Pre-school/nursery choice - morning only or day?

[tiokiko]

We are about to apply for a place at nursery for DD, starting in Aug 2012 when she will be 3.9. The nursery is part of the primary school where we plan to send her the following year.

The options are either a morning-only enrollment, or day enrollment (8.45 to 2.30 I think). We run our own business and I work in the evenings/weekends so there is no childcare issue, we are just trying to decide what would be best for her.

My concern is that 8.45 to 2.30 seems like a long day for her at that age, but the facilities and atmosphere are brilliant. The morning-only nursery is at the same location, run in the same way etc but it's in an older building, less outdoor space and seemed a little bit less inspiring.

Does anyone have any experience of this - is it a bit early for 6hrs each day in a pre-school setting?

Can she do a combination? Doesn't sound like it? My son does 2 full days (8.30-3.00) and 3 mornings (8.30-11.30). That's at the primary school nursery which is fantastic. He started the month before he turned 4 and is now 4 and 3 months.

It really depends on the child- my son does get very tired doing the full days and 2 are enough for him, but I think he gains a lot (and so do I!) being there for a longer period, having lunch with friends etc. Hopefully it will make the change to Reception in September easier as well.

I would go with your instinct. Less inspiring doesn't sound so much fun. And they do adjust to whatever they do...

Thanks Tgger - no, it has to be either one or the other, no option to combine. My instinct is that the morning only would be better and maybe I just need to get over the fact that the other building is nicer and shinier!

We don't need to decide for sure for another month or so, so I will mull it over some more. It seems like a massive decision but I am probably being PFB here.

My four year old is at private nursery and does 7.45am to 1pm. It is fine for him, but he is used to it as he has been at the nursery since he was a baby.

I wouldn't be swayed by the building - what was your gut feeling when you looked around? I would go with the one that feels "warmest" to you.