Preschool thoughts (part one)
Having started our son at preschool 4 months ago, we thought we’d pass along some things we learned, based on both advice and experience.
A safe, (reasonably) clean, and healthy environment is important. It shouldn’t be a toy jungle, bathrooms should be clean, snacks can be fun within reason
The teacher/caregiver and administrators can be much more important than the school itself. Just like a great teacher at your local community college can be MUCH better than a bad teacher at a famous university. We initially thought of putting our child in a well-known (and expensive) Montessori program. We still might, simply because it’s just a great environment at that school. However, our son didn’t really take to the teacher at that school and clung on to my wife and I. So we decided to wait and try in a few more months. Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough room in the school next time around. But we found a different school that we very nice; perhaps not quite the same “academy like” environment of the first school, but a good old-fashioned preschool with caring administrators and teachers (their retention rate is amazing). We lucked out and got a great teacher - she knew very quickly how to best relate to our son, and he really took to her. Since then, school has been a breeze. We may still move our son later, but right now he’s having fun where he’s at.
Social development and confidence is the main goal. If you care about your child and are reasonably motivated to help them read, etc., focus on the school being a place where your child learns to interact and respect others. You won’t find another opportunity like it. Sure, they can help teach your child to read, their ABCs, etc. but you can also do that - but you can’t replicate the social environment of the school and the chance for your child to build self-confidence without you around.
Too structured can be problematic. Although our son is very sructured and routine-oriented, there’s a limit to that and if the school encourages too much structure, it can seem more like “work” than “fun”. Our son very much prefers structure to unstructured, but everyone needs some breathing room.
Too unstructured can be problematic. Some folks swear by the more artsy approach of an unstructured environment where the kids can run around and do whatever they want - the school just supplies the materials. We ran into one school that was pretty much a house full of rooms of materials that the children could use for whatever projects they wanted to build. When we toured the school, kids were running the hose in the front and building a huge lake. For us, this just didn’t make sense. In our hearts, we feel some routine and structure is vital - the breathing room around the structure allows one to create and improvise.
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