In Home Pre-school Vs. Preschool Center

I actually teach preschool from home and my clients love that the kids are being taught at the same time that they are being loved on with one on one attention and they have the flexibility that a center might not offer. If they are a little late, it's ok. I am open on most holidays as well.

I would do it in a center situation. I feel that the teachers in a center are more used to working a curriculum and are better prepared to handle a class of kids that are full of energy and wonder. I remember my days in that age group and there is just no way a home situation can start to compare.

They are going to have better toys, more selections of arts and crafts materials, they will have paints, cars, blocks, all kinds of things that a home care giver may not have due to a baby getting in to all kinds of things. I think having a class of 12-15 3 yr. olds is much better than 1-2 kids in a group of babies and toddlers.

I would do a center simply b/c they are best able to handle a wide range of ages.

If your child is the youngest/eventually the oldest at an in-home - how well are they able to balance a wide variety? As you know from doing simple crafts, etc. the 'ability' range is gigantic from 2.5 - 4.5. They also get to go on field trips, have 'experts' come in to do talks, etc. at a center. I don't believe an in-home center is able to do that.... at least not the field trips.

My daughter is 2.5 and she loves her in home daycare. Its just her and another little boy during the day and then she keeps a few elementary school kids in the afternoons. In the mornings before lunch and nap and if its not too cold she takes them for walks to the park. They have a blast and get a lot of exercise and discovery. Ms. Donna even sends me videos and pictures of her playing throughout the day. Its such a comfort knowing that my baby is with someone all day who loves her and can give her enough attention.

That being said, I think preschools are great for kids who are about to enter kindergarten (say 4 and 5). It is a good way to introduce them to a school environment and start learning how to sit at a table and be with lots of other kids all day like they do in kindergarten.

So I guess my suggestion is that if you have someone you completely trust, it may be good for him to still get that more personalized level of care from an in home day care. Then send him to a preschool center when he gets a little older.

I read some of the responses, and I think there's a difference between a daycare and an in-home preschool. I run an in-home daycare and it is correct that there can be a wide range of ages that make it difficult if not impossible to constantly give exact kind of age appropriate activity and attention that both infants and preschoolers need. For instance, it's difficult to do activities like painting, puzzles, playdoh, at an accessible table when you have toddlers who want to be in everyone's business and eat their art materials. But you can do those activities when those kids are napping. It just may not have the structure that you might want in a preschool learning environment because by design it must be more flexible to accommodate everyone.

If you're talking about a home environment that has a limited age range (from say, 2.5-5), where the main focus is preschool activities and kindergarten readiness, I think the biggest difference is the size and maybe the reliability of a center vs a home environment. You'll find more staff members in a center, so if someone is sick you won't get a call saying that school is closed. In a home environment you'll likely get more 1:1 attention and focus and smaller ratios.

I can see the benefit of both... though looking back for my two I wish I would have chosen a smaller environment that was less play based (more structured) and a little bit more academic than the one I had them in. Live and learn...

I run a preschool from my home. I am a preschool teacher and only take kids of preschool age. If I also took infants and toddlers I would be able to understand your dilemma. Finding the right home preschool program could offer you the things you love about the small group home day care and what you want for your child out of a center. I think what you need to find is the best place for your family that serves preschool age children and their needs, not a mixed age group. It's a fairly new concept that not all licensed family homes are day cares for a mixed age group. It is a growing trend that in home Early Education and Care programs specialize in certain age groups such as 0 -3 programs for infants and toddlers and others like mine are for ages 3 - 5 and school age care for ages 6 and up. I wish you luck.

When I first had kids, I wanted the big, shiny preschool for them. It's newest and most fancy so has to be best, right? We couldn't get in and as time went along, I was so happy I went with smaller, home based ones. Kids don't need to be walking into a huge center every day that's almost like an office building. They're practically babies. I know my girls would have been more apprehensive. We went with an in-home Montessori so there was plenty of academic focus. I know my kids felt more like it was a second home. I also sent them later to a big center so they'd get to meet more kids they'd be going to school with. I think it was good to prepare them for a bigger classroom and expose them to more kids but the activities were lame compared to the Montessori. And this is considered a very good preschool... At 2.5, I'd start him at least at a smaller school. It doesn't have to be home based but I'd go smaller. At the big centers, I hea lots of complaints and teacher turnover etc. As your son gets older, a bigger school might be a good option to read him for a big class at school. But plenty of time for that in my opinion.

Both have their benefits. In-home care gives more one on one attention and can be more flexible. The downside is they tend to be smaller so less social interaction, they MAY not be as good from an academic standpoint (they may be but it really depends on the provider), and like w/ any in-home setting, there are less witnesses to care and their personal emergencies/sicknesses become your personal emergencies. A center tends to have more kids so they get less one on one but they get more social interactions and more consistency. The kids tend to stay on task better because their friends are. They have more resources so where one teacher lacks, the other excels. They also have other people cover if the teacher/provider is out so you only have to worry about YOUR personal emergencies and not theirs.

Good luck.

Hi Mama,

I chose to send my DD to a big center. I looked at a lot of in-home places and was not able to find the right person. The only places I liked had wait lists. I would start calling around and scheduling visits. Bring your list of questions. I did not like most big centers in SJ except the one my daughter is now at (Action Day on Allen) because I know they stick to their policies. I can walk in anytime and there will never be any surprises - there is a higher level of accountability. One potential problem is teacher turnover. We have not had this problem but I know it is very common at other locations. 2.5 is just old enough for me to reccommend a larger place - preschool center know how to manage the classrooms. Good luck!

My daughter went to a Co-op when she was younger and I had the oprotunity to be available. Now she goes to an in-home preschool for 4 hours 3 days a week(not with extended daycare). She loves it and so do I. It is a very nurturing environment and she has really grown.