I’ve been wondering, when did pre-school become the norm? It wasn’t normal when I was a child, at least not in Utah. I am not saying it is a bad thing. In fact, I think pre-school is wonderful, but I can't afford it this year. If I had the money, I'd like her to attend at least twice a week. However, I feel that it is optional and not necessarily better.
Another mom at the YMCA doesn’t have her son in pre-school either. She asked me what are some of things I worry about that Lexi might have problems with when she gets to kindergarten. I don't really have any. She mentioned that she heard that standing in line and raising hands was an issue for some non-pre-schooled kids. Seems too simple to worry about that for any child. I already know that Lexi doesn’t have a problem with either of those.
A good friend in Texas had complained about being judged for not enrolling her kids in kindergarten, which is odd because she was a teacher before she became a stay-at-home mom. In addition to a tight budget, her decision also had to do with the fact that she just wanted to spend as much time with her kids as she could. All moms know that kids grow up too quickly. Lexi wasn’t even two when my friend told me about feeling judged. I didn’t see what the big deal was at the time and frankly, I still don’t.
My friend even taught her two oldest kids to read very well before they started kindergarten. They have been the top readers in their classes. She told me about the lesson manual she used and warned me that it requires a lot of patience and can be grueling at times, but that the rewards were worth it. I have been working on it with Lexi this year mainly because she is ready and needs a challenge. Yesterday, she completed her 55th lesson out of 100. I made a little video so everyone can see her progress. Here she is reading part of the story that was in her lesson that we did later:
Yes, she plays it up for the camera. Here is a photo of the story:
3 comments:
I didn't go to pre-school, and I turned out just fine...I don't think it's required. I think it might be nice for you to have downtime (one less child does make a difference) just as a win/win type of situation. She gets exposure to different kids and adults, you get more time.
I think part of the reason it's been normalized is all the research about childhood development prior to 5. You are clearly teaching, but not all parents are as gifted or thoughtful. That's why I think preschool is a good thing, for those parents who aren't capable of working with/helping their kids. In some other countries school starts earlier than 5 for these reasons...
My kids didn't go to pre-school until they were 4 and 5 (yup, I chose preschool rather than kindergarten!) and in retrospect, if I had to do it over I would have put them in at 3 and 4. Why? I didn't realize how much fun they'd have making friends, socializing, creating craft projects and just being a part of something so amazing. Plus, they are way ahead of their classmates now that they are both in kindergarten.
I think as a parent you have to do what you feel is the right thing for your children and your situation - after all, you're the mommy so what you say goes!
Don't let anyone make you second guess your choices.
I think the title should read
"Not in Pre-school but TOTALLY AWESOME!"
Lexi is amazing and clearly doing so well. It sounds like she has the best of both worlds; extra time with mommy and Jordan as well as getting to spend time with peers without all the pressure. Great work.
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