This question is directed to parents who have tiny toddlers going to school?

Question

Small children who are going to school are overloaded in many ways, from school, on the way to school, at home. Can you tell me your own experiences, giving me a few examples. The name of the school need not be given, but the age, class and country you live in should be mentioned. I request you to be sincere and frank and help me open up new venues on this important issues.

Answer 1

My son is 3 -year-old.

He just started pre-school and I think it's the best thing we could have done for him. We moved from an area where he was surrounded by cousins and friends, to an area where we know very few people. (We're in the US).

Although, I intend to homeschool my son, I don't want him to miss out on the valuable experience that comes with making friends and socializing in school. Not only is he making friends, but he really enjoys going to his classes and looks forward to them each day.

He goes Mon, Wed, & Fridays.

One thing I must add, his preschool gives him an opportunity to play and paint, but his lessons, come from me (Alphabet, foreign language, music).

Answer 2

My daughter is now 4. We started her in preschool at 3 in the 2 year program because she was having trouble getting along with other kids her age at the park, church, etc..

She doesn't go every day- every other day. The first year was every other day for half days.

She's not overloaded at all. It's worked WONDERS! She is now one of the easiest little girls to get along with and she has all kinds of friends.

Preschool programs are so important because they teach kids to get along with their peers and follow direction before it gets down to the time where it's important to do so. I recommend it. Just be careful that the days and hours aren't too long.

Answer 3

while I'm not a parent, I am teacher to the tiny toddlers. I'm teaching one year olds on 2 mornings a week and younger 2's for 2 mornings also. They are with me 3 hours every day and I try very hard not to overload their day. I view my classroom as an extent ion of home. We do have a schedule that we stick to - and trust me they know quickly when we have to switch something around! - which includes art, music, outside playtime. There is plenty of time for self-directed and teacher directed play. A lot of times we just sit in the floor with them and interact with them as they come by. They will bring a book to read or a toy to play with and just like I did with my kids when they were little, I ask them silly questions, cuddle with them and play with them.

I do agree with the one mom that wrote about all the busy work, there is a lot of that going on in a lot of classrooms (though I hope that mine is not one of them), but I also need to caution her. Not everything that looks to the parent as busy work is really busy work. And doing any kind of homework for your child is NOT the answer, especially for 12 year olds!!!! At that age they should be pretty self sufficient in doing their work and it just lead me to wonder if  they have good grades because of their moms work or because of theirs?

Answer 4

I have found it wonderful for my son...we live in Oregon and have a lrg house and a big yard to explore, but he was getting bored w/ the hum-drum life I had...Going to the store, picking up my older child, fixing lunch. (all things he would help with) he is a very bright kid and needed the social aspect of pre-school.  I'm sooo pleased w/ our decision! He looks very forward to going to "molly's house." He already writes letters a-g and knows them by sight!!!! we are only in the 3rd wk too...Find someone who genuinly enjoys your child...Good Luck!

Answer 5

My children are twelve now (twins) b ut I am glad for your question. Yes, i felt strongly that young children are overloaded by their parents and the schools, very much so. i could not stand "busy work" that the pre-school would give the children in preparation for kindergarten since they are expected to be reading by the end of that year. They made the children color for homework and frankly, after 6 hours of school four year olds are tired and may not want to do more for school.... I used to do this for them if they did not want to.

Later in kindergarten I would actually stretch the assignments to mean something. I would make them do more ( in a fun way) rather than waste time on "busy work".... they had fun and it was not repetitive of the entire days event. My kids were educated in Brooklyn and we are now in Florida. USA.

Both girls are good gifted students at t his time, but to this day if there is "busy work" then I am usually the one to get it out of the way. They love doing their other assignments a nd reach for the stars in their projects and such.

Answer 6

My son is 4 yrs old. He started going to pre-school when he was 2.5 yrs old. I have to say that the experience of being around other kids really helped my child. He used to be very stubbord and would not listen to anything we would say, he would also not share with other kids. After being about a month in preschool we noticed a big change in his attitude. He learned the meaning of sharing and having friends. He learned how to count to 20 by the time he was 3. He also knows the alphabet, recognizing all the letters. He also can recognize the numbers as he sees them. Right now, he learned how to spell his name as well as writing it. I'm very glad we took the decision to put him in a preschool. Both my husband and I work, so we didnt have enough time to teach him. Now when he gets home he takes out a book and we read together. After, he can go play. I also only give him one hour a day to watch cartoons.

We live in Boston, MA USA.