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Parenting
Preschool - necessary?
Prompted by @Nana_Osaki06
Do you think a formal preschool is even necessary?
DSs go to an in-home. She has never claimed to be overtly educational. They do count things and sing letter songs, etc throughout the course of the day. And they definitely work on sharing and lining up to go outside and sitting on the rug waiting for their turn, and that sort of school routine type stuff.
If we work with them at home on the educational stuff, are they really missing out with no preschool?
Do you think a formal preschool is even necessary?
DSs go to an in-home. She has never claimed to be overtly educational. They do count things and sing letter songs, etc throughout the course of the day. And they definitely work on sharing and lining up to go outside and sitting on the rug waiting for their turn, and that sort of school routine type stuff.
If we work with them at home on the educational stuff, are they really missing out with no preschool?
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Preschool - necessary?
But I don't think you can prepare them for the social component at home.
At school, children are expected to follow directions, sit quietly in groups, join and sit quietly during circle time, work quietly with other kids and focus... That can be hard for a child used to a parent's direction, which is much closer to one on one.
If they're distracted/ can't focus during circle time or when the teacher is at the front of the room, they'll miss a lot of instruction. They also may be disruptive to the class. Learning in a group setting is a skill that takes time to gain.
I don't necessarily think you need formal preschool to gain that. Art classes where parents are hands off, or music classes with a similar feel, could help. The point is a child learning to sit in a group, listen to a teacher, and follow directions without extra support.
There is plenty of time to teach reading, writing, and math. At this age kids need to foster a sense of exploration of their surroundings and develop a love for learning.
I grew up in Romania where formal education didn't start till 5 or 6 with kindergarden. By the time we moved here I was ahead 2 years in math and I skipped a year overall. But that's another story. I just used the example to show that I didn't get behind by starting later.
Whether kindergarden teachers can tell who came from pre-k doesn't matter. The question is whether the distinction still remains at the end of the year. Kindergarden is supposed to prepare kids for first grade.
Love that idea!
DS1 is only 2, so I have some time to decide, but I have always assumed I would do some preschool. Now I'm not so sure.
I'm afraid that I'm rationalizing not doing it because I'm being lazy about logistics. If we do preschool, I would rather part time mixed in with daycare we already use but I don't know how to pull that off without relying heavily on my retired father who may or may not be ok with it.
I feel children should have one year of either 2 or 3 days/week prior to entering Kindergarten. Just so they get a feel of a real classroom, classroom rules and the routine of going to school.
Most states PreK is not mandatory but I feel that it is very helpful - especially if your child has not gone to daycare.
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Baby girl grew wings 11/14/11, 20w
Baby boy grew wings 4/20/13, 16w
In our area this is absolutely true. Lower income are the only kids that have access to any public (free) pre-k where I live. They can apply for pre-k in the public schools or at head start.
I do think pre-k is necessary. Ollie goes to in-home and we have been looking into pre-school options. We were going to go with a center, but a spot became available a church pre-school near us. It's part time and his sitter will drop him and pick him up. It really worked out for the best since I didn't want to leave his in-home. He's only about to be 3, so it could probably wait until next year, but I still think it will be good for him.
Plus we only have half day that I can find
She learned to socialize, roll with a schedule, recognize sight words, all kinds of different things. Plus it gave me three solid hours a day to just have one kid, it was a savior for my sanity. For that reason alone I'd call it necessary, lol.
But seriously, I highly recommend it.
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DD#1 went to a Montessori summer camp this past June/July - 2 days a week and she is starting at the same school in September 3 days a week.
I am starting her as soon as possible because she has been at home since birth - no day care or any time out of the house really to just be with other kids her age. She did go to little gym classes but those were parent-child so not really the same thing.
If she was in day care full time, I probably wouldn't be pushing preschool as much but without it, I don't want her first experience out of the house to be in kindergarten.
DD#1 born 9/29/2010; DD#2 born 2/25/2013
One thing I love about DCP is that she always has a ton of kids with varied ages. Her grown daughters work with her, so she can take a lot more kids than most in-homes. DS1 has definitely copied skills from the older kids and learned how to share/be gentle with the little ones. It was great training for when we brought DS2 home.
If I had just sent him straight to kindergarten then I would have set him up for failure--and the teacher would have had her hands full. It wouldn't have been good for anyone.
My kid also has developmental delays which didn't become fully obvious until he wasn't able to just blend into preschool. Seeing where he wasn't doing well helped me recognize he needed help, and I am able to get him services in school that will make his transitions easier. My experience makes me a huge advocate of at least a year of public pre-school. DD will start next fall.
Oh and socialization and stuff.
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I do think kids who don't attend at least a year of preschool can be at a disadvantage unless they have a SAHP who is very dedicated and on top of working with them at home and involving them in other activities to develop social skills. For me personally, I would just do preschool instead of trying to coordinate that myself. But I understand cost can be prohibitive, which makes me sad. I think every family should have access to affordable early childhood education.