Homeschool Evangelist - Should I send them to Preschool?

Homeschool Evangelist

Jan. 14, 2007

Should I send them to Preschool?

I substituted in my 4 year old daughter's class the other day. You see we attend a fine arts "hybrid school." It's not a public virtual charter school or anything like that. It is called the Master's Academy of Fine Arts, and it's a one-day per week program for homeschoolers. Their mission is to glorify God through excellence in the arts.

So here I was in the Opal class, watching them learn about Napoleon the Third, Renoir and Debussy. Actually they didn't seem to be learning a whole lot. Most of them were zoning out (including my daughter) and asking when it would be time for their snack.

Certainly what they were being taught was good. And the teacher was warm and enthusiastic. The other children were well behaved. Frankly, it was the best school setting I could possibly image for my children!

But what I kept sensing was that it was not HOME -- these kids were not with their families. Each of them seemed to be telling me, with body language, glances and sometimes words, that they would rather be with Mom.

What I came away thinking was this: young children don't need or want to be away from their families for very long. Preschool, by it's very name, says that it is not "real" school, but rather a preparation time for school. And I can easily do that at home.

Now I don't want anyone to think that I am against the Master's Academy. In fact, it's quite the opposite. That day as a substitute, I decided that we would re-enroll our children for the next school year. BUT, we will not be sending our 3 or 4 year olds anymore.

As much as I enjoyed getting to know those 9 children and teaching them about Renoir's paintings, I can't even begin to come close to caring for them like their mothers can.

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Comments

Jan. 14, 2007 - I think you're doing the right thing

Posted by bethanyrae

I think you're right on that. Each child probably has their own age for when they're ready to go out like that for the day. I work with homeschool Kdg and 1st graders once a week where they are left there all day for classes, and most do alright. However, there are some who really do need to still be at home, no matter how good the program is nor how well the other kids are doing. You can just see it. Sometimes the parents don't seem to. I think they're thinking they can just encourage them through it and "it will get better" or something.
bethanyrae

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Jan. 15, 2007 - Power of Play

Posted by Susan Conway

Lauren,

What a wonderful conclusion of your time with the 4 year olds!

I am including an article about David Elkind's new book. His earlier books were helpful to me when my children were younger, (I have decided to look into his background philosophies now and so wonder what I will conclude when I finish this rabbit trail.)

http://susanohanian.org/show_atrocities.php?id=6863
Play Imperiled

From The Power of Play by David Elkind

"Children’s play—their inborn disposition for curiosity, imagination, and fantasy—is being silenced in the high-tech, commercialized world we have created. Toys, about which children once spun elaborate personal fables, now engender little more than habits of passive consumerism. The spontaneous pickup games that once filled neighborhoods have largely been replaced by organized team sports and computer games. Television sitcoms and movie CDs have all but eliminated the self-initiated dramatic play that once mimicked (and mocked) the adult world. Parents, anxious for their children to succeed in an increasingly competitive global economy, regard play as a luxury that the contemporary child cannot afford.

Over the past two decades, children have lost 12 hours of free time a week, including eight hours of unstructured play and outdoor activities. … The disappearance of play from the lives of our children is mirrored in the media. Television programs rarely depict children as simply playing and having a good time. … Even the cartoons have changed. Fred Flintstone and George Jetson never let work get in the way of having fun. Bob the Builder and SpongeBob SquarePants, on the other hand, love their jobs. SpongeBob was even named employee of the month at the fast-food restaurant where he works. When did life for a child get to be so hard?"

from Publisher's Weekly

Starred Review. In this fascinating look at the importance of letting kids be kids, Elkind argues that "Play is being silenced." According to Elkind, a child psychologist and author of All Grown Up and No Place to Go, important, unstructured play is too often replaced in modern times by organized activities, academics or passive leisure activities such as watching television and playing video games. Elkind explains how even toys have changed: "toys once served to socialize children into social roles, vocations, and academic tool skills. Today, they are more likely to encourage brand loyalties, fashion consciousness, and group think." Elkind acknowledges that technology has its place in the classroom, but debunks computer programs marketed toward babies and preschoolers whose young brains are not yet able to fully comprehend two-dimensional representations. "Parent peer pressure" is often to blame, causing parents to engage in "hyperparenting, overprotection, and overprogramming." Media-spread fears about everything from kidnapping and molestation to school shootings and SIDS can cause parents to forget that "children can play safely without adult organization; they have done so as long as people have been on earth." With clarity and insight, Elkind calls for society to bring back long recesses, encourage imagination and let children develop their minds at a natural pace.

—David Elkind, a professor of child development at Tufts University and the author of The Hurried Child, from his latest book on the intellectual, social, and emotional benefits of unstructured play. The Power of Play: How Spontaneous, Imaginative Activities Lead to Happier, Healthier Children is published by Da Capo Press (www.dacapopress.com; 240 pp., $24 hardback).

— David Elkind
Education Week
2007-01-10

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Jan. 16, 2007 - Untitled Comment

Posted by Luci

Thanks. This was really nice to read. I see you at GA Homeschooler yahoo group and have enjoyed your blog. Our oldest is an early 5 y/o and I struggle that we're not doing enough. I feel in my gut what you wrote, but my lack of experience causes me to second guess my gut. Thanks for confirming.

Luci

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Promoting homeschooling, family-integrated churches, and letting God plan your family. Who knew that today I'd be doing all those things I thought were WACKO only 10 years ago!