My daughter is going to start going to preschool at the beginning of September. I choose a park district program very close to my house, simply for convenience. The facility is nice, the teacher-student ratio is small, and I now she is going to love her time to explore and learn.
But I was taken aback when the preschool teacher began talking to me about the "curriculum."
"Do you have an questions about our academics?"
I get it. I know teachers in Kindergarten these days are teaching early reading. But preschool should still be for fun!
I guess I did not realize how much school has changed since I was a kid until I picked up
recently. It was published first in 1981, a few years before I went to kindergarten. In this book, Sister Bear is preparing to go to kindergarten for the first time. When the book showed pictures of the kindergarten room, I was surprised to notice that her kindergarten had coloring and painting easels, clay on the tables, play time with toys and dress up, and having story time with teacher. It looked just like what I imagine Strawberry's preschool classroom to look like.
As I read it to Strawberry, I changed the word "kindergarten" to "preschool" whenever I read about Sister Bear.
My understanding is that such play is not what kindergarten is like today.
Kindergarten has changed preschool into the new kindergarten. I think it's too bad. I saw
and I felt it was right on track as to what is wrong with pushing learning too soon.
Since I'm going to homeschool from kindergarten on (and maybe after one year of preschool), I feel a bit of relief at the flexibility I have in letting my daughter learn when she is ready. For that reason, here's what I see the point of preschool as:
Anything learning beyond those basic life lessons seem like icing on the cake! So for these reasons, I do not care about the preschool academics lesson plan. Preschool should not be about academics but about exploration!
Have you read T
? Did you notice how different the kindergarten classroom seemed to be from the kindergarten rooms of today? Do you worry about academics in your child's preschool?
Fall is a wonderful time for hands-on learning with young children! As the leaves change color and fall from the trees, you have plenty of opportunities to explore nature, create simple crafts, and enjoy autumn together. If you’re looking for fall activities for your preschoolers or young homeschoolers, here are three ideas to try: DIY leaf
Read More
I love finding ways to turn items destined for the trash into learning tools and games in our homeschool. One day, we rescued an empty tissue box and turned it into a silly ABC monster! This easy tissue box monster craft became one of our favorite alphabet recognition activities. Our monster loves eating letters, and
Read More
We created our own mail center in our schoolroom and play room because my kids love getting the mail. They love to send letters to friends, teachers, and grandparents. I also created monster postcard templates to help them practice everything from early writing skills to addressing postcards and learning the parts of a letter. Of
Read More
My little preschooler loves hands-on activities, and it if includes glue, it is even better. After reading the very silly Skeleton Hiccups by Margery Cuyler, we learned a little about the skeletal system and then did a q-tip swab skeleton craft. What a perfect learning activity for the Halloween season! About the Book Skeleton HiccupsSkeleton
Read More
Ah! Fall! The weather is not scheduled up in the 80s and 90s, and we can anticipate the crunch of falling leaves. Fall always reminds me of apple picking. I’m not sure we’re going this year, but it has been a frequent tradition for our family. To keep my little kids busy when I’m busy with
Read More
Part of learning to construct sentences is recognizing the parts of speech. When students have an understanding of the parts of speech and grammar, they can better express themselves in both writing and speech. Students can understand how sentences are composed and why they are as they are. Students can recognize mistakes, especially as they
Read More