I have seen a lot of discussion on daycare and it has me thinking. When do you think (if ever) a child SHOULD participate in some form of a group childcare setting? I work from home and it is part time, so I can do most of it during nap time or evening/weekends with hubby here to entertain the kids. (or late at night after bedtime) I do this so I can be home with my kids. I belong to a moms groups so he is around other kids a few times a month... but most of those moms are talking about finding part time child care. My son is 2 1/2 and I wasnt even thinking about it. As parents/teachers etc do you think is it important for him at some point before kindergarten to go to daycare? I wasnt planning on it... A) I cant afford it since I do stay home, B) I thought that is WHY I was staying home. Opinions???
2 - 2.5 seems to be the magic age when most moms start looking to send them to preK. I'm not sure why. Mine, now 5 & 7, never went and they are doing just fine. I made sure we were involved with Mom's Club (until the oldest was two) then a homeschool group so they had lots of peers, activities, etc... Don't let society pressure you to enroll your child if you don't feel a need! You can preschool at-home.
I'm dealing with the same question myself. My daughter is 27 mos and I am a stay-at-home mom. She is an only child, so the only interaction she gets with other children is in the church nursery on Sundays and with a couple of neighborhood children that we get together with occasionally, though they are not the same age. She gets so excited when going to church and lately has started getting very upset when it is time to leave. She really loves being around the other kids. I'm thinking of putting her in a mothers morning out program just so she can get that interaction on a regular basis. I'm not going to do anything set like preschool, but rather a drop-in type where I can take her whatever day or time I decide and for how long I decide. I thought once a week for a few hours may be ideal for her and for me also as I could schedule any drs. appts., etc. during that time. I'm going to check out the Up and Away Indoor Play that I found out about on another thread. They offer that type of program for $6 an hour or $20 for four hours. I've also thought about joining MOPS or Mothers Unlimited, even though these only meet once a month, just for even more exposure to other kids for her and moms for me!
It's been several years but when we were members of Clayton Mom's Club there were weekly outings and age-based playgroups.
I couldnt find a website, but I called one day this week to go to play and they said they had over 35 kids there already due to the summer care!! Yikes. Maybe it will be better during the school year.
If anyone is considering doing preschool at home check out www.letteroftheweek.com It is a great FREE resource for infants through K.
Hi! I moved here last September and joined the Moms Club of Clayton around Feb or Mar of this year. Unfortunatley, due to one crisis after another, we haven't been very active, but I can tell you there are playgroups once per week by age, several outing planned during the month and one monthly meeting per month (the second thursday of every month at 9:45 am). Almost all activities are done during the day, to leave the night for family time. It is a great organization and once things settle down I plan to become more active. I'd be happy to provide you any information I can. If you are ever interested in a play date, I have a daughter that's 3 1/2 and another daughter that will turn 1 at the end of next month. We are always looking for new friends to play with:lol: If you would like, feel free to send me a PM. I know exactly where you are coming from. I've decided to enroll Emily in preschool for the fall, but have others who think I should have her enrolled in a 3day a week program rather than 2 days. Sorry to keep rambling on... It must be that late night cafeine.!
Well, I went ahead and tried out Up and Away Indoor Play. I had a physical therapy appt and my sitter couldn't come, so I decided to drop her there for two hours. Jennifer, the owner, was really nice and she had two other ladies there helping her. There were probably 20 or so kids there. My daughter is very timid and takes time to warm up to people, but she took to Jennifer right away. When I came back to get her, she did not want to leave! She also seemed very comfortable with the other two ladies there. I was a bit wary because they are not licensed as a daycare, but she has been there for three years and I have not heard anything negative on here so far. Also, she offers a stay and play where you can pay $5 and stay with your child to play all day. She said she has mom's groups that will bring their kids there to play for their play dates while the mom's visit with each other. I don't think she would offer that if she had anything to hide! I'm actually going to go do a stay and play next week so I can get a better feel for the place before leaving her there for four hours for a mothers morning out.