An ADVANCED pre-school class?!!?

Question

My youngest is 3yrs & currently in a summer program at this new pre-school we're trying. The teacher pulled me aside today & told me that the school was going to have an advanced pre-school class for 3-4yrs/ 4-5yrs in the fall and that my daughter would qualify if I wanted to put her in it. ?? When I asked her what the heck that was, she said, "It's a class where pre-school aged children who have mastered certain skills above and beyond the average will be challenged an appropriate amount and take on new tasks. Based on Peyton's motor skills, she will qualify."

...So what do they do...AP coloring? Advanced gluing? While my daughter can write her letters pretty well for 3yrs (thanks to my 18yr), count pretty high etc, I'm not seeing a huge difference btwn her and the average 3yr.

Has anyone ever heard of a class like this? Have you or would you put your child into a class like this?

Answer 1

That is hilarious - AP coloring - thank you for the chuckle!!  :)

I've never heard of such a thing.  Good luck!!

Answer 2

i say talk  to your daughter and at least try it.

i think they learn stuff they would normally learn in  first grade or kindergarten.

Answer 3

I would imagine that *advanced* preschool would be more working with letters sounds and recognition earlier on than a regular pre-school. More focused on writing/reading and sounding out.

Both of my daughters went to a very good, in demand pre-school in our area and it made a huge difference. They were reading short stories, writing full name and family members names and doing simple addition and subtraction  etc before Kindergarten.

Some of the kids in their kindy class (most) didn't do any pre-school and there was a pretty major difference in their skills. The class was 50% behind in teaching them what they needed to know and they were bored out of their minds. so.. obviously if you put your child in that class, be prepared in Kindergarten to *supplement* and give her more of a challenge at home to keep her mind occupied.

BTW- make sure this *advanced* class has just as much play time/free time and silly activities just like the regular. it would be awful to find out that she was forced to sit all day and do nothing but *work* in pre-school.

Answer 4

LOL. This MADE my day! I've been a teacher for pre-school-5th and high school, degrees in child dev and early childhood ed and never have a heard of a CLASSROOM filled with advanced pre-schoolers haha. I'm picturing a bunch of little kids with Einstein glasses on.  Tutoring, yes. In kindergarten+ yes...for the kids that were really above and beyond and needed to be challenged...but at 3yrs....what skills has she mastered already??! What do they do in the class?

If she's happy where she is, leave her be. She'll be fine :) and learn plenty I'm sure.

Best Wishes =]

Answer 5

I would be very careful about placing a child in an "advanced" preschool class. The whole idea may sound good at first, but many parents who mean well actually have the whole thing backfire on them later, when academics really DO matter. Too many preschools are getting on this bandwagon of providing "advanced placement" classes for children who "qualify". All it does is cause competition among parents and their children, and it also sets children up for frustration later! I am not saying that your school will be like this, but I am saying that as a former teacher with 3 children of my own, 1 of them with an extremely high IQ, let them be little!!! If your little one seems bored with what is going on in the normal class (which I doubt she will be), then you can always do some extra things with her at home! But when you will not be at the school the entire time to monitor exactly what is going on, then again, I would be concerned. One bad experience could give her a negative impression of school that will be VERY hard to erase! As I said, one of our children has a very high IQ. I knew from about the age of 11 months that she was different. We chose to wait until she went to Kindergarten, and then let the teachers make their own decisions about her. She was tested and found to have an IQ of over 155 and has been attending a gifted class each week. Besides that, she just enjoys learning on her own and I always encouraged it as a toddler but never pushed it or forced it! Little ones need lots of playtime and unstructured activities. If your preschool starts doing things like sending home homework for her to do, RUN far away from that place.

Answer 6

I never heard of it.  But I like the idea.  Everyone needs challenges and objectives.  If recognizing colors and shapes is old news and the child shows a readiness for identifying letters, and the forum exists... why not?  

A bigger question though is... who pays for this?  If it's private, I guess it's an individual consideration sort of thing.  Excess classes weighs on the pocketbook.  A parent with financial constraints would have to say to him/herself, "I grew up without all this... Does my child really need this?"  If it's a free public education, now it's a taxpayer issue.  Might hit the taxpayers a lot less to segregate for an hour or so, a high functioning group of kids to accomplish the same thing.  And it still leaves plenty of time for interacting, playing and sharing, which are such crucial development areas at that age.

Answer 7

That is a hoot!! Advanced gluing......LOL

No, I have never heard of AP coloring either. I know brilliant teens who still can not color between the lines! LOL

They will try to sell anything today! This may be OK and will not harm a child and it will certainly be great for the parent who's ego needs constant reassurance but I think the whole concept is pretty crazy!

Answer 8

This reminds me of a conversation at the park 4 years ago between a child I was a nanny to and another child..

Girl: I know all of the alphabet.

Boy: I peed my pants at the library today.

Yet they were really both on the same page academically. Keep your child in a normal class.