What Preschool Did You Go To?
 

There's a reason I'm posting this thread as a double (someone else started it on Foo). I'm wondering if pre-school is kind of a recent phenomenon. I'm not quite 50. I didn't go, and it was rare to even hear about anyone my age who had gone, in my recollection. Was this a generational thing? Or maybe a geographic thing (I grew up in the suburbs of Buffalo)?

I was just kinda wondering.

For me, Pre-school was my fenced in back yard. I don't think there were other options available.

I don't remember anyone I know attending preschool here in South Jersey. I'm 53. However, I worked in daycare center in the mid 70's where preschool was a popular choice amongst parents.

Its certainly not our generation. My first school was a one room school house. One row for each grade starting at grade one. No kids in some grades.
I think it started here in our part of the world somewhere around maybe 25 years ago. Just a guess,correct me if im wrong,but none of my kids had that choice,youngest is 28 so just guessing.

I'm 54 and I don't think it was available in Nebraska (where is was when I was 4). I don't know when it started. Everybody talks about it now.

Pre-School was standing out in front of the house waiting on the bus.

I am 53, and not only was preschool not available in northern Illinois, we were discouraged from attending kindergarten if too close to the age cut off, and not deemed mature enough. So to say, schools were for learning,, not for baby-sitting.

I'm 61. In Chicago, school began with kindergarten at age 5. No pre-school, no Head Start. After the first day, I walked to kindergarten with my older brother who was 6.

63 now and no Pre-School in my era- but that Kindergarten rings a bell. Think it was for the rich kids.

First 10 years of my life I lived in London. Just after the war and no money for anything. My first "Primary" school was a Victorian Brick built 4 storie edifice that may have been out of a Dickens book. Playground was an asphalt yard that held about 1,000 kids from the age of 5 to 11. 4 classes in my year and 40 kids in each class. At 10 we moved to the country and had a school that had a 10 acre playing field with grasss on it- and only one class per year with about 30 kids in it.

But my daughter is now 30. Although Primary school started at the age of 5- at 4 she was at a pre-school class. But previous to this there were plenty of learning groups that she used to go to. Think this was mainly for the Mums to get together and socialise- instead of just putting up with a bored screaming brat every day.

At the bottom of my road is a Primary school. 23 years ago when we moved into our house- we did not have a traffic problem. All the kids are from the locality and should not live further than a 10 minute walk from the school. Problem now is---Remember that 10 minute walk bit--- The number of cars that park outside the school- in our road and if you are nor quick enough to get out before 9 am- the number of cars that block your drive so you cannot get out.

Have to admit that although we are only 100 yards from the school- If I had kids there now- they would be escorted to school. Just to make certain they don't get run over by a mum running late in her 4X4.

And in London I had a 2 mile walk to school and when we moved it was only 1 mile. Can never remember Mum taking us to school as I had enough of the local kids to walk with.

Sure did, back in ~1964-5. I also spent a lot of time in the woods behind my folks house. I guess they were more desperate than most to keep me out of sight. ;)

At 63, no preschool, no kindergarden. The latter was just a town thing, not all towns had one. In rural areas, you started in first grade. There wasn't any searching around for the best school either............there was only one.

Okay.... so it wasn't just me. ;)

LBJ initiated the Head Start program in 1965.

No pre-school, no kindergarten for me either. Neither was available to me growing up in NE Ohio (I'm 67). Pre-school was available to our sons, however, (42 and 35) but we didn't send them; they both started with kindergarten.

Pre-school was the time I spent in the kitchen eating breakfast. Then I'd hit the road for the walk to school. Got to ride the bus in the 7th-9th grade. School was over 3 miles away. Funny, my pre-school lasted through the 12th grade. :rolleyes:

Age 58. No preschool nor kindergarten. My mother taught me my abc's and to count to 100 before I started first grade.

I'm a proud kindergartener. My first was Croton Community Nursery School. My only memory of it is tricycle related. I wanted to ride the tricycle, and a little girl wanted to ride it. It flashed into my 3 year old head that she would probably tire of it quickly, so rather than argue and fight as behooves a 3 year old, I let her have it and then I climbed aboard just a few minutes later. A major step for me psychologically, really.

My second was Phillippi Shores Kindergarten. It was run by Miss Leiser and Miss Henken. They lived on the premises, but I only remember there being one bedroom. I enjoyed it a lot, though they had no tricycles or bicycles. It prepared me for the big time, Phillipi Shores Elementary, my first public school.

Kindergarten at a "State Teacher's College" in Pennsylvania. We were on the forefront of the development of pre-school, in that many studies were being done on the "instructional methods" being used on us. A great deal of the research generated in such schools was quite valuable in establishing the importance of early learning.

No preschools when I was a kid. Born in 1940. None available in Salt Lake City suburb of Kearns when my youngest was 4, in 1971. Youngest stepdaughter attended one in 1985.

There was no kindergarten or pre-schoole for me either. Same age but I grew up in SW Ohio.

If the cars are blocking your drive, then ring up the local constabulary and file a complaint, they will send a constable with a full ticket book, (s)he will return to the station with an empty ticket book, and any car within a certain distance of a drive, will have a nice request to pay a fine. The next day if the drive is blocked again, you call the constabulary again, within a week, you will find that the cars have moved on. If the street is blocked and you can't use it for all the cars, then call up your local council member, and ask for a meeting, take your digital camera and take a bunch of photos from different locations, showing how much the parking affects the street. The real issue is that if a street is blocked to the point of being unable to drive on it, then an ambulance or fire truck can't either, so it's a health and safety issue. They will probably propose a by-law that parking be limited to one side of the street, and signs will be put up to that effect.

OK think about this... how many of us "oldsters" had mom at home when we were growing up?

Preschool is a phenomena of dual income households, where both husband and wife have to work to make ends meet.

I am 53 and my mother raised all of us, then went off to work just for some spending money. I dare say that there are probably a lot more working mothers out there today.

I believe that we had some "nursery schools" in my home town (late 50's), most in the basements of local churches. I don't think I ever went to one, but they were not that uncommon by the mid-60's.

I spent my own pre-school years throwing rocks at things -- the sides of houses; stop signs; my brother.

Possibly a trend, but it wasn't true in my case. My mom stayed at home and played June Cleaver.

Agreed - Pre-school is just another form of daycare, except it makes the parents feel better because they think the kids are getting some education. Unfortunately it is not a substitute for good parenting and it hasn't helped the educational abyss we find ourselves in.

In my day we didn't have any preschool - and I walked to school on broken glass with snow up to my waist and it was up hill both ways!

Both of my kids attended preschool. I thought it did them some good. Our impression was that by the time they were 4-ish they were ready for a few hours of day of playing with other kids they didn't know. Maybe they learned a few things; maybe they didn't. But it seemed to make the transition to kindergarten easier.

For us, it was not "just another form of daycare." Enrolling them in preschool was a carefully thought through decision for us, and we worked to put them into preschools we thought would be good for them. However, it also was nice to give my (stay-at-home) wife a few hours break per day to get other stuff done that was important to us as a family.

I don't think anyone has ever argued that it's a substitute for good parenting - nor is any kind of school.

I attended a 2 room rural school, grade 1 to 8 only, no kindergarten. Started grade one in September 1959, couple months before my 6th birthday.
Great memories there, some of them probably actually happened. Dunking braids in ink wells was cool.

Although I was a stay at home mom and didn't send my children to preschool I agree with you, it is a good way for them to learn to socialize with other children and a nice transition to kindergarten. I know all we old geezers survived just fine without it, but if we have an opportunity to help our kids along, and we believe we are making the proper choice, why not do it?

No preschool around here in the Fifties......and kindergarten was private and optional. Learned some social skills in K, mostly. Forgot them all since then.