Morning vs afternoon preschool

[dani_tinks]

We picked mornings for Jake. He goes 3 mornings a week (Mon, Tues & Weds)

 

[hattiehippo]

I personally would do mornings because its a good routine to get into for school and you then have the rest of the day free still. But Tom does 3 full days at nursery as I work so he's used to being up and out by 8.15am. He does love the other 2 lazier mornings though!

I still take Tom's buggy if its more than a 20 min walk cos he Will moan to be carried and he's just too heavy now. I would def use the buggy in your situation especially as she's going to be tired at the end of a session.

 

[hellohefalump]

I would have done mornings but we ended up with afternoons because there weren't any places! He was extremely tired for the first few weeks but he's got used to it now and afternoons is working well for us now

 

[Mum2b_Claire]

Ruby does 3 afternoons. Works well, if she did mornings I'd find it tough to fill every afternoon with stuff, whereas doing nothing much or a toddler group works well for us in the morning.

 

[ellismum]

Mornings here too! 5 mornings a week.

Never considered afternoons, we need to get into a routine for school so noes was a good a time as any to start

 

[amym]

I wanted afternoons (1-5) so we could go to toddler groups (which tend to be morning based) but nursery have said that afternoons tend to be v quiet... all their creative activities etc are done by about 2pm and then it is much more free play etc. We have compromised with 11-3 so we can do most of the toddler group if we want to go.

 

[louandivy]

Also 37 def isn't too late to go into teaching - my OH is a Maths teacher and quite a few of his colleagues only retrained as teachers in their mid-thirties afternoons are definitely doable, I would just prefer mornings as ivy is still a bit funny with naps, and I like to be out and about as early as possible. It is nice to be able to toddler groups in the morning though!

 

[_Vicky_]

My boys only do two mornings ATM - they started after Easter like your LO they have never been away from me and I was sick to my stomach at the thought of it!!! I think the time was right for them - not me i wanted them to myself forever!

They start five mornings in September which I feel is the perfect build up to school a year later. I think going from nothing to
School all day every day would be too much.

Xxxx

 

[PitBullMommy]

Mine both do afternoon and I love it. They don't have to wake up early, and neither do I. Charlotte likes to sleep in, so that was a very big thing for us picking PM.

 

[katy1310]

Thank you so much for all your replies - and I'm very glad to know I'm not the only one who feels sick at the thought of her going!

I think afternoons would work best for us, but it's just how to get there that's the issue. I wouldn't mind walking if it wasn't every time but it would take an extra hour and a half out of our day. If only I could drive and had a car, it wouldn't be an issue in the slightest!

Can I just ask those of you whose children are already in preschool - what hours/how many sessions did you start with and how did you build up? I would love just to send her maybe Mon Tues Wed and have her at home Thurs Fri but DH is insisting on 4 sessions for some reason. Is it quite normal to just send them for say 3? All I want out of it is to give her a chance to mix with others/do some activities we don't do already/get used to being away from me. I don't feel that she needs almost a whole week at it but I need to convince DH that people don't always send them to so many sessions!!!!!

LouandIvy - thank you for your reassurance re teacher training - I always regretted not doing a PGCE straight after Uni. xx

 

[JakesMummy]

Our preschool has set afternoons for the first year (2.5 year olds to 3) then the second year they do mornings. Worked out well for us, as this year he has to get into a routine of mornings as he starts reception come september. My youngest was 2 in April. She will do two afternoons come September at preschool, and ill add another day in the spring. By next September she will do mornings and 4/5 days a week. Hope this helps somewhat!

I would do afternoons if you have a choice. But like a PP said, the only thing that can be a nuisance is if your LO is used to having a nap.

 

[hellohefalump]

Mojo used to go to childminder once a week then when he got his funding we went straight in to the 15hrs that are funded that's 3 hrs a day all week. As I said he was really tired the first few weeks but now he's used to it and he's fine

 

[beth_terri]

Definitely mornings. Children and more awake/alive and ready to learn in the mornings. I'd also feel like his day has been wasted if we waited all morning then took him to afternoon school.

(My mums a teacher and she said in her experience working with the nursery class the morning children definitely do better than the afternoon children)

 

[katy1310]

I think I'm getting towards thinking afternoons...she doesn't nap any more and hasn't for a few months now, so the nap won't interfere with anything. It's nice not to have to rush in the mornings and we can still get plenty of hours to do something and still be there for 1pm. x

 

[mummy_ellie09]

I didn't get to choose between mornings and afternoons. Josh goes 5 mornings a week 9-12. It was easier than I expected cause the toddler group he goes to on a Tuesday afternoon is in the same place. So that day he does pre-school and lunch club, half an hour doing nothing (just so they can set up lol) and then back for toddlers in the afternoon. I take the puschair that day seeing as he's out the house from 8.45 til at least 3.15/3.30 so I don't see why they'd have a problem you taking Sophie in hers

 

[ay2808]

My LO is younger than yours (20 months) but she does 2 afternoons at nursery. We are not morning people (DH doesn't get up for work til 8 so there is no point anyone being up any earlier!) and I am freelance and most of my work is afternoon/evening. We have a nice leisurely morning playing together and sometimes go to the swings on the way. I don't feel it is a wasted day as we spend quality time together. When LO gets her funded hours we might look at one or two morning sessions as well but I think you have to work out what's best for you as a family. I know ours has a 1 month notice policy for any changes (subject to availability). It might be worth having a chat with them to see what the options might be.

 

[katy1310]

My LO is younger than yours (20 months) but she does 2 afternoons at nursery. We are not morning people (DH doesn't get up for work til 8 so there is no point anyone being up any earlier!) and I am freelance and most of my work is afternoon/evening. We have a nice leisurely morning playing together and sometimes go to the swings on the way. I don't feel it is a wasted day as we spend quality time together. When LO gets her funded hours we might look at one or two morning sessions as well but I think you have to work out what's best for you as a family. I know ours has a 1 month notice policy for any changes (subject to availability). It might be worth having a chat with them to see what the options might be.

I was thinking this morning about having a chat with them to see what the options are. Sophie goes to playgroup there on Friday afternoons (which is really good as it's held in the preschool room - preschool isn't on on Friday afternoons so the room is free for playgroup) and the head teacher normally pops in at some point during playgroup and goes round having a little chat with each of the mums individually so I'll maybe have a word with her tomorrow. x

 

[PitBullMommy]

Charlotte goes 5 days a week. She started at age 4, and since their preschool is in the actual school system, she had to go every day. She is there from 1225-1515. Not bad, it's actually pretty perfect. Any longer and she would be exhausted when she got home. As it is, some days she is pretty grumpy and worn out.
Austin only goes 2 days a week, Mon/Wed, same hours, but he went in at age 3 because he is autistic and only got approved for those days. This coming fall he will be exiting the special education program (yay! he met all his goals!) and will be going 5 days a week, afternoon, same hours as Charlye goes now.

 

[DaisyBee]

Megan starts preschool in September. Ours works differently here as we can't add additional days. Our options were tues, thurs either 8:30-11, tues, thurs 12:30-3, or mon, wed fri from 8:30-11.

We chose tues thurs am. I know Megan loves "school" as we go to some early childhood classes with the preschool teachers and 1/2 the time I am in another classroom with the other parents while she is with the teachers and kids. I worried about too many days being too much for her. I know she could handle it for a week or 2, but there is no break til next summer. The year after she will have the option for same hours but 3-4 days a week with only 4 year olds.

The other kids in her class will all be there the same hours, so it's not like she will be missing out.

We picked morning just because I thought maybe if she is worn out she could rest/ nap a bit afterwards. But I've just spoken to a few mothers that we do playdates with, and they all chose afternoons. One friend - her daughter doesn't even wake til 9-10 am so if she would nap it is late afternoon, she goes to bed late as well.

And there is no way Megan would walk 2 miles after preschool! That's a meltdown waiting to happen for us.

 

[bubbles123]

I chose afternoons, he goes everyday 1-4. It was for loads of reasons: It takes ages to get ready in the morning so didn't want to rush (this is mainly because of the baby who will be oldet by the time my son goes to school and quicker to get ready), he goes to several morning toddler groups he loves and I wanted him to still be able to go to those, I always go out in the mornings rather than the afternoons so it means he goes out with me in the morning and pre school in the afternoons and finally afternoons are less popular so we got a bigger choice of pre school so he could go to our favourite.