I'm looking for a preschool that includes learning to read and has some math & science in the curriculum?

Question

This is my first child and I feel at a loss of where to start looking for a pre-school. A lot of them seem like a daycare. Since I am a stay at home mom, I'm not looking for daycare, I'm looking for outside education and stimulation experiences for my daughter. I live in the NW side of San Antonio, TX so if anyone has specific school suggestions that would be great. If not, I'm also looking for some guidance on where to start. Thanks!

Answer 1

Ask the preschools you call if they follow the Early Learning Content Standards - those involve early reading, science, math, social studies, etc.  Good luck.

Answer 2

My sisters kids go to St. Marks and they love it! It's on Thousand Oaks Drive off 281!

Good luck!

Answer 3

I agree that you can teach so much at home. Preschool is a good opportunity for you child to learn to socialize with her peers and to follow the rules of the classroom. Including learning to follow what a teacher expects. I believe in children learning through play. You know your child and what you want for her. I suggest you visit the preschools and observe and ask lots of questions about their curriculum. Enjoy your child's young years!

Answer 4

If you are a stay at home mum, you don't need a pre-school.  There is nothing that they can teach that you can't do at home.  If your daughter needs the company of other children, then a mother and toddler/playgroup will do just as well.  Research has shown that children who start learning to read before they start school actually take longer to become fluent readers than if they had started from nothing at school.

Answer 5

You are right...a lot of preschools are inside of day cares.  Some can be great but your best bet is to look for private preschools.  We ended up sending our child to one that was involved with a church.  It was preschool only.  Just a side note...we were not a member of that church.  You don't have to be to enroll your child in them.  Most are very general in their "religion teachings".

You can homeschool preschool if that's something you would enjoy.  Just find a playgroup or story time around your area for the social side of things.  

May I suggest a book I'm using with my child for reading.  Teach Your Child To Read in 100 Easy Lesson by Siegfried Engelmann.  It has great reviews...check Amazon or Barnes and Noble.  I recommend it completely.  We are halfway through and he is reading pretty good!  

Good luck!

Answer 6

I think I may be able to help you with this.

I am not sure quite what research the first responder was talking about.  It seems vague to simply say "research says" without backing it up.  Research actually suggests something quite different - that the ages of 3-6 are a wonderful time to give children a learning opportunity.  Children are natural seekers of knowledge at this age.  They have just come out of an age where they took in so much information.  Three things they naturally learned were language, motor skills, and order.  Now is the age where they want to seek to refine those skills and a proper school setting can do that well.  I can provide evidence of these studies, but it sounds like you already know that as a mother.

We have a program set up where children are able to work on a variety of subjects.  They are given the opportunity to learn many different subjects.  There are 6 main parts to our curriculum:

--Practical Life

--Sensorial

--Language

--Math

--Cultural

--Science

For a child just starting off in the classroom, the Practical Life and the Sensorial areas are the main areas they take an interest in.  This is natural for them, as the practical life area gives them a sense of ownership over themself and the classroom.  They begin to take responsibility for themselves in a very real and natural way.  They begin to build confidence and begin to understand order.  The sensorial area helps a child refine those senses and isolate one skill so that they can begin to develop focus.  The children are drawn to all of the materials because they both fit the needs of the child and are attractive.  This combination makes them naturally WANT to do them.

The language, cultural, and the math materials are all an extension of the sensorial and practical life materials.  They move from a very concrete, physical example of what we are learning and move into a more abstract concept.  For example, a child growing up in this method knows exactly what the difference is between one, ten, 100, and 1000 because they have felt it in their hands consistently over a 3 year period.  They do not simply look at the number 4239 and are able to say it's name.  They have also built that number with special materials that give the child a concrete understanding of the difference.

The classroom setup allows for a 3 hour independent work cycle.  This gives the child a chance to develop focus and concentration.  It also provides the child the ability to explore the whole classroom and a variety of subjects.  The teacher is trained as an observer, to watch the children in the same way that a scientist might study nature.  As the teacher sees that a child is ready to move on to something or is ready for more direct instruction, the teacher will step in and help.  There is no sense in the child that "I have to get this right and get it done quickly," similar to what you might find in a more traditional program, where the teacher sets a specific pace for everyone. There is more a sense of continual discovery, where your child will love the learning process.

There are some schools like this in San Antonio.  I am not familiar with these particular schools, nor the person that runs them, so I will list them here and suggest you look at them.  I would also suggest watching the videos in my "Sources" below before you visit these schools so you have a sense of what to look for.  Here's the list I have:

CHILD MONTESSORI SCHOOL (Initiate Member School)

2829 Hunters Green

SAN ANTONIO 78231

72 Students 2 - 9 Years Old

Ms. Jean Stein

~210/493-6550 (Fax, 210/493-6550) August-May, Summer Program-Yes

E-mail: [e-mail]

Web: www.childmontessori.com

Programs Offered: Music, Art, Spanish & Computer

SAINT MARY'S HALL MONTESSORI (Full Member School)

9401 Starcrest Drive

SAN ANTONIO 78217

138 Students 3 - 6 Years Old

Mrs. Nur Mangalji

210/483-9100 (Fax, 210/655-3000) August-May, Summer Program-Yes

E-mail: [e-mail]

Web: www.smhall.org

Programs Offered: Music, Spanish, Extended Care, P.E., Library, Technology & After School Enrichment

THE JUDSON MONTESSORI SCHOOL (Full Member School)

17722 Rogers Ranch Pkwy

SAN ANTONIO 78258

303 Students 3 – 13 Years Old

Mr. Ralph Huber

~210/492-3553 (Fax, 210/492-3484) August-May, Summer Program-Yes

E-mail: [e-mail]

Web: www.judsonmontessori.com

Programs Offered: Music, Spanish & P.E.

Answer 7

Learning reading & math readiness skills,  developing fine & large motor skills,  social skills and developing oral language  are what your child should be learning in preschool.  Believe it or not, much of this is learned through play and a theme based curriculum with many, many hands-on, age appropriate activities. Don't be in such a hurry for your child to have formal reading.  It will come naturally. You want her to enjoy the gift of learning by exposing her to as much as you can without being so formal.  A good preschool will include across the curriculum discovery and will not promise that your child will be reading  high frequency  words or calculating multiplication tables by the end of the year.  Relax mom, let your daughter be free of stress.  Let her become engaged  and take pleasure in this preschool year.

Answer 8

HEADSTART is great for this.

Answer 9

Children in Preschool learn though play.By investigating and discovering. Not sitting at a desk.

Play dough is one of the best 'tools' that is used in preschool. It can be pinched, rolled, flattened, balled...By playing with play dough children are building their small motor skills.

You want your child to learn Math? It happens at water table. When a child pours water from on container to another they a learning about volume. Cooking is also a great way to learn math.

You want you child to learn science? Then planting a garden will hep the learn how plans grow. When children mix cornstarch with water a notice how it changes that is also science.

Answer 10

you don't necessarily need a preschool program i taught my children a lot before they ever stepped foot in a school and i am complemented at every teacher parent meeting....but if you feel she needs it find out about the teachers in schools in your area some of them are pretty much day care providers but some actually teach ask other mothers in your area watch how their children behave and speak.....if you can find a dedicated teacher your child will learn all of those subjects and more

Answer 11

I know you are trying to do whats best for your child.  I hear a lot of parents who are concerned about what children are actually "learning" in the setting of preschool.  What we know about the developing child in this age is that the are "little scientists."  Your child is developing in cognition, social , fine motor, physical, creative ways dramatically everyday.  A look into what the world is and how they negotiate within themselves and through others is done by experimenting. You might wonder why a teacher would have 4 year olds engage in washing babies after a nap for example. This activity would involve empathy, using your fingers, socializing, negotiating, making decisions, etc.  The amount of "learning" is immense in many of these play activities.  Trained preschool teachers actually understand where your child is developmentally and create a environment the facilitates (through play/discovery) a environment for discovery.  Making decisions, owning these, feeling empowered and how this affects the community are skills that we use and need for development/identity.  Along with many, many issues of personal development preschool play actually teaches many items that you mention as being important for school success through discovery.  What is it in your life that you remember and find to be knowledge?  I propose it is those that had personal meaning through discovery.  I encourage you to read many articles at the NAEYC website  that could help you see the relevance of play and socialization. You can actually go to the NAEYC website and find schools in your area that are certified.  Go observe the school and look for activities that encompass these needs you have.  I can promise you that many a preschool has well trained teachers that are skilled in introducing these items in a developmentally appropriate way.  I wish you well in your discoveries.  You can e mail me with any help in this matter that you may need.

PS

"No longer dizzy" , I disagree with both your assessment of the validity of preschool for facilitating development and the "research has shown" I think that is unfounded.  I have trouble with any "research" that proposes that early learning of any sort that is fostered thru the parent/child relationship would actually be a deficit?  What are your sources?