Something to do for a 4.5 year old ?

[princessemi]

Hello


I really need some advice please ...
My son is 4.5 years old , he will start school in September however he has never been to nursery or anything similar before
I know he should start school when he was 3 but we have travelling a lot and never had a chance to settle down in one place for long

Now that we have finally found a place I really want him to go to kindergarden or something similar (I quess he is too big for nursey now)
he gets really bored at home , I also have a 20month old daughter which takes 99% of my time I know he feels really bored , I dont drive so we dont really go many places during the week , only our local park or shopping centre which can be quite boring on daily basis

I would really want him to have some fun and play with childrens his age this summer before he will start proper school in Sept
Problem is I have no idea how it works ? Are there any places I can put him for couple of hours every day or every 2 days for lets say couple of months only ? How do I apply ? What are the requirements ? How much does it cost ?
ANyone could help please ? and because I dont drive I really need something close to where I live , where do I even look for those places ?

Thank you in advance

[isabellasmum]

I would guess your best bet is to book him in a private day nursery for some half day sessions. You might pay £15-£20ish per morning/afternoon. Isabella used to do three mornings at private nursery (one attached to the school nursery she now attends) before she got her funded place and I think it cost £18 per morning.

A nursery or preschool place would be funded 15 hours per week free of charge but these will be closed for the Whitsun week holiday and summer holidays and it sounds like he might be better going somewhere consistantly.

It might be possible to get the 15 hours per week free entitlement set up in time for a private nursery/preschool to use these against some of the cost, I am not sure how long it takes to set up. I would start by phoning nurseries/preschools in your area, finding out which continue to run in the holidays and arranging to visit them. They should be able to advise you how to claim the funding.

I would agree though it would be good for your little boy to get used to going somewhere a few sessions per week or school might be a shock.

[oceanspray]

I would say a few hours each week in a private day nursery would be beneficial. However you can check out your local surestart centre for groups too, you can usually get them involved in lots activites under your supervision but they have other children to interact with. Or perhaps even going down to a local indoor play area - any-where where they can interact meet new children and play.