So obviously it's early for this to be front and center in our minds for our A14ers, but I was talking to another mom this week who has a 2 5 yo and she was discussing preschool options in our local area. It got me thinking about my (probably ridiculously specific) criteria for an early childhood program that I'd want for J. In an attempt to stimulative some discussion around here, what do you look for/think you will look for down the road? Something that directly teaches academics, something exclusively play-based? A specific philosophy? Only religious/ only secular/ don't care? Other criteria?
We recently went to a little Get School Ready informational thing put on by a program here. It was so helpful to hear someone talk about the differences in school types. But what we got out of it was that we need to make sure that our kids go somewhere that allows them to be kids still. To me, preschool is for learning how to relate to others, not for learning how to do long division so that's what we wanted to look for. But now that I'm going back to work, J will do preschool at daycare and we're good with that. When we decided on a center we felt really comfortable with how he will be taught.
DD's current daycare goes through age 5, so she could stay there. And DS will be going there, so I am not sure it would be worth the effort to have them at different places. I have done no research, and have no idea what I am talking about, but I am pretty sure the daycare does a lot of kindergarten prep, but they keep it mostly play based, which sounds good to me. But I really like the convenience of the daycare being where I work, so it may take a strong argument to make me switch to someplace else.
I do want more playbased, based on my extremley limited knowledge.
DD's current daycare goes through age 5, so she could stay there. And DS will be going there, so I am not sure it would be worth the effort to have them at different places. I have done no research, and have no idea what I am talking about, but I am pretty sure the daycare does a lot of kindergarten prep, but they keep it mostly play based, which sounds good to me. But I really like the convenience of the daycare being where I work, so it may take a strong argument to make me switch to someplace else.
I do want more playbased, based on my extremley limited knowledge.
+1, this is us, too. We are very happy with our DC and J will stay there until kindergarten, i hope!
I prefer more play based preschool. I'm not a fan of Montessori and will avoid it.
I agree, but I thought Montessori school was a play based school? I've not done research, but that's what I thought. What's the difference? I'm clueless.
I prefer more play based preschool. I'm not a fan of Montessori and will avoid it.
This is interesting to me- I've really only met people who were either hung-ho Montessori or were either indifferent or didn't know anything about it. I've always been mostly indifferent myself. What specifically do you dislike, if you don't mind sharing?
Post by gratefulgirl on Apr 28, 2016 8:50:57 GMT -5
I think Montessori would fit DD1's personality very well. She's our little rule follower and lover. However the local Montessori schools are a) not close and b) 5 days a week for 4 year olds. We wanted close and ideally 2 days a week (ended up with 3).
The program we are at is a happy medium of very close - we could walk there if it didn't involve crossing a busy secondary road - and high quality. It isn't NAYEC accredited but it uses many of the principals. I found that most preschools we visited paid at least lip service to being play based. I think it will be rare to find a program that will claim it isn't play based. Based on my research on preschools the most important thing is to find a place with a warm, caring teacher who cares to connect to your kids. Secondary to that you want one that "scaffolds" kids learning by carefully helping them discover things for themselves with prompting from the teacher rather than hands them down a set curriculum in a way that is appropriate for the elementary years.
Our preschool is a mainline sort of Christian, different enough from us that I don't expect the religious instruction will be that applicable. I wouldn't have minded a more church based program, but the close ones were a lot less quality in the classroom interactions.
I think Montessori would fit DD1's personality very well. She's our little rule follower and lover. However the local Montessori schools are a) not close and b) 5 days a week for 4 year olds. We wanted close and ideally 2 days a week (ended up with 3).
The program we are at is a happy medium of very close - we could walk there if it didn't involve crossing a busy secondary road - and high quality. It isn't NAYEC accredited but it uses many of the principals. I found that most preschools we visited paid at least lip service to being play based. I think it will be rare to find a program that will claim it isn't play based. Based on my research on preschools the most important thing is to find a place with a warm, caring teacher who cares to connect to your kids. Secondary to that you want one that "scaffolds" kids learning by carefully helping them discover things for themselves with prompting from the teacher rather than hands them down a set curriculum in a way that is appropriate for the elementary years.
Our preschool is a mainline sort of Christian, different enough from us that I don't expect the religious instruction will be that applicable. I wouldn't have minded a more church based program, but the close ones were a lot less quality in the classroom interactions.
Waldorf and Reggio Emelia would never fit us.
Nerd alert- I did my thesis on Reggio Emilia and this is mostly how I would describe it, so I find these two thoughts surprising in combination. Can I ask you to elaborate? What is it about RE that you feel wouldn't fit well?
A is technically already in preschool.. It's Christian based, but they focus a lot on play and just letting them be kids.
Pretty much. He's in daycare but will move up to the "early start" program in August. They mostly play.
I'm not really interested in something structured until he's truly school-aged. I feel like they learn so much from play, both solo and with each other. It's adorable to see them start to interact.
I prefer more play based preschool. I'm not a fan of Montessori and will avoid it.
This is interesting to me- I've really only met people who were either hung-ho Montessori or were either indifferent or didn't know anything about it. I've always been mostly indifferent myself. What specifically do you dislike, if you don't mind sharing?
Disclaimer: I've never witnessed Montessori in action. My perception is that it is very unstructured and that there's a lot of "free" time that won't translate well when they start kindergarten. In addition to the popularity has made it seem as though it's the best thing for all kids and it just isn't.
Post by peachesncream on Apr 28, 2016 9:31:29 GMT -5
I am not sure DD will go to preschool. It just seems like a hassle to coordinate 2 kids in separate care with two working parents, one of whom works an inconsistent schedule. #FFFC?
I think Montessori would fit DD1's personality very well. She's our little rule follower and lover. However the local Montessori schools are a) not close and b) 5 days a week for 4 year olds. We wanted close and ideally 2 days a week (ended up with 3).
The program we are at is a happy medium of very close - we could walk there if it didn't involve crossing a busy secondary road - and high quality. It isn't NAYEC accredited but it uses many of the principals. I found that most preschools we visited paid at least lip service to being play based. I think it will be rare to find a program that will claim it isn't play based. Based on my research on preschools the most important thing is to find a place with a warm, caring teacher who cares to connect to your kids. Secondary to that you want one that "scaffolds" kids learning by carefully helping them discover things for themselves with prompting from the teacher rather than hands them down a set curriculum in a way that is appropriate for the elementary years.
Our preschool is a mainline sort of Christian, different enough from us that I don't expect the religious instruction will be that applicable. I wouldn't have minded a more church based program, but the close ones were a lot less quality in the classroom interactions.
Waldorf and Reggio Emelia would never fit us.
Nerd alert- I did my thesis on Reggio Emilia and this is mostly how I would describe it, so I find these two thoughts surprising in combination. Can I ask you to elaborate? What is it about RE that you feel wouldn't fit well?
It's not the theory of the program that I don't think would fit. I actually like the theory behind both Reggio and Waldorf. It's the families it tends to attract. I'm not saying that in a way that's meant to say I don't like those families. I just feel like we would be complete oddballs in either setting. My very rough, very caricatured impression is that families who are attracted to those models are looser and with a huge focus on creativity. We're very structured people.
Post by puffandstuff on Apr 28, 2016 9:38:49 GMT -5
DD#1 will be going to a Reggio Emilia pre-k program. I haven't decided when to start DD#2 in preschool or wait for pre-k. They currently go to a sitter. The Reggio Emilia schools are more prevalent around here. When she went to daycare she thrived in the that program.
Nerd alert- I did my thesis on Reggio Emilia and this is mostly how I would describe it, so I find these two thoughts surprising in combination. Can I ask you to elaborate? What is it about RE that you feel wouldn't fit well?
It's not the theory of the program that I don't think would fit. I actually like the theory behind both Reggio and Waldorf. It's the families it tends to attract. I'm not saying that in a way that's meant to say I don't like those families. I just feel like we would be complete oddballs in either setting. My very rough, very caricatured impression is that families who are attracted to those models are looser and with a huge focus on creativity. We're very structured people.
I'm confused I thought Montessori was much more unstructured.
It's not the theory of the program that I don't think would fit. I actually like the theory behind both Reggio and Waldorf. It's the families it tends to attract. I'm not saying that in a way that's meant to say I don't like those families. I just feel like we would be complete oddballs in either setting. My very rough, very caricatured impression is that families who are attracted to those models are looser and with a huge focus on creativity. We're very structured people.
I'm confused I thought Montessori was much more unstructured.
The books I read on Montessori are actually that it is very structured. Kids are taught the exact steps to do something (like pour themselves water into a cup from a small pitcher). DD1 would love that. But maybe that's not how it is at a lot of Montessori schools.
I'm confused I thought Montessori was much more unstructured.
The books I read on Montessori are actually that it is very structured. Kids are taught the exact steps to do something (like pour themselves water into a cup from a small pitcher). DD1 would love that. But maybe that's not how it is at a lot of Montessori schools.
Ok. I received a daily schedule from the school and it was not like that. They had 2 3 hour blocks of free play, reading and meal times.
The books I read on Montessori are actually that it is very structured. Kids are taught the exact steps to do something (like pour themselves water into a cup from a small pitcher). DD1 would love that. But maybe that's not how it is at a lot of Montessori schools.
Ok. I received a daily schedule from the school and it was not like that. They had 2 3 hour blocks of free play, reading and meal times.
Whoah. 3 hour blocks of free play? My kid can get that at home while I clean the house for free.
We have public preK starting at 3, but it's a citywide lottery so we aren't guaranteed to get into our neighborhood school, which is fantastic. If we don't get into that school, there are some other lottery options that are Reggio Emilio, Montessori, etc. Honestly, the most important thing for me is that the program is stimulating for M - I think she's a pretty adaptable kid and could do well in most settings as long as she was engaged.
We'll be sending A to a catholic school's preschool program starting in August. It's where MH teaches so that's why we chose there- we know everything about the philosophy of the school, curriculum, and H knows the teachers well.
The books I read on Montessori are actually that it is very structured. Kids are taught the exact steps to do something (like pour themselves water into a cup from a small pitcher). DD1 would love that. But maybe that's not how it is at a lot of Montessori schools.
Ok. I received a daily schedule from the school and it was not like that. They had 2 3 hour blocks of free play, reading and meal times.
Hmm. I would guess that that school is either an anomaly or that their "free play" is deceptively structured based on the (admittedly not much) I know about Montessori. I know one of their big things is teaching kids the skills to structure themselves, so maybe it's "free play" within a pretty well determined framework and structure? In general I would expect a Montessori classroom to be more heavily structured than a Reggio classroom.
Post by starrynight14 on Apr 28, 2016 12:10:06 GMT -5
With DS1, he attended a preschool that was a good mix of play based and academic. I wanted him to get the social aspect as well and get used to the idea of a school setting to prepare him for kindergarten.
I never really did any research on these methods before hand. I just had several of friends and family rave about the preschool so I decided to take their referral, and was pleased. I assume I will send LO there as well. It's crazy to think that these toddlers will be 3 next year and ready for preschool!!!
DS's current DC has pre-school. He is currently in the Infant room and after the age of 2 graduates to a different structured program each year until 5 when he starts Kindergarten. I have played with the idea of starting him at the German International school for pre-school (grandma is full blooded German and I like the idea of him learning a second language) but if I can talk H into a second baby I will not be able to afford to do it.
Then Comes Family, LLC is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising
program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.