Is PreK worth the expense?

[Pianolady]

We sent both our kids to two years of church preschool 3x a week for 3 hours. The teacher was a retired Kindergarten teacher, and was just wonderful. She really knew what she was doing.

We lived in a small town with very little interaction with other kids, so it was a wonderful experience for our kids. I think it gave them a huge head start in development and education. Both are now in college.

Dd also tried dance from age 3-6. The teacher wasn't good, the dances as the children got older didn't reflect their age group or abilities. Our daughter was 6 years old wearing a big red bow in her hair and wearing a red polka dot dress pushing a stroller on stage. There was no dance involved, just a bunch of kids walking around in a circle, and she was learning nothing. She was embarrassed even at age 6. We dropped that class. After moving to a new town, the dance classes were fine, the teacher actually taught some dancing, but dd quit after a few years because she never really recovered from her negative experiences of her early classes. She felt "behind" everyone else, and she was. Check teacher references for both the dance and preschool, that's really the key to whether it's worth it or not. Ask people on your own, don't use references the teacher provides. A bad start can be worse than not going.

[McD]

Wesley is on his second year of preschool. He absolutely loves it. Last year, we paid 90$ a month for 2 hours, 2 days a week. This year we pay $125 for 2.5 hours, 3 days a week.

Wesley loves it. I would do it again in a heartbeat. He's learning new and different things then what we focus on at home. At home, we do lots of reading, writing, basic math, colors, shapes, letters, etc.

At preschool, they read to the kids, do some writing, colors, patterns, shapes, letters, etc. but they also do science, sensory, art, dramatic play, constructive play, etc. They incorporate so much more into their 2 1/2 hours.

It's also getting him ready for kindergarten in terms of learning to raise hands, follow the leader, all that. He enjoys it so much.

[Telephus44]

My son just started pre-school, although our situation and reasons for doing it were different from yours. Personally, if my child was asking to go to school and I could afford it, I would. If she was asking for dance lessons or swimming lessons and I could afford it, I would do those too. Maybe she really enjoys the learning that you are doing at home and that's making her really excited to go to school? I would actively encourage all kinds of education.

Also, as others have said - it's also about learning to be away from your parents, using a different bathroom, waiting in line, taking turns, listening to the teacher, etc. It's not that you can't teach your child colors/letters/reading/math, it's just that it's difficult for you to teach group dynamics.