What are your children learning at Preschool?

[nikkers]

Thanks for all your insights and posts. I am hoping things will go better. I talked to the teacher today and she wasn't aware of my DD being fearful about anything. ( Yes, I will probally be labeled as "that mom" ) Now that she is aware of it, she said that she would pay more attention to my DD's reaction to things being taught at school. I didn't ask her to change anything but to help me find resources to help my DD overcome these new "fears". My DD has a very vivid imagination that seems to take over at times. I can see why "stingers and mosquitos that bite" would scare her. We will keep playing it out hoping it doesn't last to long. Oh to be talking about letters, writing, and reading...why couldn't all this science stuff wait until 1st grade ?!

Anyone know of any good bug or dinosaur books?

Hear are some book suggestions. Usborne books has several by Anna Milbourne. They are GREAT! The Butterfly, The Dinosaur, In the Nest, In the Pond and On the Moon. These are just a few. They are perfect for a pre-school age child. My DS (4) and DD (2) love them.
They also both really like the 'How do Dinosaurs...' series by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague.

Good Luck!

 

[java]

You can have both the love of learning and the fun stuff and be learning things like reading math and science at a high level.

Well I agree depending on what you mean by high level. In preschool I prefer the fundamentals vs. say algebra.
I have a 14 year old also and I have seen his friends that were overstimulated at a younger age fizzle out. The boy that was reading in preschool just dropped out of school. My point is that I don't think "learning" to do these things in Pre-school equals future success. It also doesn't mean that you'll be a drop out like my son's friend.

I do agree wholeheartedly agree that the more they are exposed to the better.

 

[tazdev3225]

My DGD and DGS are the only 2 students in their preschool. DGS is 2 and is working on colors and sitting still for 10 minutes. DGD is 4 and has been taught all her colors, shapes, days of the week, months of the year, is doing addition and subtraction, opposites, letter and numbers (writing them), simple fractions and is reading and writing. She also will take field trips this year. I am lucky that my mom is the teacher and actually made a portion of her living room into a classroom. DGD is extremely bright, if I do say so myself, she talked in sentences by a year old. Her brother is a holy terror so we are working on basics for him. My DD couldn't afford a preschool program and this has worked out well. We put DGD on a soccer team and in dance classes for the socialization skills she doesn't get. My DGS who is the same age is in a real preschool this year and is getting very basic things that DGD already knows. I'm just hoping that she won't be too far advanced next year in kindergarten.

 

[princessmom29]

Well I agree depending on what you mean by high level. In preschool I prefer the fundamentals vs. say algebra.
I have a 14 year old also and I have seen his friends that were overstimulated at a younger age fizzle out. The boy that was reading in preschool just dropped out of school. My point is that I don't think "learning" to do these things in Pre-school equals future success. It also doesn't mean that you'll be a drop out like my son's friend.

I do agree wholeheartedly agree that the more they are exposed to the better.

I think that absolutely kids should not be pushed past what they can handle at that age. Definitely not algebra, but i se nothing wrong with teaching basic reading, addition and subtraction ect. as long as the kids are receptive to it. At DD's school some kids are more into it than others and that is ok with the staff. It is understood that some of the class will progress faster than others and activities are taylored to meet everyone's needs. They provide extra stuff for the kids that need/want it and help those that are struggling. I case you can't tell I really love this school. We were at a not so good daycare facility before b/c it was the best of a bad situation in a small town. Part of the reason we moved 2 years ago was to give DD the opportunity to be in a place like this and be exposed to things she never would have been otherwise. I love that the kids are able to take as much as they want from the program without the pressure.

 

[Cory's Gal]

I wouldn't want to put that much pressure on a 3 year old. But if it's working for you great. To me Preschool is about learning to LOVE school. If it's all fun and games that's ok by me. I wouldn't want my kids to burn out. I have kids aged 14,11,5 and 3.

What did my 3 year old do at school yesterday? His big event was telling a little girl that he loved her.
And he made a very nice apple painting.
And came out laughing.
To me that's a great day. And I don't think he'll grow up to be the village idiot.

I totally agree with what you said!! I am now a SAHM, and I taught preschool up to last April when I had my daughter. This fall I took my 3 year old son to preschool and it's very different being on the "parent side" of things. What I want my kids to get out of preschool is to learn to listen to someone other than mom, sit quietly, learn how to become part of a team(class), share, and have fun socializing. I have no expectations for the teachers to teach him how to write and read. I have other opinions on early childhood education which aren't the "popular" things to say, my thoughts are very basic. I am glad though that no matter what kind of school your child is attending, that as parents we take the time to recognize the importance of school/education.

 

[jlparedes]

My DD is 2 1/2 and attends an in-home daycare/preschool. She runs a state preschool curriculum and so far I think it's been great for DD. I know they are working on a letter and number each week. This summer she learned about the beach and under the sea. She is tracing some letters and can recognize many of the letters and numbers and points them out. She counts in spanish and english to 20. She is learning sharing and how to play with different aged kids (we have just her and she is never around younger kids or babies, so this has been great.) She is learning about manners. She loves to sing and dance. She is learning about consequences for her actions. Her vocabulary has just jumped by leaps and bounds since we moved her here a few months ago. Now she will speak in sentences to me and carry a conversation. They are learning about nature this week and do various arts and crafts projects around the preschool themes. I think it has been great for her. When she is 4 I will probably move her to the school's pre-K. But for now, I think she is on top of things so far.