I recently learned that in Finland kids don't even start school until 7 and their education system even blows Singapore's out of the water. I am therefore not convinced at all about the merits of pre- school over daycare.
Neither of these two countries are famous for gifted education.
I grew up as a kid in what used to be Czechoslovakia. We didn't need to recognize any numbers or letters until we'd turn 6 and start 1st grade. Yet we used to rank really high in all the math, science and other Olympiads, and numerous gifted and talented people emigrated outside of the formerly communist country. Now the country's education system places a lot more emphasis on early education ... starting a lot of academics in the last year of pre-school (which would be Kindergarten in the US) and the overall results are getting worse year after year after year. I had no idea how to read, write, what numbers look like and all I could write was my name backwards entering 1st grade and withing the first couple of months I got well ahead of my class. So personally I don't find preschool academics that important. As long as there's no serious learning disability or other health concern, I believe the giftedness will come up real quick at school anyways. I just don't think gifted-preschool is a practical way of spending money. I'd save it for college or save it for extra curricular once the child is a little older.
