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EasterJoy
Guest
Our local school distict has early intervention screening, free for anyone who wants it. I would suggest you check that out, since their assessment might give you important information when it comes to choosing a preschool or tailoring your home care to take his strengths and possible challenges into account. For instance, if he is speech-delayed you might want to seek out a language-intensive preschool, rather than opting for the parish school.
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EasterJoy
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By the way, there have been studies that show that the best predictor in five year olds of success through high school is self-control. The ones who have the skills to make themselves wait, with a marshmallow sitting right in front of them when the reward would be twice as much of the sweet fifteen minutes later, had the most uniform success. Intelligence tests were not nearly so good at predicting academic success as that test was.
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pensmama87
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Well, that would be up to the child’s parents to decide, not me.
I don’t think they are aware that there may even be an issue, which is why I’m thinking of suggesting it gently to them.
(Sorry for the confusion - I started the thread thinking about my 3yo son, who is typically developing, thinking about the normal benefits or drawbacks of a formal preschool, but the discussion about early intervention got me thinking about the 3yo boy I babysit, who is a month younger than my son but who I suspect has some delays.)
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pensmama87
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I guess this is what it all boils down to: Is a preschool more likely to be able to teach my son this than me?
(And no matter what, I think natural temperament is going to play a role in this.)I am still leaning towards no. I guess some of it comes down to educational philosophy, and I tend towards favoring non-institutional learning. I’m not a full out believer in “unschooling,” but I do observe that both of my sons are naturally curious, and retain what they learn in a variety of environments. My 3 year old has experienced other adults being “in charge” and will have that even more over the next year or so before kindergarten, especially if we sign up with the co-op. We do things, we go places, we read together, he has lots of playmates outside of the home. I can provide all this without spending $1700 for three mornings a week, which wouldn’t be an insurmountable amount for us but I’m reluctant to spend it on a non-necessity or just to have time with fewer (not no) children several times a week, and then adding the hassle of having a fixed schedule.
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EasterJoy
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Were I in your situation, I would do what you are doing. When the first one is in school, the second one might get all fired up to go to pre-school, but you seem to have a good set-up at home for getting the older one ready for kindergarten yourself. The important thing, though, is that you see it that way and you are willing to take on the work to make it happen. If you are, then I think you’re in good shape.I guess this is what it all boils down to: Is a preschool more likely to be able to teach my son this than me?
I am still leaning towards no. I guess some of it comes down to educational philosophy, and I tend towards favoring non-institutional learning. I’m not a full out believer in “unschooling,” but I do observe that both of my sons are naturally curious, and retain what they learn in a variety of environments. My 3 year old has experienced other adults being “in charge” and will have that even more over the next year or so before kindergarten, especially if we sign up with the co-op. We do things, we go places, we read together, he has lots of playmates outside of the home. I can provide all this without spending $1700 for three mornings a week, which wouldn’t be an insurmountable amount for us but I’m reluctant to spend it on a non-necessity or just to have time with fewer (not no) children several times a week, and then adding the hassle of having a fixed schedule.
I didn’t even know about early intervention screenings until I looked into what to do about kids who are speech-delayed. Now that I know, I’d make use of it before selecting a preschool. The school districts want all students with any developmental issues to be identified as early as possible. They screen for free, and if any concerns are turned up, they do more in-depth screening in the question areas. Our district didn’t have the funds to do much with the information we got–the individual service plans were written with the resources of the district in mind, and were not as extensive as what the staff there would want for their own child–but the information itself was very valuable. It is a good use of tax dollars, and I’d get in on it if your child is questionable on any of the benchmarks.
By the way, pediatricians are very uneven about how well they screen for the developmental benchmarks that are important in academics. Many medical schools don’t lean on that very much, because it eventually goes beyond the specialty of medicine. I’d want a screening by someone who specializes in school readiness, and not just someone trained to identify medical problems.
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Xantippe
Guest
Right.
Maybe split the difference and send him for pre-k, but skip 3-year-old preschool?
Kindergarten is HARD these days–it’s nothing like when we were in school.
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EasterJoy
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I’m still a firm believer that it really depends on the child. You are right about this, though: kindergarten is really a grade in school, and those who don’t send their child to a kindergarten ought to consider themselves to be home schooling. They need to have a curriculum and work with their child to meet the benchmarks that their child’s first grade school will expect. The aims of pre-school are more like the aims that used to belong in kindergarten. If you keep your child out of pre-school, you still need to do the work at home that the pre-schools do with their students. (Actually, that work needs to be reinforced at home even when the child does go to pre-school and kindergarten and so on…)
My mother had me at home until I started first grade, but I could write all my letters and numbers and do some reading and writing by first grade. We didn’t just sit home and play. She was very busy, because we had a big family, but she’d help me write while she did things like ironing or prepping green beans. I remember asking her how to spell words, and having her help me remember which letter was which. (A capital “A” was like a witch’s hat, “M” was the one like two mountains, and so on…)
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pensmama87
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Well, we’ve already missed the boat on 3 year old preschool, because he turns four in a couple of months (ugh, how is that possible?!
)I like the idea of the co-op because it will have some of the academic stuff and a lot of the social/behavior stuff, that would be hard for me to provide at home.
I have access to our school district’s curriculum online, so I know what he will need to be prepared for kindergarten. He can actually do a lot of it now, or is close enough that I know in another year he’ll be there. The only thing he hasn’t shown much interest in is writing, but we can work on that.
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Gordon_Sims
Guest
We did preschool with our older kids but are passing on it with our younger ones. Our son really didn’t benefit from his preschool and the main thing our older daughters took away from it was their place in the class pecking order. The quality had improved by the time our daughters went but the bulk of their academic and personal skills (reading, writing, basic math, tying their shoes, etc.) were learned at home. Money’s tighter now than it was then so when I was told that the bare minimum option (two hours a day, three days a week) was nearly $1700 for a year I decided to pass. A few people have told us about other “affordable” options but those were $2500-3000 for a year (same amount of time per week). We do have a few free or nearly-free options in town but most of those are booked out far enough that our two year old likely won’t get in.
Instead of preschool, we read to the girls, have them go through a variety of workbooks, work with them on their skills, take them to a variety of activities at the library, etc. Our older girls like to play school with the younger ones which reinforces the academic stuff and has helped them with some of the social skills.
Instead of preschool, we read to the girls, have them go through a variety of workbooks, work with them on their skills, take them to a variety of activities at the library, etc. Our older girls like to play school with the younger ones which reinforces the academic stuff and has helped them with some of the social skills.
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Melancholic
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We did not send our older kids to preschool. I knew that it was the right decision because both of them enjoyed sitting down and doing “busywork” for long periods at home, and they were early readers, so it wasn’t too hard to prepare them for kindergarten. We scheduled “school time” at home regularly to train them to switch gears, in preparation for real school. Now I have a baby who is a ball of never ending energy, very unlike his siblings, and I have no idea if home preschool will be best for him. We shall see… The decision needs to be made on a child-by-child basis. I have always found it to be true that, at least in the early grades, the amount of material they go over in a day at school can be accomplished at home in a fraction of the time, and kids retain the information better when they learn one-on-one.
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Giggly_Giraffe
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gasp self-control !?!?!? I fail every lent gasp
Self-control??? I can’t even get the cute little Cherubs (what I nickname my girls) off the bottle, to stop talking, out of our bed, or potty-trained. We’re doomed … Doomed I tell you!!!
Someone else mentioned they is a ready ness test to enter kindergarden? (Sigh,sob, sigh). We might never get in. What happens to people who can’t enter preschool/kindergarden? Really, I need to prepair for the worst… :crying: — :banghead: — :crying: I have trouble spelling “cat” when they chatter too much … Homeschooling would be a disaster. Eeeeck.
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Cider
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I stayed home, we didn’t send our kids to preschool. We homeschooled.
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Sophie_Lawrence
Guest
My children all went to preschool. We chose a 3 day program about 3 hours a day.
Our area only has full day kindergarten, so attending school three days a week was a good segue to full day kindergarten.
Our area only has full day kindergarten, so attending school three days a week was a good segue to full day kindergarten.
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pensmama87
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Well, now that baby #3 is scheduled to arrive in late summer/early fall, this whole question is up in the air again, right as I thought it was probably settled (of course.)
I also don’t know if I’m going to keep babysitting or not. If I continue, even if I take a maternity leave (I’ll do something, of course, but who knows if it’s a few weeks or a few months), I’m going to have 6 kids 6/7 and under (though 6/7 year old will be in 1st grade, so only a few hours after school with him each day).
Parents have told me they don’t plan on putting the soon to be 4 year old in preschool next year.
I also just started with a girl the same age as my younger son.
If I wasn’t babysitting, it’s really tempting to have my oldest son in preschool, even if it’s just the mornings. I’d have to at least pick him up, but I think I could manage it. Then I could have just the younger two at home for a bit.
I think the ideal would be if DH got a new job - he is applying for a few things - that would make up for the income I bring in, so I could at least take a temporary break but not have it hurt our finances too much. But that’s a big if, of course.
I also don’t know if I’m going to keep babysitting or not. If I continue, even if I take a maternity leave (I’ll do something, of course, but who knows if it’s a few weeks or a few months), I’m going to have 6 kids 6/7 and under (though 6/7 year old will be in 1st grade, so only a few hours after school with him each day).
Parents have told me they don’t plan on putting the soon to be 4 year old in preschool next year.
I also just started with a girl the same age as my younger son.
If I wasn’t babysitting, it’s really tempting to have my oldest son in preschool, even if it’s just the mornings. I’d have to at least pick him up, but I think I could manage it. Then I could have just the younger two at home for a bit.
I think the ideal would be if DH got a new job - he is applying for a few things - that would make up for the income I bring in, so I could at least take a temporary break but not have it hurt our finances too much. But that’s a big if, of course.
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EasterJoy
Guest
That is quite a few children under six to juggle. If the older one is at school and the new one is napping, that could give you a little quiet time alone with the middle one. Still, there has not been an age when financial realities haven’t put the boundaries on what kind of situations the parents and the little ones have to choose from.Well, now that baby #3 is scheduled to arrive in late summer/early fall, this whole question is up in the air again, right as I thought it was probably settled (of course.)
I also don’t know if I’m going to keep babysitting or not. If I continue, even if I take a maternity leave (I’ll do something, of course, but who knows if it’s a few weeks or a few months), I’m going to have 6 kids 6/7 and under (though 6/7 year old will be in 1st grade, so only a few hours after school with him each day).
Parents have told me they don’t plan on putting the soon to be 4 year old in preschool next year.
I also just started with a girl the same age as my younger son.
If I wasn’t babysitting, it’s really tempting to have my oldest son in preschool, even if it’s just the mornings. I’d have to at least pick him up, but I think I could manage it. Then I could have just the younger two at home for a bit.
I think the ideal would be if DH got a new job - he is applying for a few things - that would make up for the income I bring in, so I could at least take a temporary break but not have it hurt our finances too much. But that’s a big if, of course.
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