Homeschooling & Preschoolers~A Quick Question

[SparklingGemini]

Did anyone put their kids in preschool even though they knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that there were going to be homeschooling?

My mind is going back and forth with this and I'm just looking for a bit of external input.

Thanks!

[SundayCrepes]

We were having a lot of aggression issues between our (then) 3 year old and little toddler. A therapist watched them play together and wondered if our son just didn't have enough same aged friends. So, for that reason alone we put him in preschool for 2.5 months. It was a really good preschool with Reggio Emelio philosophy. (We eventually resolved the aggression issues. They didn't have to do with playmate issues.) Turns out he was being the victim of aggression at the school. He liked playing with most of the kids, but didn't like me leaving. At this point the main good thing I can see of the experience is my son knows he doesn't like school. We don't have to worry about him glorifying the experience. Although I thought the school was great (aggression not withstanding,) I'm glad we're done with that experience. He did pick up a lot of gun play and talk about killing etc. I would respond with, "I'm so sad you're pretending to hurt someone." It took awhile, but that type of play has thankfully stopped.

Right now I babysit a couple days a week. (I was babysitting 4 days a week, but the dad just redid his schedule so we're down to 2 days.) We have Spanish playgroup with play afterwards a couple days a week. When fall comes we'll be doing activities through parks and rec. My kids are getting plenty of social time.

[3jays]

I run a parent's day out program and we have a lot of HS families. Our program is two days a week and the families use this time to do stuff with the older kids. The kids love being there and they know each other just from being in the community. O, the hours are 9-2.

[kittie313]

Yes, I'm sending my 4yo and *maybe* my 2yo (she'll be 3yo the week pre-k starts for our 4yo) to Head Start this fall while hsing my oldest 2 kids and *planning* to hs my younger ones in the future for as long as I can keep my sanity. Since I have older kids, it is more for my own need to be able to work with them on phonics and math without worrying so much about the distractions that the little ones give me. They will attend pre-k from 8a-noon mon-thur across town from us, and I've heard MANY great things about the program at our local Head Start. I've also been offered the opportunity by our ps to have dd3 (the 4yo) do afternoons with their developmental specialists at Head Start (they have a classroom for kids with special needs) because of dd3's speech delays and only being about 50% verbal, but we turned that down because I felt it was just too much school (we can't just do the dev. stuff, she has to do AMs at HS to be able to do PMs with dev. and I'm not willing to give her up for 4 full days a week like that)

[kathymuggle]

I did . The preschool here is lovely and everything I believe school should be- the school isn't. I knew she would probably have a good time at preschool, and if she didn't, withdrawing her would be a snap.

[urchin_grey]

We thought about it but ultimately decided against it. For one, we just didn't think he'd enjoy the structure. Secondly, he's SN so people tend to underestimate him and we don't want him to be unchallenged or bored. That's the main reason we are homeschooling anyway though. He'd be in Special Ed because of his speech disorder and physical limitations, but he's already learned most of what they teach in the mainstream Kindy class and the school year hasn't even started yet.

However, I can imagine that if we had more children, putting the youngest ones in preschool part time or a mother's day out program or something would be nice so that we could have some uninterrupted time with the older kid/s. So that's not something I would totally rule out for future kids. We're not quite to that point yet though!

[Savoir Faire]

Both of my children have done preschool and I knew we were going to homeschool.

There's mixed camps on this.

I did because mine are 18 months apart and boy, I needed some time. You know, changing diapers, feeding, cleaning....I can get stressed easily and it really helped.

Also, my daughter, as a 2-year-old was a Really Tough Kid. Like...super tough. Sensory issues...all types of issues....it just gave me the break and gave her a chance to be around other people.

My son is not like that at all. He's very social, easy-going and popular for a 4-year-old. He went up until May, when he decided he no longer wanted to go to preschool.

So now he's a preschool drop-out and I'm okay with it.

I think, from having a sister so close at home, he's a bit advanced for his age. He can read simple BOB books and can write. So really he's just missing out on the social stuff and all the PreK things they do... but I'm okay with his decision.

[phathui5]

Nope. Sticking to the preschool schedule would have been a hassle for our family.

[ILoveMyBabyBird]

Just curious what are your reasons for wanting to put your child in preschool? Is it to get alone time, structure, socializing the lo? I know dh gets a lot of flack at work for not putting ds in preschool, but i really don't see any need for it. Worried about socializing? Put the child in a playgroup or class. Need alone time? Get a mothers helper or do a parents day out. Structure? I would suggest working on that at home if you are worried about that. FWIW we are not fully sold on homeschooling beyond preschool right now, we are about 50/50. I think preschool at home is good practice for myself and ds if we decide to continue beyond pre-k age.

[Holiztic]

We decided to skip it, at least for now, we'll revisit the idea next Fall when he's 4.5. Like PP, it would ruin our schedule/rhythm and I also didn't like the "get them ready for Kindergarten" approach of even the play-based ones.

So we are doing "a la carte" preschool with gymnastics once a week and a musical theater class once per week. They are short (45 minutes) and I don't leave, but I can sit in the waiting area and relax, read, think while he gets some social time.

[lach]

Yes, we put my daughter in a Montessori program starting in the Toddler program (for 2 year olds), and I plan on having all of my kids go to Montessori school through kindergarten.

I think that preschool is a great experience and they learn so much. It also makes life much easier on me. I am always a little skeptical when people say that you don't need preschool, you can just sign your child up for lots of classes and playgroups and go to the playground every day and do story time. That sounds like an awful lot of driving around town, remembering schedules, entertaining my younger child in lobbies, and boring time for me. Much easier to drop her off at preschool, where she can socialize and do fun activities and explore, and then I can go home and spend time with my younger child.

I also love the Montessori curriculum, and the social aspects are an integral part of the program. I know that people homeschool using a Montessori method, but I'm not really sure how that works. Learning and teaching other children are major components of the philosophy. And I think those things are really, really important for young children and help them grow in ways that they just can't get at home, or in a one hour once a week class or playgroup.

[lindsayjean]

We're doing preschool 2 mornings a week this fall. It's a waldorf school so lots and lots of arts and crafts. My daughter is really into this kind of thing and I'm not very artsy, so I thought it'd be good for her. I wouldn't put her into anything more than 2 days a week though, but I'm hoping she enjoys it! We probably wouldn't have done it if my mom would not have offered to help pay for it, but I am pretty excited that she'll get to do all the natural crafty things sine she begs to do crafts all day long and I just am not crafty (I'm trying though!!).

Also, selfishly, I need a little break. I also have a 1 yr old, and may be teaching some yoga or getting some grocery shopping done with only ONE kid while she's school. Working on family balance...