day for a few days a week, and if M started the preschool, she'd be there all week. I know it's selfish of me, but the thought of her spending 5 days a week away from me, even if some are half days, makes my heart hurt. I know one day she'll be in school for 5 days a week, but I'm just not ready for that.
This is my question, should I send her to preschool? My friend B and I were talking about this, and she says she thinks the main reasoning behind sending a 2 year old to preschool is the socialization, which M already gets while she's at daycare a couple of days a week. Plus we have play dates throughout the week whenever she isn't in daycare, so she's getting plenty of socialization. As far as her learning things, I like to think we are teaching her things at home that she needs to know. We work on letters, numbers, shapes, and colors, and she knows quite a bit, but is that enough? Should she be in a more formal learning environment? Or, can I start a more structured preschool setting at home? As in actually boxing off time each day to focus on learning. I think I like the sound of that the most.
What do y'all think? Would you put your child in preschool at 2? Is a homeschool situation good for a toddler? Do you think that it differs from child to child?
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