Stay at home moms sometimes are concerned that their children, who haven't attended preschool, may not be ready for "school". I found an interesting list of things your child should be able to do in preparation for preschool. These types of lists are never exhaustive and have to include things that are somewhat measureable. But it is interesting.
Actually the whole concept of the site is interesting because they are basically campaigning AGAINST universal preschool. "Who would be against schooling?" you may think to yourself. Well, I have to say that I probably would be a member of this camp. It is a difficult issue but in the end I don't think that all three, four and five year olds should spend full days (or even half days) in school everyday. Of course, some families need care like this and hopefully their providers incorporate age appropriate materials. I guess that's the other issue. Often, when the school district gets a hold of preschool it twists it into some type of academic exercise that is not in keeping with the needs of young children (even first and second grades often don't use appropriate methods because they are getting ready for tests in third grade). Anyway, I see the need, I know the research and at the end of the day I think many, but not all, can benefit from preschool. I am glad that it is becoming a more widespread option - but it should not be mandatory by any means.
In some ways, this leads to our co-op idea. Basically, few of us have the funds or got on the waiting list early enough to send our children to preschool. However, we are intelligent people with a range of abilities and interests (cooking, music, other languages, etc.). So, we are looking at pooling our resources to create a "co-op preschool" for our kiddos. It would probably only meet two days a week in the morning and we are still debating about the type of curriculum we would use (montessori, enrichment, Bible based, etc.) I will post more about this little adventure as it develops.
1 comment:
What a great idea! Most of the kids from our play group only go to preschool 2 or 3 mornings a week. A lady in our neighborhood ahd a preschool in her home two mornings a week. Many different ways to create the preschool adventure. Good luck and please keep us posted, you might consider combining a variety of curriculums for what fits the group and your goals. You might visit the website Nationa Association for the Education of Young Children.
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