Skipping preschool? - Page 2

[Emmeline II]

Originally Posted by kmeyrick

The research has been overwhelmingly positive for preschool- effects that apparently last throughout all the school years.

We must be reading different research:

Experience provides little reason to believe universal preschool would significantly benefit children, regardless of family income. For nearly 40 years, local, state, and federal governments and diverse private sources have funded early intervention programs for low-income children, and benefits to the children have been few and fleeting. There is also evidence that middle-class children gain little, if anything, from preschool. Benefits to children in public preschools are unlikely to be greater or more enduring.

http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa-333es.html

[s_kristina]

Originally Posted by heket

Why not from a local school district instead of the K teacher?

I think I had mentioned asking a K teacher earlier. For us it's because what they expect can vary from school to school. The district we live in is very large. It also has traditional public schools, magnet schools and charter schools which all have different expectations. My dd is at our local public school which is also a magnet school, confusing much? We also have schools that are either on or just off base so they deal with children who could move at any time when their parents' orders are changed. I really love the school she is at, but there are other schools in the district that would not work well for her at all. Also here in the state of FL pre-k is covered by the state for a certain number of hours in the year. We had our dd in a short summer session of it and plan for ds to go when he is older. Even with that I don't think they need it, but I like having the option without having to pay tons for it.

[kmeyrick]

I agree, research can be conflicting. I would also ask what the definition of preschool is in each study. In some areas the terms preschool and day care are completely interchangeable, while in other areas preschool is taught by certified teachers with masters degrees. Yes, of course kids learn at home, but stupidly, a lot of districts are arranging their kindy curriculum based on the assumption that the kids have gone to preschool and know the routine of school, like sharing crayons, hanging up the coats, etc. Stuff that seems trivial to us, but is a big deal for them. Kindy used to be a year of socializing, learning how to learn, how to be a student, etc. Now we are making it academic, and I question the wisdom of that. We have a lot of kids in older grades now who all hate each other because they don't know how to get along. :

[mahogny]

My son didn't go to preschool as such, and I had no plans to send him. However, after we moved into this district, the school changed from half-day Kindergarten to mandatory full-day K. My DS is highly sensitive, and so I sent him to the half-day pre-K (four year old program) at the same public school. (Our state has state-wide pre-K in all the public schools.)

Academically, I know he would have been great going straight into Kindergarten without the pre-K, as he was already reading and doing simple math at 4 yo. But because of his particular temperament, I thought that sending him to full-day K without any kind of "introductory" program would have been needlessly traumatic for him. (Ds's bday is right after the cut-off, so he was actually 5 yo in pre-K, and is now 6 yo in Kindergarten.)

If he had a different temperament, I would not have sent him to pre-K, as I don't believe preschool is necessary for academics or sociability, and in fact I think that pre-school age children learn better at home. (I debated for a year, no exaggeration, on whether to send him or not, such is my dislike of preschools.)

My daughter has a temperament that would do just fine without pre-K, but as she sees her big brother going to school, she wants to go as well.

[mommy68]

Originally Posted by Mary-Beth

I don't see a "need" for preschool.

I agree somewhat. But there are many reasons that preschool can be good to prepare for kindergarten. A major one is that the kids get used to being left somewhere and get used to a daily routine with someone other than mom. Preschool isn't required so if you drop junior off there and they throw a fit you can always just take them home. But kindergarten is different. It's suddenly real school and you can't take them home every morning they decide they want you to keep them home when they are scared to go to school. By going to Preschool they are more prepared that way. There are quite a few kids in my DD's kindergarten class that cried every single day when being left at school earlier this year and for some that lasted for several months, whereas the others could just be dropped off and they were fine. There are also kids that can't have their parents chaperone field trips without going beserk when mom or dad leaves them to go back to work. These are primarily kids that weren't in preschool. Kids who find it hard to adapt make the class move slower in a lot of areas, and get their teacher behind each morning when they are begging mom to stay and crying their heads off.

The kids also get a head start on things that will be done in a classroom in kindergarten like reading, writing, computer, socializing. Not that all those things can't be done at home because they can be done at home. But some kids just benefit a lot more from being around other kids and another adult each day. I know my daughter did.

[RomanGoddess]

It's not a necessity but why on earth not? I think preschool can be wonderful and a whole lot more stimulating than sitting around at home. I wish my parents had put me in one. I was bored stiff at home. My own daughter, age 3, goes 4 hours per day. Cannot imagine her getting the same enrichment at home during that time.

[Roxswood]

I went to preschool but still took months to settle into real school. So much of it is about your childs personality, maybe the children who struggle with school didn't go to preschool simply because it would have been too much to cope with as they're more sensitive children rather than it being the lack of preschool that made them that way.

I never really settled into being in school all day, even at high school I struggled with the afternoon, I was highly introverted and I believe made more so by school because I didn't get the time alone and in quiet that I needed to wind down.

[messy mama]

Originally Posted by cmlp

It's not a necessity but why on earth not? I think preschool can be wonderful and a whole lot more stimulating than sitting around at home. I wish my parents had put me in one. I was bored stiff at home. My own daughter, age 3, goes 4 hours per day. Cannot imagine her getting the same enrichment at home during that time.

Maybe our children aren't just "sitting around at home".

My child and I bake together, go to museums, read books, play with toys, visit friends and family, go to the park, ride bikes, paint, play with play-doh, play basketball, play board games (this is probably DS's favorite activity), etc.

Maybe if all we did was sit at home and stare at the walls, pre-school would be a better alternative.

[MamaJamie]

I'm with messymama on this one. My son and I certainly don't just sit around at home staring at the walls! Not only does he participate in the "running" per se of the household (he cooks, cleans, organizes...) but he practices interacting with all types of people as often as possible. Instead of only being around people his own age, he interacts with the baker, the neighbors, older kids, younger kids, my friends, my husband's coworkers, the checker at the grocery store, random people we meet at auctions. To me, it is more important for him to learn how to get by and get along in this world than it is for him to learn how to stand in line and raise his hand when he needs to go potty. This country is a democratic one (okay, I know it's a republic, but you know what I mean) and so we run our house in the same way. Sometimes he has to do adult things and sometimes I have to do kid things. I still haven't decided on kindergarten, but I see no reason for him to go to a preschool program for the purpose of learning to obey a teacher instead of a mother--he can learn that at the fire station or the library.

So this has gotten fairly far off the original topic, but to the original poster, I say your child will be fine, if not better off without the preschool!

[kmeyrick]

Originally Posted by MamaJamie

To me, it is more important for him to learn how to get by and get along in this world than it is for him to learn how to stand in line and raise his hand when he needs to go potty.
So this has gotten fairly far off the original topic, but to the original poster, I say your child will be fine, if not better off without the preschool!

I would like to gently point out that early childhood educators do much more than teach kids how to stand in line and raise their hands to go to the potty. I am not an early childhood teacher, but I greatly admire them. Too often, they're viewed as glorified babysitters. Not the ones I know. These are women with masters degrees that teach fine and gross motor skills, phonemic awareness, stimulation of the five senses, comprehension of the world around them, communication skills, independence skills, I could go on and on. The kids in our inner-city school cook, paint, even practice some Montessori strategies. Our preschool teachers are teachers, occupational/physical therapists, speech pathologists, and psychologists rolled into one! Our parents are very happy with our teachers.

Some kids do fine without preschool, but implying that they will be better off is kind of a slap in the face to dedicated, highly trained professionals who choose a low-paying field in the already low-paying world of teaching because they care and truly love children. That's saying that preschool teachers are generally somehow destructive to children.

Here's a list of what our preschool has done so far this year as of the end of November:

1. Seen a play of Leo Lionni's books.
2. Been to the local zoo.
3. Been to a farm and picked some apples.
4. Gone to the aquarium.
5. Went to a science museum.
6. Learned about color mixing with paint (blue and yellow make green, etc).
7. Practice art every day to help motor skills.
8. Have learned songs in both English and Spanish.
9. Have made their own puppets.
10. Have learned both English and Spanish from each other.

And that's just the stuff I've seen when I've not been in the library! For some parents who are unable to take their kids to these places due to money or work, our preschool teachers are a godsend! And they love kids. They really do.

[MamaJamie]

Didn't mean to offend your local preschool teachers. Ironically enough, I do have an AS in early childhood development and an MS in education. My response was mostly toward a PP's description of a mini-preschool or kindergarten readiness program in her town which focused on those things as being what kids who didn't attend preschool would be lacking...

[s_kristina]

Originally Posted by mommy68

I agree somewhat. But there are many reasons that preschool can be good to prepare for kindergarten. A major one is that the kids get used to being left somewhere and get used to a daily routine with someone other than mom. Preschool isn't required so if you drop junior off there and they throw a fit you can always just take them home. But kindergarten is different. It's suddenly real school and you can't take them home every morning they decide they want you to keep them home when they are scared to go to school. By going to Preschool they are more prepared that way. There are quite a few kids in my DD's kindergarten class that cried every single day when being left at school earlier this year and for some that lasted for several months, whereas the others could just be dropped off and they were fine. There are also kids that can't have their parents chaperone field trips without going beserk when mom or dad leaves them to go back to work. These are primarily kids that weren't in preschool. Kids who find it hard to adapt make the class move slower in a lot of areas, and get their teacher behind each morning when they are begging mom to stay and crying their heads off.

The kids also get a head start on things that will be done in a classroom in kindergarten like reading, writing, computer, socializing. Not that all those things can't be done at home because they can be done at home. But some kids just benefit a lot more from being around other kids and another adult each day. I know my daughter did.

Oddly I've seen the exact oppisite with a child in dd's class. This child was in daycare for long days starting at 6 weeks old. I've talked to her grandma who does pick up and drop offs. She screams and cries every single morning for her mother. She has also acted sick and just begged the teacher to send her home so she can spend time with her mom. On the other hand my dd stayed at home with me until she went to a short pre-K program over the summer. Her first day of pre-k she ran in the room and didn't want to stop to even kiss me or look back. She was 5.5 when she started school and very ready at that point. Even a year earlier it might not have gone so well. How each child is going to react to school is very individual and changes as they age.

[UUMom]

Originally Posted by kmeyrick

I would like to gently point out that early childhood educators do much more than teach kids how to stand in line and raise their hands to go to the potty. I am not an early childhood teacher, but I greatly admire them. Too often, they're viewed as glorified babysitters. Not the ones I know. These are women with masters degrees that teach fine and gross motor skills, phonemic awareness, stimulation of the five senses, comprehension of the world around them, communication skills, independence skills, I could go on and on. The kids in our inner-city school cook, paint, even practice some Montessori strategies. Our preschool teachers are teachers, occupational/physical therapists, speech pathologists, and psychologists rolled into one! Our parents are very happy with our teachers.

Some kids do fine without preschool, but implying that they will be better off is kind of a slap in the face to dedicated, highly trained professionals who choose a low-paying field in the already low-paying world of teaching because they care and truly love children. That's saying that preschool teachers are generally somehow destructive to children.

Here's a list of what our preschool has done so far this year as of the end of November:

1. Seen a play of Leo Lionni's books.
2. Been to the local zoo.
3. Been to a farm and picked some apples.
4. Gone to the aquarium.
5. Went to a science museum.
6. Learned about color mixing with paint (blue and yellow make green, etc).
7. Practice art every day to help motor skills.
8. Have learned songs in both English and Spanish.
9. Have made their own puppets.
10. Have learned both English and Spanish from each other.

And that's just the stuff I've seen when I've not been in the library! For some parents who are unable to take their kids to these places due to money or work, our preschool teachers are a godsend! And they love kids. They really do.

I've found most preschools to be nicer than most kindergartens...more child- centered, more relaxed etc. The prechool children at my ds' school helped dig and maintain an organic garden with the older children. It was a lovely thing to see.

[RomanGoddess]

Originally Posted by messy mama

Maybe our children aren't just "sitting around at home".

My child and I bake together, go to museums, read books, play with toys, visit friends and family, go to the park, ride bikes, paint, play with play-doh, play basketball, play board games (this is probably DS's favorite activity), etc.

Maybe if all we did was sit at home and stare at the walls, pre-school would be a better alternative.

That's great. I think it is also good for children to be able to do that kind of stuff with more than just the same one person day after day.

Plus I don't think most homes have the same resources as a preschool. The teachers are amazing. They are specialists in developing motor skills, techniques for teaching pre-reading and numbers, helping kids learn to be more autonomous. Plus so many more materials than we have at home.

Also, your child is probably fortunate to have you. I am not sure that most parents have the time, energy, resources or even the inclination to be an effective "preschool" to their child every day, field trips, baking, playdoh, board games, basketball and all.