Where Should your Preschooler Spend their Day?

When my oldest was born, I was just 24 years old. I was still a very new teacher and had very little experience with the little, little ones. Considering that my family was four hours away in New York, my biggest concern was who was going to keep my precious baby safe once I went back to work. 

What I did know was that I wanted him to be in a home day care. I didn't like the clinical feel of a day care center. I wanted it to be like he was at a home-away-from home. Luckily, I found someone in my neighborhood who was a mother of five (and expecting number six). She became like a big sister to me and took fabulous care of my little one, until he was about two years old. 

At that point, our day care provider decided to go back to work and we were lost trying to decide whether to find another home care or a day care center. Our choice was another home care. We put our son in a home with a provider that was like a grandmother to him. And he stayed there until he was 4 and ready to start our neighborhood Montessori school. I thought that we did the right thing...

That was until he actually started school. I realized that he never had the practice that the other children had with being in a school-like setting. He missed out on that time that others were learning how to work together, follow directions and share. When he started school, he had to do some adjusting. He wasn't available for learning and this set him back.

That's why when my second son was born, I was determined to do something different. I put him in the same home day care with the "grandmother-like" provider. But when he turned two years old, I pulled him out and put him in a day care center with a classroom setting. I made sure they had a specific curriculum and gave daily reports on how my son was performing academically and socially. He thrived and learned so much there. When it was time for him to start the Montessori school at four, he was ready. He learned to read so fast; I was shocked. Even now that he is seven, I am impressed with his decoding and phonetic skills for reading words way above my expectations. 

So my vote is clear. I know that for many of us, staying at home to take care of our own children is not an option. We are forced to make these difficult decisions. After everything that I've experienced, I really support putting our little ones in a day care center with a proven record, to get them prepared for school. 

 I would love to know what you think. Take my poll and leave a comment.Share your own experiences.