My daughter's preschool [American] went on several field trips, it's not that weird. And her first "solo day of class" was sooner than a month in.

I walked to school by myself in NYC. Now I live in the suburbs, and I see plenty of kids walking themselves to school in my neighborhood. But a lot of it depends on how far away you live and the route.

Basically, I don't worry about my daughter's ability to find her way to school, I worry about her getting run down by some idiot in an SUV.