Today's Works for me Wednesday is about a personal decision that all parents must make. Some of us start before that little line on the pee stick turns pink, some don't even give it a thought until little junior is two or three. Yup, we all have to consider how, where and when we're going to educate our children! :)
I am part of a MOPS emailing group. Recently the question was raised "what preschools do you recommend? My son is three and not yet potty trained. Where can he go?" Several mommies praised their own choices of schooling, this preschool does this, this preschool does that, I couldn't be happier with my choice etc etc etc. I entered the conversation with the following response:
Evan went to preschool at a local church. The
price was right and it fit our needs. Aidan is doing "homeschool
preschool" this year because I didn't like the options in [my rural] area
and commuting to town just wasn't financially responsible. I think we'll
continue on this track even when we move back to town. The experience of
preschool just isn't worth it for our family. Also, the kindergarten teacher Evan had says she can't tell the difference between
kids who go to preschool and those who don't after about a week in
kindergarten.
So, there's another option for you! :) As for his "social needs" he
gets them during MOPPETS, Sunday School and plenty of other play dates
not only with kids his own age but of various ages as well.
In a nutshell, homeschool preschool works for our family!
I'm not even really good at homeschool preschool. I had grand visions of Aidan and me sitting at the dining room table with crayons, scissors and glue during the littler siblings' naptimes. Nope, I kick his heiney to bed with the rest of them right after lunch! And you know what? He still knows his letters, can count past thirty, voluntarily gets out his spelling and penmanship books to work on throughout the day and can even tell you which direction you're headed! So, my theory is that there isn't really such a thing as "pre-school getting them ready for kindergarten". He can stand in line, wait his turn, wipe his own heiney, use scissors correctly, and share. I know many children in older grades who can't do those things! I think he'll be more than ready to go to kindergarten next fall by doing his preschool work at home!
So, homeschool preschool works for me and my family. Click here to go find out some other things that work for some other families!
5 comments:
I also homeschool preschool our 4 yr old for most of the same reasons you do. I also enjoy getting to see her grasping new concepts and learning new things. And I like being on our own schedule. Thanks for the post!
Thanks for sharing! I'm in the process of pre-homeschooling my first son. He's only 3yr right now so we're taking it a little at a time.
I clicked on your link from Works for My Wednesday because it mentions preschool. I home preschool my 2 1/2 year-old daughter. I like being able to take things at our own pace. It also extends to outings. We'll be driving and she will point out letters. I also like it because it bonds us too. We got our lesson plans from http://www.letteroftheweek.com/preschool_age_3.html. Then we adjust it to what we want to do. Its what works for us.
As a parent who has homeschooled her five children for the last 8 years and currently teaching a pre-k/kindergartener, I agree with you wholeheartedly!! Keep the kids home for preschool is a great thing! They can learn lots more valuable things at home playing and interacting with you than they can anywhere else.
Also don't beat yourself up too much for not sitting down with him on a regular basis. It is okay!
There is plenty of preschool ideas and such online. I second the previous commenter's suggestion for letter of the week. I have other sites on my blog! You can go here to read about what I am working through this year with my dd.
I am doing the same thing. I was so happy to read the part about nap time because I do that too and have felt so guilty! My son knows what he needs to for kindergarten so I don't see what the big deal is. Besides, I get to have him here with me more than sendig him off somewhere!
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