To help get the juices flowing and to get a good discussion going for all of us...I want to hear you opinon on preschool.
Today I heard on the radio (Dr.laura) say that preschool was a glorified daycare. (she is a strong advocate for SAHMs) I've talked to moms who say they think preschool is important for social development and another strong agruement for preschool is that here in Texas Kinder is all day. I hear a lot of parents say they want to make it an easy transition with preschool.My pediatrician told me last year that preschool is unnessecary because you can teach them all they need to learn at home. And all they'll need to know to start school. I know moms who do preschool as young as maybe two and others who do none at all.
My personal decision was to put my four year old(who starts kinder next fall) into a two day a week program that totals 8 hours a week (4 hours a day). I try to teach her at home but feel I am not consistent. At first I wanted to do more but the cost was too much for us. Now I am glad I didn't because I want her home with me for as long as possible before sending her out into the world to be influenced by others. Another personal belief of mine is that as members of a church that has a primary with classes starting at three we are blessed to have a sturcture to help prepare our little ones follow direction in a class setting by other adults besides their parents. I am in the middle here when it comes to preschool, yes not nessecary, yes good for kids(older in my opinion), yes it's used as a daycare for some, no it won't make you kid smarter than the other kids, so I guess it's a personal parent decision.
What's you take?
The Six "Be's"- Gordon B. Hinckley
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Preschool
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12 comments:
Natalie didn't go to preschool because I wanted to keep her home with me for as long as I could. Due to Lily's special needs, we enrolled her in special ed preschool at the age of three. I wasn't able to provide the therapies etc for her that the school could. Natalie did great going into Kindergarten. I think that most of her classmates had been to preschool, but they didn't seem to have any advantage over her. I asked my aunt once (who taught kinder for 30 years) if she could tell a difference between the children who were in preschool or daycare versus the ones who stayed home with their moms. She told me that there was a slight difference at first, but the kids who stayed home caught up so quickly to the other kids that it didn't really make any difference at all. If I could go back again and decide whether to put Natalie in preschool, I wouldn't change a thing. I treasure that time I had with her before I had to send her off into the world. We have so few years with our children that I think it's important to spend as much time with them as possible. I wish I could have done that with Lily too. That being said, I also will admit that there were times when both Natalie and I would get bored, but I really tried to get together with one of my friends who had younger children so that Natalie would have others to play with. And I could have some adult conversation too! LOL And like you said, Primary is also great for teaching children about following directions and sitting still for other adults, etc. That's my take on it.
Mary, you and I have this, and you know my take, but I will write it so everyone else knows, too. I think it is a waste of money if you are doing it to "learn." If I put Tye and Kenadie in preschool, it would be 100% to give myself a break, and nothing more. Tye can count to 10 right now, and we will eventually start introducing ABCs, but Amy is right, our Aunt taught kindergarten for forever, and that is what they go there to do...learn to count and do ABCs. Church gives them great social interaction, and I think preschool is too expensive. Since we are for sure moving back over there, we can start doing the thing we talked about with watching each other's kids. Avery is a smart girl, I think she will do great either way. If you want to do it, I am behind you 110%! Good luck!
Tyler didn't go to preschool until he was 2. I didn't want to put him in but he is such a social butterfly that I felt he needed a little extra socialization than just what he got a church. The preschool that I chose was one at my church and he only went two days a week at four hours each day. He loved it! He would talk about it for hours after he got home. He is now 5 and is still a social butterfly!
When I had to go back to work last year, I had to find a daycare. The daycare that chose has an awesome preschool program. I refused to put my children in a daycare where all they did all day was watch TV and make a mess with toys. I want them to learn something. I do teach them at home but they also get it there too.
Going back to work was very hard for me, but staying home was also hard. The job I have is very flexible so I am able to be there for my children if they have something special at school and if they are sick. I do not regret putting my children in preschool. If I hadn't, they would have been miserable at home. They love the interaction with other people. I really believe that it has helped them.
Gabi goes to preschool this year (she's three) and I'm anxious to see how she handles it.
I don't think anyone can say what the right answer is, across the board. Every kid is different...
I chose preschool for Gabi for a number of reasons. I worked as a preschool teacher before I had her. And, I saw first hand what kids learn there. It's not just ABCS and 123s. It teaches appropriate social interaction. Rules and boundaries. How to make friends. Independence. Sticking to a schedule. Following directions. Creativity. The list goes on. Because of Gabi's birthday and the possibility that she'll go to school early, I thought preschool was important.
Also, Gabi's very clingy to me and very apprehensive to try new things. I want her to learn how to be without me, if only for a few hours a day, to prepare her for the future.
I think some kids could benefit from going to preschool and some kids need to be home. There is no good or bad option. It's just a resource - use it if you need it.
Howdy y'all! I'm going to first share my personal experience.....Bayley NEVER went to any kind of preschool, daycare, joyschool, or whatever else is out there. He went right into the fire of all day kindergarten and did GREAT. Payson did one year of preschool just before he started kindergarten and loved it. Jennaveve is in speech therapy, so she goes to Pre-K at the elementary school. Case and point.....both Bayley and Payson are in the Gifted program. There was absolutely no academic (per se) advantage of going to preschool. I totally agree with Holli on that there is no across the board answer on this one. I would mainly go with how happy you and your child feel about it. Bayley clung to my side so I never pushed him and he rose to the occasion in kinder. Now from my teaching point of view....I currently assess learning styles and teach using programs for kids with all learning styles: autistic, ADDHD, dyslexic, and heavy right brainers, as well as the OCD left brainers. What I have found is the absolute BEST thing you can do for your child is to READ TO THEM. The psychology and intimacy is amazing and creates phenomenal results. Bayley is 9 years old and STILL loves when I pull out picture books and read. Toss out your flash cards and TV programs.....get to the library and read to your kiddos and if they enjoy a preschool experience and there's a good one you can afford, go for it. But still keep those books going. I'm going to compliment one of the moms on the blog here....we moved to Austin within a week of the Gibson (Sara's) family. I was amazed at their oldest son's (Jacob's) communication skills. He was talking coherently before age 1, he knew all his animal sounds, and knew how to count before he was 2. What did I notice? Sara almost ALWAYS had a book with her and Jacob would perch on her lap and they would talk about what was on the pages. There are lots of moms with kids absorbing things right and left and the one common element is the books. GO BOOKS!
Kinsey has learned way more at preschool then I could have or would have ever taught her at home. I also am an advocate for preschool because it gives her the opportunity to have friends besides just mom.
I don't really think there is a right answer. I definitely think it is different for each kid. I personally don't really think much about the 'academic' aspect of preschool. I feel like there is a lot of pressure sometimes to push our kids into things too early and they are going to spend the next 17 years in school. I want mine to be little for a little bit longer. Having said that I enrolled Jacob in a preschool in a lady's house three days a week. I'm hoping it will be fun for him and that he'll enjoy himself so that he can start kindergarten next year with a positive perspective on school in general. I want it to be FUN, and if he learns something great. I think it will be good for him in particular to have direction from an adult besides Danny and I. We'll see how it goes.
And wow Andrea, thanks for the compliment, it's funny, as I was reading your comment about reading to your kids I was thinking to myself how I need to be better about that, I definitely don't do it as often as I should anymore since I had Luke. Good reminder for me.
I've never "chosen" to put my kids in pre-K. My first two never went and were advanced students in Kindergarten. They were both early readers and eager to learn more. They simply didn't need pre-K. My younger two were different. My third child has autism. We only just got the diagnosis but looking back it makes sense. He wouldn't work with me like my older two. He had no patience for reading stories. I couldn't even sing to him. He wasn't talking. I was devistated when he aged out of at home speech therapy. The "system" informed me he'd have to attend pre-K to get his speech help. I cried, he was fine. It took two years of pre-K for him to talk. After the third year of pre-K he could write his name. Now he's diagnosed and in Kindergarten. He gets lots of therapy and helps from every angle. He constantly surprises me with how much he knows and how smart he is. For him. Pre-K was crucial. My youngest is very smart and shows it. She loves to be read to and tries to read on her own. She's very social and eager to learn like my oldest two. I wouldn't just put her in pre-K for academic reasons. She simply doesn't need that kind of help. She doesn't talk. They think she has apraxia. A muscle planning problem. She is in speech therapy. Unfortunately she's aged out of the at home therapy and now must attend pre-K to get the therapy she needs. She's learning sign language to compensate and she's brilliant at it! There is no concern that she won't eventually be able to speak normally. She must have the therapy to maximise her progress. She's in pre-K now and loves it. She loves that she has a school like all the older kids. She comes home tired and ready for a nap. We read a few stories and she sleeps until time to get the other kids from their school. I have come to appreciate pre-K for helping my kiddos with their various needs. I do not believe it is necessary for most or all kids. It simply depends on the kid, the mom and the circumstance. If you need it. . . be grateful it's available. If you don't. . . be grateful you don't have to put your little ones out there any sooner than you must.
Klevrkris...you should talk to Amy. She has a daughter diagnosed as autistic, and just started kindergarten, after pre-k since the age of 3 (Lily that I was talking about on another post).
Oh...Amy also has the first comment on this post, talking about Lily. Y'all may have a lot in common!
OK, this comment is from a grandma who has raised five children and adores her 8 grandchildren. All of our children attended pre-school, some for six months, some for a few years, and some for one year. Each child is different and has different needs. Each parent is different and has different needs. I don't feel anybody, including Dr. Laura, again nobody has the correct answer to this question of pre-school because all of our children are different.
For those of you who keep your children home until their Kindergarten debut, if that works for you, fantastic. For those of you who feel your child needs pre-school, go for it; you are the expert in knowing what your child needs.
As for nursery and Primary--let's think about this for a moment. Nowhere is it written by the church that pre-school is wrong. If any of you can prove that differently, then let all of us grandmas and mothers be aware of this so we can read it. Nursery is a great program, otherwise the church wouldn't have it. Again, for some children nursery is all they need. There are others, though, that need more interaction with children; and a good pre-school is perfect for that.
One of the keys here to successful pre-school is to search out every pre-school that is available for your child. Look at their programs and what they have to offer. Look at their teacher to child ratio. Are there two teachers in every class? Is it a babysitting service or is it a learning atmosphere for these little ones, not so much "abc's" and "1, 2, 3's" but a social interaction that will better prepare them for kindergarten?
Well, enough from this "old" grandma. That's my two cents worth (it is probably more than two cents) and you can agree or disagree with it. Your comments won't hurt my feelings. But, the important thing to remember is that we all have been given agency and the calling in life as a mother to make correct decisions for our children. And, these decisions, when made prayerfully, searching and pondering for the inspiration that you need, will be the right decision.
Thanks Alisa, I'd love to talk to Amy. I'm always looking for friends who can relate. I am constantly amazed by the number if lives touched by autism.
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