Preschool and alternatives?

While it is nice your sister is wrong he does not need to attend. 

 for us, preschool was as much about the socialization as the learning.

Hey,

you have to do what is comfy for you.  I defintitely agree with your SIL, that a start on education starts in the rpeschool years....so anyone who can teach your child (you, someone else) then go for it :).

If you aren't impressed with the preschools in your area, then that's fine.  I know that therea re some tutors ot there that could come to your home (Hungtington, etc) but I don't know if they do preschool.

I would look into preschool curriculums yourself and do the teaching from home (seems easier).  But, also ensure that you are attending playdates or allowing your child to play iwth others as well!  There is a big social component to development that takes practice :)

A tutor sounds like a good alternative. Also look for home based preschools, there are tins of those in my area and allot of then are usually run by former teachers just in a much more small setting

Why can't you teach him? I wouldnt waste money on a tutor to teach shapes. 8) You've taught him how to feed himself and walk and talk. You can teach him anything he needs to know right now and probably do it better than a stranger. 8)

Preschool isn't as much about learning shapes, colors, letters, and numbers as it's about taking turns, following directions, making friends and fitting into a group environment.  A tutor in your home won't be able to teach those things as effectively as they can be taught in a group environment.  However, if you don't like the preschools in your area, you could look into other group activities that would teach the same skills.  Things like team sports, group skating or swimming lessons, and / or a church youth group / Sunday school.

A high quality prek has amazing short term and long term benefits. If you find a great program, the benefits it would provide would exceed private tutoring, in my experience.

I am a teacher as well. :)

I'm not sure that a private tutor would offer him the same benefits as going to an actual preschool. If all the schools are crappy, could you find a homeschool group and then while at home you (or the tutor) would be teaching him yourself but then he'd still get the socialiation of the other kids? 

When my oldest was preschool age, a few friends and I created our own preschool. Each one of us took a turn and help preschool at our own house - we were responsable for the lessons and the snacks and the songs and stories, etc. But the other weeks, we just had to drop the kids off. That worked very nicely. Do you have a group of moms around you that would want to do that? 

I never did this but some of my friends did. It's JOY SCHOOL. 

The academic aspects of pre-k I can teach DD1 myself. In fact, she knows her shapes, ABCs, numbers, colors, etc and I've talked about preschooling her myself.

However, the socialization is key and where I hesitate to preschool her, so I would take that into consideration when making your decision.