Pre-School or nursery

[spg]

DD1 (will turn 3 in May) has been going to a nursery 2 days (6-6.5 hrs) and to a Montessori pre-school 3 days (3 hrs) , since Sep of last year.

She clearly enjoys the pre-school: She is very happy, eager and excited to go there and is happy when I pick her up. And has lots of things to share on what happened in the school etc. With the nursery, she seems to be increasingly unhappy. She cries when I drop her and she is often very upset and throws a tantrum for something or the other when I pick her up. And for a while, she has been expressing her preferences in words too : "I like" and "I don't like" the preschool and nursery respectively.

My reading of her preferences is that the staff in the school engage with the children in the activities. Whereas in the nursery, it seems to be more of a case of: here are the toys/materials: do anything with it and we are here to supervise that you all are safe.

And DD certainly enjoys the former and so am inclined to think she perhaps prefers a more structured setup with some interaction with the adults as well.

We have had this arrangement of nursery+pre-school as the pre-school won't take her for a full day session and I had to find time for my work.I work remotely (from home) 3 days and in principle, with some very strict time management, I can manage my work with her going to a school 5 days a week. So, nursery is not an absolute essential, though convenient, to cover for all school holidays etc.

We are now considering putting her in a private pre-school. Some of them will take her from the easter term. Cost wise, it roughly works out the same

However, am wondering if it is too early ?

Any views/experiences ?

Thanks in advance

PS: We are moving out of (London) to Cardiff soon and so it seems to be a good time to consider these options.

[spg]

Hi ridinghighinapril,

Thanks for your reply. I thought I had replied here. Bur, obviously not.
No, our Cardiff moving plans are out now. So, we are considering schools in Upminster, Brentwood for now. We are considering private primary education.

[ridinghighinapril]

I may have misunderstood some of your post - are you considering the private pre-school for when you are in Cardiff, rather than now? In which case, consider which school you would like your daughter to go to for reception. If you like the local state primaries & their preschools then seen if she can go to preschool there or vice versa for private.

[ridinghighinapril]

Is there an advantage to the private pre-school over the current preschool e.g. longer days so you can work? Would you like her to continue through to private primary education?
How many days per week is the minimum attendance at private pree-school?

If possible could she go to the private school for e.g. 2-3 days/wk and keep her at one of the other two to see how see settles in?

If she is fine at her current preschool then I don't think she is too young for private pre-school. Many private schools/pre-preps take children into nursery at age 3, then move into kindergarten at 3+ before starting reception at 4+. In private nursery it will be play based not lesson/desk based, probably much like the current preschool she goes to. This will carry on in kindergarten with a gradual move to more structured lessons in preparation for reception.