Thanks for the information, Val. We decided to do the at-home daycare.
One big difference between toddlers and pre-K is style of play. Toddlers usually do parallel play and pre-K kids do interactive. Our DD did both and we wanted her the opportunity to continue to do both, so we expose her to kids her age. I'm not sure about the scientific implications of parallel play, but we think it may be critical to future peer relations, which my DH and I consider important.
This is funny that you mention this. Mr W gets mistaken for a 3 year old all the time and now that I think about this, this is the reason why.
