Help! My 3 year old has decided she hates preschool!

[Mrsfrumble]

DD turned 3 last month. She's been going one day a week for nearly a year now, and moved classes in August. She's always been really happy until a few weeks ago, when she had a "bad day" (due to tiredness I think; it was a Monday after a busy weekend) and was apparently tearful and uncooperative all day.

Since then she keeps saying she doesn't want to go anymore, and this Monday cried from the moment she woke up until I dropped her off (and most of the day according to her teacher). Unfortunately she can't (or won't?) tell me why, just says she "doesn't like it" and wants to stay at home with me, then gets distressed if I ask any more.

What can I do? How do I stop feeling mean and guilty when I drop her off, and how do I get through Monday morning with her grizzling and becoming increasingly distressed when I've got her big brother to get ready for school too?

Does she have to attend?

No, not really. I don't work, but I really value the 5 hours a week it gives me to get things done without children in tow (we live abroad, DH works very long hours and we have no support network). Which makes me feel even more guilty!

I just wish I knew what had changed as she was previously so happy there.

She's young. Perhaps she's not quite ready.

I don't think she's too young to be away from me (she's been going since last December and has always been very contented) but I'm starting to wonder if she's in the wrong class.

Last year she was in the 1-2 year old class, but when I enrolled her again in August the school administrator suggested she joined the 3-4 year old class as she was only a few months off 3. She's small for her age and a gentle little soul, and often at pick up she's just sort of drifting around the room sucking her thumb rather than playing with the other children.

I don't know what the school policy is on changing classes but I'm wondering if it's worth asking about moving her down to the 2-3 class. Although they're probably full and I'm kicking myself for letting myself be talked in to enrolling her in that class in the first place.