I am a up coming mother and I just wanted to know at what age does preschool start?

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As drjohnson mentioned, preschool guidelines vary by region, and I'm wondering if you're asking about private preschools or public, state-funded programs? There are programs like "Head Start" where low income families can qualify for preschool, and if your child has suspected learning disabilities, they would also be eligible for programs under "Child Find," even before age 3. There are a few states where the Early Education of children ages 3 & 4 is provided to all, but in most states, parents have to pay for their children to attend preschool if they want them to go.

I know I was taken by surprise when I went to inquire about preschools. I didn't call until the summer when I wanted them to start in September. I just had no idea.

It turned out that in our neck of the woods, pre-schools often started out with Mom & Tot classes once a week for one-year olds. Two year olds went for half days twice a week, three year olds went three days a week, and four year olds went five days a week.

The most desirable pre-schools had long waiting lists. The season to tour open houses started in January for September openings.

I'm sure there must be some regional variation in this. If you have a soon to be two year old, i would start calling around now, asking about information and open houses.

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