> Thanks for letting me know this...The advice came from
 > my mother in law who is
 > a school teacher..so I assumed she was
 > right..especially when I found out she
 > started my husband and sister in law at that time. I
Hmmmm....No, legally, I don't think there's a state that makes preschool a 
requirement. Carefully chosen preschools are really nice for some kids, and 
so's HeadStart (if you qualify). But preschool is not a substitute for good 
parenting.
 > kindergarten...I thought kindergarten
 > was the first step at schooling that is where I
 > learned my abc's and such..why
 > do they now have to know all of this before then?
No...they still teach ABC's and 123's in Kindergarten. Some kids are ready 
for it ahead of time (mine were), some kids aren't. There are so many other 
things that are important for a preschooler to understand, tho, so that 
academic learning should not be the most important thing in preschool. Seeing 
what people do for a living, riding public transportation, meeting the local 
fire-dog :) - that kind of thing is usually more relevant to a preschooler's 
life anyway.
                                 -donna
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