My 3 1/2 year old is in her first year of preschool. She is in a class of kids ranging from 3 years old to 5 years old. She is the youngest in her class and does really well. The thing is she's very shy and there are 20 kids in her class. She has one more year of preschool left and then she's off to kindergarten. My original thought was that I would put her in the pre-k class (pre kindergarten) so that she's equipped with the skills she needs for kindergarten. That class is 3 days a week and 2 1/2 hours long and has 20 kids in it. Now, they offer the same class she's in now with half the kids. She'd get more teacher time and perhaps more of an opportunity to let her little voice be heard. I can't decide what will be best for her in the long run, the kindergarten readiness, or a smaller class with more 1 on 1 time? What are your thoughts? I'm having a struggle here and am curious as to what other moms think. Thanks so much!
After speaking with Annika's teacher, I have decided to go with the smaller class. Her teacher thinks Annika will do well academically regardless of the class, so we are opting to work on her social skills. She is a very bright little girl, and while she loves school and her teachers, she just doesn't care if other kids are there or not. We are hoping she forms some bonds in this smaller class. Thanks so much for your advice. I really appreciate it!
I think you made the right call! I teach K and find that being shy isn't a problem IF the child has self confidence. A smaller class will promote that. Good luck!!
You may not like what I am about to say but you are more than capable of teaching her the preschool skills she needs to know and because she is shy she doesn't need to be in a lot of social situations because they are stressful to her - even after she gets used to being there. It really doesn't even take that much time especially when you divide up the "teaching" time into smaller 15 minute chunks.
Some times we push our kids out to school before they are ready. Shy children have a harder time dealing with being away from Mommy.
One of the cheapest preschool books is the one at Wal-mart for under $10 called Preschool-K Everything for early learning published by McGraw-Hill Children's Publishing. It containes: letters, numbers, shapes, sizes, directions, and a variety of other things. Another great resource I have found for teaching reading are the Bob Books published by scholastic. They are small books that teach phonics while your child has the opportunity to read books for herself. My only negative thing to say about these books is that the art work is not very good.
I know this is not the advice you wanted but I wanted to give you another option.
I would put her in the smaller class, assuming you work with her already at home on shapes, letters, etc. If you do not work on those things with her, then the pre-k class would be the best option I suppose.
I would choose the smaller class. I think it is more critical to spend that year before K in a classroom that will build up whatever weaknesses a child might have. So for a shy child, building her confidence and allowing her leadership opportunities will have the greatest pay off. For a child who needs extra academic prep or needs to learn how to move about in a room more like a Kindergartener then the pre-K would b better. For my son, we skipped the pre-K because it was too academically focused and he needed a small classroom with lots of staff that allowed more focus on developing his social skills.
I skipped the 2-day pre-k program when my daughter was 3 yrs. old and enrolled our child in the 3-day pre-k program when she turned 4. She'll turn 5 in August this year and will be able to attend Kindergarten. I thought kids had to have their 5th birthday before the school year starts.
I thought about holding my child back but don't see why I should. She's shy at first but the teacher told me that she's not shy at all. If your daughter is doing well then put her in K but because of her age and how that may impact her later in life I wonder if it would be better to repeat another year of pre-k so she's not the youngest. There may be struggles later on. I guess you could hold her back later in life but she'll have friends established and it's hard for them. Hum...if I was in your situation and my kid was doing well I'd push my child and have her go to K. If there were any struggles that persisted I'd consider holding her back a year if it was for her own good no matter if she had friends or not established. Good luck on your decision. It's a hard one.
Hi M.,
At first I was going to suggest the smaller class, but then reread your letter and realized she may miss out on the preparation she needs for kindergarten. Does she already know her letters, shapes, sounds, & etc? Some pre-k classes don't offer this either, so it will depend on the curriculum that each class offers. Maybe you should talk to the instructors to see what each class offers, and then weigh your pros and cons for each class, and then make a decision on what you find out. Then if the pre-k class doesn't offer much more than the other class you should choose to leave her in the smaller class, or if it offers a lot more you might want to give her a chance in it, but you could also choose to leave her in the smaller class and do some of the kindergarten preparation at home.
So many decisions to make when we have children, but this is just the tip of the iceburg....enjoy!
C.
Pick the smaller class. She will be better prepared to learn all she needs to know in Kindergarten if she is socially adapted to being in a class and being comfortable with teachers, herself, and other kids. Overwhelming her with 20 kids doesn't sound like it would be in her best interest right now. I know everyone pushes for academics, but good programs should be incorporating these things into the play, which is the best way for children to learn. She can pick up the "academics" from reading to her, coloring, drawing, doing household jobs like setting the table, helping to cook, etc. Go with your instincts. She will do fine when she gets to kindergarten!
Smaller Class!
My experiance with preschool is yes it helped but only with the socialization, rules, how to follow directions, leave mom's side aspect. As far as academic preschool did nothing I taught my daughter how to write her name etc.
