Homeschooling/unschooling preschool

[jenn_unplugged]

Does that even make sense? I've gone back and forth about putting Carter in preschool, and every time I decide it's not time yet. For one thing, we have an AMAZING nanny, and I want to hang on to her as long as possible. This semester, I'm organizing my schedule so that I work two days a week (all day, 7-5) and then spend the other three days at

Comments

[handstil]

I do lots of montessori at home and we're set to start just two days a week for three hours, at a local montessori/waldorf preschool. The only reason I feel compelled to put E in school is because of his developmental progress. It feels like a good idea to have him in a position to model his peers. I plan to homeschool/unschool for elementary school.

[jenn_unplugged]

You live south, right? I've heard good things about that W/M school, but it way too far from us. There is a fantastic preschool up here (Terra Luz) that I will probably look into in another year or so. I want to see what happens if we have another baby first, and then figure out how that will change things. I keep thinking I might like to have a little alone time with a new baby every now and then. I have no idea...

[handstil]

We're North-Central, the preschool is called Natural Child
http://thenaturalchildlearningcommunity.com/Site/About.html

[jenn_unplugged]

Oh, cool! I'll have to put it on my list of things to check out when the time comes. :-)

[sassywoman]

I would re-eval this when C is three. We have not put Emma in any type of preschool and she is almost three. I really don't sit down and teach her in a structured format. Like you, we just explore, talk, read, go out etc... so I think what you're doing is fine. I put Emma in a Mother's Day Out program at our church when she was 18 months more for socialization then anything and ended up pulling her out because from my observations it was just a rowdy play environment that really didn't offer her anything that I couldn't do at home

[jenn_unplugged]

Yes, Carter will be 3.5 before we would likely enroll him in anything, and even then it would be only part-time. I want to wait and see how things will work out child-care-wise when/if we have another baby. At this point it looks like we'll have our nanny at least for another year, but she's about to graduate and is weighing her own options. It's complicated!

[telemicus]

I think you could wait til 3 and be fine, but I am an advocate for preschoolers getting to spend some time playing with other kids with no adults within reach -- we did Gymboree too and it is good, but my kids preschool gives him lots of free play with kids his age and it is invaluable. I think like with language learning etc there is a sensitive period when kids needs unstructured play time with other kids or they never develop necessary social skills, and I think waiting til 4 or 5 is honestly bordering on too late.

[jenn_unplugged]

I know a lot of people who homeschool who would probably disagree with that, but I do think that if your child is going to be in school, they will definitely benefit from learning some of the social skills they need for school before they start kinder. Of course, a generation ago, that's what kindergarten was for, right? It was meant to ease the transition into school after kids had been home with mom for the first five years of their lives. Interesting how things have changed...

[telemicus]

Oh I know my opinion is not a popular one :D You might like this article, sent yesterday from the head of my kid's preschool, where its ALL playplayplay
http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2009/08/30/pressure_cooker_kindergarten/?page=5t

My and my cognitive psych PhD think that kids need those social skills (and a chance to learn them at 3 or 4 yrs old) regardless of whether or not they are going to be homeschooled, they will eventually go into the world, and from the homeschooled adults I know, there is a sensitive period for unsupervised socialization skills and they have missed it.

Just my 2cents btw, I don't mean to sound snotty.

[jenn_unplugged]

Thanks for that link! I reposted it to FB after reading it, actually. Since I'm a teacher educator, I see a lot of that sort of thing firsthand, and it's frustrating to watch idealistic young teachers get sucked into the accountability machine that is public education these days. But now that I'm also a parent, it's a whole new level of fear. :-P

Preschool is a fairly recent phenomenon, and so I'm guessing that traditionally kids would get lots of chances to interact unsupervised with other kids even while staying at home -- neighbors, cousins, siblings, and so on. But these days we live much more isolated lives, and I can see how that could be a problem.

And hey, that wasn't snotty at all! My PhD was not in education, and so I always like to hear from people who actually know more about this stuff than I do! :-)

[scrtkpr]

Hi! I keep meaning to reply to your entries on the subject of education, because I've been doing SO much thinking on this subject in the last couple years. I don't know if you remember the ages of my kids, but I (now) have a 7yo, 5yo, and 3yo. (You met the 3yo when she was 18 months old.) We really struggled over whether to put our oldest in Kindergarten, finally did put him in public school, and, for a variety of reasons, were incredibly unhappy with what the schools here had to offer. So this year I've been homeschooling them!

As far as preschool, for my older daughter, I went with a play-based preschool that's just an hour and a half, two days a week. She absolutely LOVED it, and I think it was good for her. There's a good chance I'll put R in the same program next year (she has a late birthday, so she'll still be 3).

[jenn_unplugged]

I went with a play-based preschool that's just an hour and a half, two days a week.

That's exactly the sort of thing I would be interested in for Carter in another year or so. I want him to have a chance to play with other kids in a rich setting, and just a few times a week for short bursts. I'm not looking for day care -- I really want to make sure that this will be something that enhances his learning.

Wow, was she only 18mo then? She seemed so much older than that at the time, heh.

[merrywandering]

I haven't read through all the comments, but I'll just say that I'm of the opinion that any kind of "educational" program for kids under the age of 5 is a waste of time. Young kids learn best by play and exploration. Our job as parents is to foster and encourage the joy of discovery and exploration, and to expose kids to a variety of experiences (depending on comfort level, interest, etc, etc.) His interaction with you and the other people in his life is far more important than any so-called educational program.

And really, what does it matter if they know their ABCs and colors by age 2 or 3 or 4? That stuff isn't hard. It's not like they have to learn it by age two or they'll never learn it at all OMGWTFBBQ!!!!! What matters more is their interest: are they interested in coloring? or playing with blocks? or singing songs? Sam took a long time sorting out his colors, but by god that kid could name every kind of construction vehicle by the time he was 18 months old. When I realized that, I didn't worry so much about academic things

addendum

[merrywandering]

Oh yeah: cute story about trucks and colors. Somewhere - probably school - Sam picked up "John Deere green." Now every shade of green is "John Deere green." But my cousin works for Caterpillar, so I've been trying to teach Sam "Caterpillar yellow." He has so far failed to asorb the lesson.

So you see? Go with the kid's interest, not your idea of what you think they ought to know!

(I'm still hoping he'll get "Caterpillar yellow" before our family reunion next summer, though, or I'll have some explaining to do to my cousin....)