Advice on Preschool

I would send her to a more academic one because they still have plenty of playtime. Both my daughters went to academic preschools, and they learned so much more, and now they are straight A students in elementary and middle school. There was still plenty of fun stuff at preschool. I've had friends that went to a learn through play preschool and didn't care for it much.

Hi G.,

I know of a Montessori school in nearby Encinitas (one of my colleagues, who also lives in San Marcos, sends her children there). Montessori schools really do a great job of balancing academics with creativity. If you're intererested, let me know and I will get the contact information for you.

With best wishes,

S. I., L.Ac.
Lotus Wellspring Healthcare
456 E. Mission Road, Suite 100
San Marcos, CA 92069
###-###-####
____@____.com
www.lotuswellspring.com

Hello!

Well we are in pre-K right now...so I'm very familiar with the pre-school year. Our daughter went to La Petite Academy, which has an academic curriculum from 2 years on. The one thing I can tell you is that it's the smartest thing we ever did. All preschool and pre-k academic programs include play time/social time as part of the curriculum because socializing is so important at that age. She will have plenty of time to play! Art time and/or self expression time is also incorporated. Our daughter even keeps a journal (be it pictures and some words...but a journal nonetheless).

Our daughter loves pre-k (and then preschool) so much that she starts talking about school on saturday nights.

Montesouri Schools have a similar type academic program. I would do exactly the same thing over if I had the opportunity.

Good Luck...S.

http://www.workathomeunited.com/betterforyou
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I actually live in Germany; but Mamasource wouldn't accept my German 5-digit postal code. I do own a house in northern San Diego, so I used that postal code. My 9-year-old son was born in Germany and went to German kindergarten (preschool) for 3 years. The Germans still believe in letting kids be kids and don't do any academic stuff with the kids in preschool. The kids who will be starting first grade the next year get some extra "work" and learn to write their names. But German preschool is all about play, socialization, and getting along with others. It seems highly chaotic to those who are used to orderly schools. When German kids get to first grade, then they start learning the alphabet, how to read, etc. After 3 months in first grade, the kids can read fairly well. My son is a bright child who was "challenged" in preschool by learning German (I am fluent in German, but we speak English at home). Most European countries follow this model. My German friends are always shocked when I talk about how the US is pushing academics at earlier and earlier ages.

Now one would think that because German kids are spending ages 3-5 or 6 playing and not engaged in any academics, that they'd be way behind their US counterparts. That's not true at all. When the kids start first grade at ages 6-7 (my son was 6.5), they are developmentally ready to learn to read, write, do math, etc. My son is in 3rd grade in a local German school. He is actually ahead of his 3rd grade counterparts at the American school on the Army base where I work in math and reading skills (he reads in both German and English). His school day is shorter than at the US school, but they pack in more learning. The kids also have a lot of homework. By the time kids get to 8th grade in Germany, they're taking higher-level algebra, biology, chemistry, their 5th year of a foreign language (English), and physics.

All that said, I would recommend letting your daughter be a kid. Let her have her playtime and do some supplemental reading at home. I guarantee that she won't be behind her peers. As you can probably tell, I have trouble with the US system of pushing kids to achieve at earlier and earlier ages. Despite the "later start," my son and his friends are all happy, smart, well-adjusted kids.

I home-schooled my first daughter through the third grade. My younger one is 28 months behind her. She, of course was paying attention and I was schooling her at the age of three along with my older one when who was then in kindergarten.
Then, life changed and I went back to school and put my kids into public school. My older was in third grade, and my younger was just starting kindergarten. They both could read and did well at math.
But, even though my daughter entered kindergarten knowing how to read, she never really progressed after that and actually slowed down for a while.
My older daughter slowed down in math.
In my experience, you are the best teacher. The kids get socialization at the park; with family, etc. Any school is not going to be able to give your child the attention and education you can.
Plus, the workers can be so overwhelmed. Other children there may not have the benefit of the attention your child has been given and go through other antics to get that attention. You may not like how that affects your child.
There are a lot of dynamics involved in "daycare" or "preschool".
I don't recommend it.

Go with play based because that's how kids her age learn. Good question.

If you are a stay at home mom, why put her into preschool at all? Instead you could do like we did and spend the money on great activities like dance and gymnastics and set up lots of playdates with friends. We stayed involved with our playgroup and got together weekly at parks and houses with kids the same age. It was also great for us moms to get together once a week while our kids played together. In fact, we are still getting together once a week and our kids are now 8 and 9! I never wanted to send our children to preschool and miss anything they did and our kids were also both reading by the age of 3. Keep them home and teach them yourselves: academically, socially, and morally.

Hi, My daughter is 3 1/2 and so far i think most of the preschool offer a great programs, most important it is where she fits best. in my case my daughter was tooo loving and it is hard to adjust with a group with a lot of boys at the begining make her scare because being a only child, she was not used to be pushed or botter at home, she learned the hard way she was pounched with a blue eye then she really was afraid of boys. then i moved her to another preschool thinking less kids is better 4 for an adult, so the teacher can watch better (more expensive) mistake ,,, this socialization way of teaching the kids were by themselves doing nothing around. she become very shy and really refuse to go to school. After all i changed the way i read to her try to get more description about why. and then i found one boy her age touch her privates. this is very crucial age when potty training and privacy is not so clear. Then i become panic and the way this preschool handled was very unappropiate so i decided to change her to Discovery Isle where is less expensive and it has a lot to offer the teacher love what they do, it works for my daughter needs to be ocuppied to the max, she is learning spanish who she knows so she is more confident, her leaders skills reassurance they have a great program about the kid of the month. He or she become the leader of the group for a month. they are supervise all the time. specially about the bathroom time and most the have webcam camaras where i can watched
fell free to write i can tell you name of the other schools.
I highly recomend go and check their program and stay with her in her class for a week one day it is not enough.

Hi G.,
My daugher goes to Smart Start in Cardiff. They did both (play and education). It is not a fancy place, located off of Birmingham near Seaside Market. However, my daughter is finishing up Kindergarten now, and has excelled in everything. They really did a great job at giving her the fundamentals and she is more advanced than the other kids. Also, the price was about $600 a month for full time preschool...7am until 6pm. So, for what I got and how well she has done, that place is excellent. My almost three year old attends there and is also doing very well too. Also, North Coast Calvary Chapel is building a new church and preschool that will be opening up in a few short weeks. I know that the price is something like $840 a month. Corner of Aviara & Poinsettia. If their preschool is anything like their Sunday school it will be awesome. Good luck in your search.

My advice would be to check out a bunch of them and take your child with you when you do the tours. When we were looking for preschools for my now 3.5 yo son, I took him with me. Most of the schools he was itching to get out of the stroller and participate in the class that was going on. A couple of them he showed no interest in...those were immediately crossed off my list. I just believe that kids know who they can trust and who they want to interact with.

We finally decided to go with Incarnation Lutheran Preschool in Poway. I like that it's a smaller school (1 2 yr old class, 2 3 yo classes and 2 4 yo classes). They have one teacher and one TA for every class. So the ratio is like 8 to 1 on the busiest days. I also like that they have playground time with all classes at once and that all the teachers know the names of each kid.

I would also ask the moms at the park that you come across where they have sent their kids and the pros and cons of each school.

In our area, 4 schools kept coming up. Pomerado Christian, RB Presbyterian, Incarnation Lutheran and Poway Community Church Preschool.

Other things that I really like about Incarnation is that it is a year round preschool So you have the option of having your kid in the summer program. And they have a 2 yo program which most schools do not. And you kid does not need to be potty trained. They work with the 2'3 and 3's to potty train them in the school. My DS started there at 2.5 years and in 6 months was potty trained during the day.

Good Luck!

Hi G., I live in Encinitas Ranch and my kids go to Early Exploration. I love it there and so do they. I like that this school is play based, but there is a ton of learning too. They start out with them learning there social skills and allowing them to be there age. I think it's important that we realize our children need to be children. They will have 13 or some odd years to be educated every day. My daughter is five and will be entering kindergarten in August. She has been at Early Exploration since she was 2 years of age and she has developed so well. My son just started as well and he is learning so much. It's probably best if you took some tours to see what suits your family. That will tell you where you want your child to be. I hope this helps as I am sure you will be getting tons of advice on this question. Good Luck

Hi...
My twins are turning 3 in July and have been attending
La Costa Valley Preschool & Kindergarten since January when they turned 2.5 and they LOVE it!

The teachers are awesome and my boys adjusted very quickly.
Other Mom's in my Mom's group also take their kids there and everyone loves it!

Good Luck!

Education.
But if they don't learn through play then send me their address and I will put a compliant through!
It sounds like you were very keen on' acedemics' using flash cards at 16 months. Children enjoy whatever we do with them so your choices are paramount. The most vital is appreciating the stages the children are at - so we dont miss times and opportunities tat will never come again.
So, expertise is needed. Thus, I say Education, though I hope they are not limited to the cards, or paper and pencil approach. Limiting a young child's multidimensional interaction with the whole natural world around is tantamount to criminal - in my book!

;-)

Seriously though, I would like to know more about how it works here in the USA / what the choices available are? (The pre schools I am teaching yoga in here, their staff do not have the training or guidelines required to be followed in the UK).

Hello G.,

I have a just 7 years old daughter whom I am homeschooling for this year,first grade. I wanted you to know that I have quit my job and become a stay home mom since my daughter was 2 1/2. I spend alot of time teaching, drawing wiht her and playing of course. It was until she was 5, I started to take her to mommy and me programs, two or three at a time. She did well and even when she was in kindergaten, she was always told about how well she can write her letters and now even in first grade, her elective teachers tell me about how well she is reading and writing. I think the most importand thing about raising your child and making sure he or she is always doing what her potentials will allow- the time you spent with him or her. Alot of people always tell me how amazing my child is, but the truth is that a child themself is very amazing. Don't worry about preschool, there are always good teacher in a bad school; bad teacher in a good school. The most important for them right now, is the things you do with them, that is where they take the most interest and learn the most from. So if you can, take your child to some of those mommy and me programs, which they have outdoor and indoors.Library times are fun for them too.
At this point they just want to share with you their excitement and discoveries. No preschool can offer your child that wonderfulness that you can do with your child. Just have fun, and keep doing what you are doing best. I am sure you are a wonderful mom that is why you have such a wonderfull child.

Your instinct about socialization is correct! Preschool is about learning to do activities when the teacher says to do them and not just any random time...it's about learning to sit still for story hour and not be distracted by your friends....and following a set schedule in a classroom setting. I'd be less worried about academics--I used to buy extra workbooks at teacher stores for my son to do at home when he wanted to--but your main emphasis is to find a place that looks friendly and inviting, is clean, well-run and organized. And I wouldn't drive too far--for example, driving 45 minutes each way for a 2.5 hour session is crazy!! Good luck!!

Dear G.,
This a great question and one my colleagues and I have wondered about often. I am a second grade teacher and I often wonder if we push children too hard these days. The standards are so high in California that kindergarten is no longer focusing as much on socialization as they are on academics. Students in my school typically leave kindergarten knowing how to read. But at what cost? I believe strongly in all the research done by Piaget and other leading child development experts. Much research has been done that focuses stages of development. I think you are obviously dedicated to your child's academic success and know what is best for your daughter. Also, your daughter is off to an amazing start academically. With your home support your daughter would blossom in an environment that focused more on learning from play and exploration rather than an academically focused school. I didn't learn to read by pre-school and I think I turned out great (honor roll student and magna cum laude in college). We can teach children letters and sounds and how to read, but we can't teach creativity! That only comes from play and imagination! Let kids be kids! Hope this helps.

You might want to look into Waldorf pre-schools or schools like that that focus on creativity and socialization!

It will come down to what is important to you and the environment you believe would cause your daughter to thrive.

Both of my sons went to play based preschools because I have a personal belief that life should be fun and that we learn through fun and learning is fun.

Check them out and one or two will really resonate with you. It sounds like your daughter would thrive is any environment so then it comes down to what you want for your daughter.

Hi there. My advice to you is to go out there and tour every preschool WITHOUT your daughter. Your daughter does sound very bright and has a loving and caring mommy. I have toured every single preschool from Carlsbad up to La Jolla. You will know what is the right fit for her and I want you to also feel which preschool that you will feel proud of attending. I hope this makes sense. Trust me, you will know when you walk into a school if it's a good fit for both of you. Contact me if you have any questions or if you want to discuss any of your school tours. But you are doing the right thing, I think preschool is soooo important!!
Cheers,
L.

I had the same questions about pre-school. My daughter is now 3 in a 1/2 and too new alot for her age. I recommend to go check out about 4 different schools. See witch one you like the best.Which has the best feel. Which one you think she would like the best. I choose a prespaterian preschool that both teaches her to get ready for kindergarden and has lots of fun too.They also include the family atleast once a month.My daughter learns alot and inteacts with the kids and has great time playing too.If you are interested in checking it out it is in vista.Called Noah's ark .Good Luck!You wikll know the right one after checking them out.Bring someone along to help you decide.