Welcome to Week 37 of Friendly Debates With The Danielles!

Each Sunday evening Danielle from “We Don’t Have It All Together, But Together We Have It All” and I will host this awesome meme and we would love for you to link up and join us. There will be a question each week that will require you to think about how you feel about a certain topic and to decide where you stand regarding that topic, then of course share those thoughts!

We do have a few rules… or rather guidelines… that we would appreciate being followed:

1.) Please follow the hosts via FaceBook: Danielle B. & Danielle H.
2.) If you link up please leave a comment so we can visit you.
3.) This is a meme, so you MUST answer the question in a blog post.
4.) Link directly to the blog post in which you answer the question.
5.) Grab the button and place either in your post or on your blog.
(You can find the html code in my right side bar).
6.) At the end of your post leave a suggestion for the following weeks topic.

If we choose your suggestion you will be mentioned and linked to in the following weeks post.

AND THE MOST IMPORTANT RULE
Please respect each others opinions. This means no bashing of other bloggers in comments on their posts. Kind words and genuine questions are encouraged. If you strongly disagree with someone else the place to address your view point is in a post on your own blog. If we find that you have blatantly disregarded this you will be removed from the linky.

TOPIC
Preschool: Yay or Nay? What do YOU say?

For this debate I want to make it clear that I am talking about preschool which is an early-education class for three to four year olds which takes place a few hours a day for two to five days a week – not child care.  I plan to send my children to public school which I know is another debate in itself, but that choice is playing a major role in why I say YAY to preschool. 

And so this is why I think preschool is important – especially for children who will be entering Kindergarten when they reach five years old.

1.)  At preschool children become exposed to numbers, letters, and shapes.  Plus those who attend a high-quality preschool enter kindergarten with better pre-reading skills, richer vocabularies, and stronger basic math skills than those who do not. 

2.)  They learn how to socialize — get along with other children, share, contribute to circle time.  Even if not attending preschool every child should have some sort of group experience before he/she starts kindergarten such as a music or gymnastics classes.  However, what preschools do that less formal classes don’t is teach kids how to be students. Your child will learn how to raise her hand, take turns, and share the teacher’s attention. What’s more, they learn how to separate from Mommy, who often stays in a music or gym class. All of this makes for an easier transition to kindergarten.  {The separating from mommy part is a super important part for my kiddos since I have been a stay at home mom since they were born.}

3.)  Preschool provides a place where your child can gain a sense of self, explore, play with her peers, and build confidence. Kids in preschool discover that they are capable and can do things for themselves — from small tasks like pouring their own juice and helping set snack tables to tackling bigger issues like making decisions about how to spend their free time. 

With all that being said…. this is proving to be harder on me than on Alleigh.  She is definitely excited to start preschool this fall, to make new friends, and learn all kinds of new fun things.  I on the other hand feel like I am losing my baby, but I will suck it up and enjoy this new phase of her life.  She is such a big girl and is ready to go to school!  I do want to mention that if you decide not to send your child to preschool before Kindergarten it’s not the end of the world.  In fact my sister attended preschool, but I did not.  We both ended up being honors students and members of National Honor Society…. I just feel that for my girls this will make a smoother transition to going to kindergarten every day once they turn five.

So what about you?  Will you send your child to preschool?  Why or why not?  Leave me a comment or link up and let me know!