So you're in preschool?
That is what we here everywhere here....Any place we go. Preschool is a BIG deal here. I mean really really Big deal here. Everywhere we go....to the library, the park, the grocery store. They ask A how old she is and then when she says 3 they so "So you're in preschool?"
You see our local school has a 2 day a week program for 3's and a 3 day a week program for 4's. Yep they are split which if know A would be the worse possible thing for her.
But wait...we must have grown 3 heads. GASP.... she's not in preschool!
Hmmmm....the range of responses when told no, we homeschool......all of which are directed at her I might add...
"Oh...you miss so much fun"
"Oh! But you should be in preschool"
"You homeschool? You need to be learning your alphabet"
"But you are 3, you are supposed to be in preschool"
And they all look at me like I am the derelict mom who is keeping her child from learning all the amazing things a child learns in preschool.
Okay, umm we tried it. Not here in this town, but we tried it. She hated it. Begged me for worksheets and couldn't understand why they focused so much on colors! LOL. She was 2 then....she was in the class with 3 and 4 year olds.
She is now reading on a 3rd grade level. Yep....so I hardly think she needs to go learn her alphabet. Heck I can't even spell words when talking with DH so she wont understand because she looks at you funny, thinks a minute, and then responds with the word you just spelled.
My 3 year old who needs to be in preschool can do place value in the thousands, can do addition and subtraction, and just this weekend went down the meat aisle at the Grocery Store reading "Club Price $2.99" "Club Price $5.59" "Club Price $1.99" And helped me select which icing to buy by reading the prices $2.39 and $2.79 and telling me which cost less money and therefore was a better deal.
Yes this is the child that I am holding back and ruining her life by not putting her in preschool. Agg. I have never lived in a place so age segregated. There is no story time during the week because all of the kids are in preschool. All activities at the PCR that would interest A....child must be 5 and up. It is a hard place to be in. I want her to have friends to have the interaction she needs and we are working at that by going to story time, by going to church and she is in children's church and friends with a little girl who is 6. But I am tired of people seeming so appalled when I say "No, she is not in preschool."
You see our local school has a 2 day a week program for 3's and a 3 day a week program for 4's. Yep they are split which if know A would be the worse possible thing for her.
But wait...we must have grown 3 heads. GASP.... she's not in preschool!
Hmmmm....the range of responses when told no, we homeschool......all of which are directed at her I might add...
"Oh...you miss so much fun"
"Oh! But you should be in preschool"
"You homeschool? You need to be learning your alphabet"
"But you are 3, you are supposed to be in preschool"
And they all look at me like I am the derelict mom who is keeping her child from learning all the amazing things a child learns in preschool.
Okay, umm we tried it. Not here in this town, but we tried it. She hated it. Begged me for worksheets and couldn't understand why they focused so much on colors! LOL. She was 2 then....she was in the class with 3 and 4 year olds.
She is now reading on a 3rd grade level. Yep....so I hardly think she needs to go learn her alphabet. Heck I can't even spell words when talking with DH so she wont understand because she looks at you funny, thinks a minute, and then responds with the word you just spelled.
My 3 year old who needs to be in preschool can do place value in the thousands, can do addition and subtraction, and just this weekend went down the meat aisle at the Grocery Store reading "Club Price $2.99" "Club Price $5.59" "Club Price $1.99" And helped me select which icing to buy by reading the prices $2.39 and $2.79 and telling me which cost less money and therefore was a better deal.
Yes this is the child that I am holding back and ruining her life by not putting her in preschool. Agg. I have never lived in a place so age segregated. There is no story time during the week because all of the kids are in preschool. All activities at the PCR that would interest A....child must be 5 and up. It is a hard place to be in. I want her to have friends to have the interaction she needs and we are working at that by going to story time, by going to church and she is in children's church and friends with a little girl who is 6. But I am tired of people seeming so appalled when I say "No, she is not in preschool."
Comments
Maybe you can find a mother's helper or an older child to play with Ansley. JC prefers older kids because they can carry on a conversation and follow through on games. I tested JC few months ago and she's reading on a second grade level but we need to work on her confidence. She thinks she's not a good reader because she's not reading as well as a grown up! Only if she knew!
Hope Ansley finds friends of all ages she can play with. Maybe you can start a playgroup with activities and invite some kids over after their school is over.
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As I have said before, we have tried preschool. There was nothing fun about it for her, she didn't enjoy any part of it, and she stuck with it for a while. She didn't enjoyoing playing with the other children, in fact her games where rebuffed by many of them because they simply could not understand the detailed imaginative instructions she had. Yet when she is with kids older then her, there is no problem with this disconnect. She plays more like an 6,7,8 year old then a 3 year old, and just as it would be wrong to force an 8 year old to spend all day with a group of 3 year olds, so is it wrong to push my child to. However, she does have opportunities to play with children her on age, which I believe, is highly needed, and we work on dealing with the fact that she believes they are being rude and mean when they do not play the way she does. We work on accepting others where they are and on playing on their level no matter what age they are on. These are teaching moments that she has gotten much better at dealing with and enjoying herself in.
I am very glad that preschool is working for your child, but it did not work for mine, thus I began this quest to provide her with the education in all areas of life that will serve her well in the future. We are homeschooling for now, however as I am seeking the educational fit that works best for her, I in no way rule out school in the traditional sense for her if the right opportunity presents itself. In fact after Kindergarten, I loved school. I would love for my child to be able to have the same experiences I did. But I know my experiences would have been quite different if I had experienced the one size fits all education that I did in K and did not find my place in the school I was moved to. I hope school continues to work well for her, but if there ever comes a point at which it does not, I hope you will be open enough to explore other options as to what she needs. As a Family Therapist I have worked with children at all different ages across all spectrums of the intelligence level, and I have to say that something I have found even in those that school suits well is that much much depends on the school and the teacher. Those that see a classroom as a one size fits all solution tend to do the worst for all children no matter where they fall as all children have strength and weaknesses, which need to be addressed.
The girl who painted trees- Ansley also begged for preschool until she went LOL. Then she begged for worksheets, books to read, and to go home. I would put her in a Montessori preschool in a heartbeat; unfortunately we have never had the experience of living near a Montessori school. Good luck on your search :)
Yeah, I hear the "being with people other than their parent's, not always getting what they want, following directions, learning to help others..." stuff too. Except for the first one, they learn that at home too. What? Surprisingly I don't let them get what they want every time, ignore directions, and refrain from helping others here at home or out and about.
Those lessons are not so difficult to learn that they can't pick them up at church, storytime, music lessons, T-ball. They don't ALSO need to go to preschool to learn this lesson "extra well."
Even if the parent doesn't expect their children to "learn anything" at preschool, the people at the preschool will certainly make the children feel they are supposed to be "learning something." Setting up a situation where a child is NOT learning in school is something I intend to avoid as much as possible.
Sounds like their won't be as many homeschoolers where you are as where we are, but they ARE out their. You would be PERFECT for taking the initiative and starting a "homeschool" storytime or whatever you want to have. I'm shocked they don't have them anyway. If the preschool is only 2-3 days a week what do all the chronic overschedulers do the other days of the week?
As for the socialization thing. I know 100% that Aidan would be miserable in preschool. She does NOT at all fit with her age group. She does not think, play, question, or do anything in any way that is age appropriate. It is a struggle to her to socialize with her age mates.
There are so many different outlets to socialize a child. Playgroups, lessons, scouts, church, neighbors, family, the lady in the grocery store, etc.
I find it ridiculous to force a kid to spend hours out of their day doing inappropriate work for their level. I think in the long run it'll teach them way too many bad habits. (not that I'm recommending cramming hard work either) But putting a kid in a group that they cannot relate to and they feel they're a misfit with... can cause a lot of harm psychologically.
Many "gifted" kids are fine with that scenario but profoundly gifted kids are a whole 'nother story.
Why oh why don't you live nearer us? LOL! :-)
I like the "we're to busy doing other things" one My Boy's Teacher. I may have to try that. And I really like "it's just not a good fit for her." Mommywise. I think I will be using those from now on and sharing them with DH.