Preschool/PreK

My son is in Pre-K. I think it is supposed to be "slightly" more challenging and in ours they go on field trips. It is more along the lines of kindergarten from what I gather, in fact the curriculum they use is what they used in 1st grade back in 2004!

 

In my experience, it's simply based on the curriculum used. A Beka calls it K-3 or K-4 or PreK. Other brands call it pre-school. Usually around here, it's the Methodists who call theirs nursery school. It's all the same, except I've noticed the A Beka is much more advanced in some areas and more structured than nursery school.

 

The updating of the name probably has something to do with the amount of money being charged.

School wants to charge more, "Hey lets update our name to something more modern sounding"

 

Yes, exactly.

 

In our area PreK is for age 4 and young 5's (but too young or immature for kindergarten). Preschool is for 2's and 3's. Both imply that your child will be taught something and is not just a babysitting service. Nursery school is for under 2's and is mostly just a babysitting service. Daycares here generally designate the morning hours for "preschool or preK" and the afternoons are naptime and unstructured (for the most part) play.

See? Simple! :laugh:

 

Forget all that stuff!

From age five or six to possibly mid twenties, their lives will be dedicated to school and college, so let 'em play their little hearts out and learn life by watching it until then. If you think they need more structure, buy more lego's or linkin' logs. :smilewinkgrin:

 

The terms are often used interchangeably.

But if one is being more precise, the denote different ideas. Preschool is simply any program prior to a child entering elementary school. Pre-K though indicates a program that is considered to be part of the K-12 school system - merely school that occurs before K.

In short, preschool is a broader term which even includes pre-K. Pre-K is a more narrow term used to designate a program that is integral to the K-12 system of education.

But if you find yourself using them interchangeably, its no big deal. Also know that a program which labels itself as pre-K may not care about the distinction either - it may simply be a "preschool".