Preschool

K has been at the same daycare since he was two. They take care of infants through preschool-aged kids, and have a preschool class for the older kids. K just started the preschool class. They typically have circle time in the morning with singing, reading and talking, then take a trip to the playground. After lunch they have naptime, then usually some sort of art or pre-writing activity followed by free play. A few times a week they have special programs, like Tumble Bus on Tuesdays (an old school bus retrofitted with mats, swings, and tunnels!), yoga on Wednesdays, a singer on Fridays, and on occasion "Binky Bear" -- I've never quite figured out what this is, but apparently some woman who dresses up and entertains the kids.

Once in a while I question whether he should be going somewhere else that might be, I don't know, more stimulating or challenging, or a place where there's more of a parent community and the kids tend to graduate and go to kindergarten together. But this place is very close to home, it's affordable, K likes it, and we like his current teacher and the people who run the program.

Reading back on what I just wrote, it doesn't seem like much of a dilemma. I just saw some openings in the Harvard-affiliated daycares on a parents' list that I'm on, and thought back to the expensive Montessori preschools that we toured, and wondered if we were somehow affecting K's future by not sending him to one of those places. I even googled "how much does daycare matter" (answer, according to first page results: a lot, and you should do extensive research before selecting one). But at this age, I think running around and playing, learning how to socialize with other kids, and occasionally gluing something to something else is really all he needs. We'll probably stick with the current place until he goes to kindergarten.