S.Susan

Dear all:

just got the news that our visa got approved .So it is true we are coming to California June!

I have posted few threads before, I would like to say thank you to all the people who have given us the valuable information and advices.

I have few questions about the childcare for my son who is 4 years old and will be 5 years old in Nov.

what should I look for him in US? I have heard people mentioned Kindergarten, preschool. Frankly I m a bit confused.
which one should I send my son to ?
what will be the requirement ?
what will be the cost of sending him ? just want to get an idea of the childcare cost .

We are planning to move to Dublin or Pleasanton , if anyone can recommend any good nursery , please let me know.

thanks for your help in advance.

aless02

Anything before kindergarten is not free (except possibly low-income programs, but this is irrelevant here). Kindergarten is once your child turns 5, except in special circumstances, so should be next year not this September. Pre-school isn't mandatory, but if you want your son to attend, then by all means go for it (it'd be like paying for a nursery here, except no free hours!)

I've never enrolled a child in the US but I'd imagine they'd want money and proof of vaccinations. As per cost, someone else will have to chime in on that.

fbf2006

I have a 4 year old as well. I believe what you would need is a preschool/pre-K. Your best bet would be to do google searches for preschool/nurseries in the area you're moving to and to reach out to the places you find. There is no requirement that you send your son to school before Kindergarten. Prices vary considerably throughout the US and even within cities, depending on each school. Some areas (NYC, random NJ towns) now have public pre-K. Other things you need to consider is if you need PT, FT and/or aftercare/before care. PT could be from say 9 - 12, FT from 9 - 3 and then aftercare from 3 - 6 (before care say 7.30 - 9).

S.Susan

so kindergarten is reception in UK, right? what a shame they don't have the free 15 hours per week !

fbf2006

I just sent you a private mesasge

S.Susan

Many thanks !

Pulaski

We put our daughter in one immediately after her second birthday, and the progress from her first weeks there until she left to go to school was continuous and seamless. The "classroom" went from the sort of mayhem you'd expect a room full of two year olds to create, to something that was exactly like school would be a couple of weeks later in early August before she started school. Each year she moved up a grade, and the classroom activities became progressively more organized and school-like.

Along the way she was taught her alphabet (by letter name, not phonetic sound), some reading/word recognition, and basic counting and number recognition. By the last year the classroom activities were almost indistinguishable from kindergarten class as school - a daily routine that started promptly in the morning, time spent sitting around the teacher and a whiteboards, time spent listening to stories, singing and music making, show-and-tell activities, painting and crafts, etc.

So by putting your son in a pre-K style daycare like this he will have an easy transition into kindergarten the following year. Of course the best ones may be full and/or have a waiting list.

Wintersong

Look into whether or not your local schools offer TK (transitional Kindergarten).

Until very recently, your son would have qualified to start Kindergarten for the 2017-18 year as all kids who turned 5 prior to the end of the calendar year would start K that year. However, they changed the cut-off dates to line up with the start of the school year so now it's only kids who have turned 5 by the beginning of the school year who will start Kindergarten.

Kids who were affected by the change and have to wait another year to enter K (i.e. those with Sept/Oct/Nov/Dec birthdays) are eligible for transitional Kindergarten where the program is offered. We have it in our school district - it's basically free 5 day/wk preschool. Take advantage of it if you can!