Preschool....what are typical skills/knowledge/concepts addressed in a 3

[jerseygirl07067]

year old class and a 4 year old class? Sammy is 3yrs and 8 months and would be in the 3 year old class at the preschools I'm considering. (I'm still not totally sure we're going to go the preschool route but I am doing lots of research at the moment :))It doesn't sound like they do much formal teaching in the 3 yr old class but there is some. I know in the 4 year old class they do a lot more regarding teaching them to write letters, numbers, etc. I'm thinking of having her go two 1/2 days a week.

What is typical at the different preschool ages? My concern is that I feel Sammy is very bright - she learned to talk very early and learned numbers, colors, shapes, etc. very early on too. She is really not interested in learning new "academic" types of things with me at this point when I ask her if she wants to sit down with me and do them. I don't push her at all. On the other hand, I worry she might "lose her edge" a bit if she's not intellectually stimulated at this point.

Am I taking the whole preschool thing too seriously? I guess I feel like if I'm going to pay for it, I want her to get some learning benefit. She already gets a decent amount of social interaction in some of the playgroups we're in - though she is one of the older kids.

What are your thoughts on this?

Marcy

[hobokenmom]

Here are my personal thoughts about 3-year-old preschool, but our preschool might be a bit different because it's all day Monday through Friday.

Basically, at 3, they're learning to be more independent, to share, get along with others, take directions from other grown-ups, etc.

They spend a lot of their day washing hands, going potty, eating snack, lunch, having a quick nap, and in between all that, they play in some learning centers, do an arts/craft project, and listen to some stories read out-loud to them.

I certainly hope it's not academic at age 3. My son would be so unhappy. I want it to be about having fun.

[neeter]

I would put her in the 3 year old class, and see how she does. DS is academically above average, and socially very average, so we're keeping him within the same age group. I think social skills (as well as building self-confidence, independence, etc) are as important as academics. If its a good program, they will keep her interested. (For instance, in DS' school, the teachers would let him get activities from the older classroom that his room wasn't even stocked with). This has worked out well for us. Good luck!!

[icunurse]

I just attended orientation and open house and here is what DS's preschool said: 3 year old classes are mainly about socialization. They will also focus on sharing, following simple directions, and getting into a routine with things. They stressed that learning will be done, but it will be done through creative ways that don't have too much structure (they said the kids will only be expected to sit and listen for about 15-20 minutes a day, the rest is open time in different focus rooms). Some of the things they will cover are name recognition, shapes, colors, numbers, letters....things DS knows already, but, really, what more do I want him to know at this age?

They said 4 year old classes are preparation for kindergarten, with a little more structure and teaching upon what the kids know (like letter sounds, identifying words that start with that letter, etc).

Personally, the way I see it, is that it is just preschool. I want DS to learn something, of course, but I don't feel that he needs to be pushed at such a young age. There will be plenty of time for stress, structure, and learning when he starts grade school and beyond. Unless a child is way behind or way ahead of the curve, let them enjoy a fun school experience.

DS - 2004
DD - 2007

[egoldber]

I would put her in the age group she will be in for attending K. If thats the 3 year old class, thats where I would put her. There is no advantage to pushing children to learn academics early. Any differences that appear early on tend to level out by third grade.

Just an anecdote, so take it for what its worth. My good friend felt like you did, that if her DD was not pushed in preschool she could lose her edge. I felt very strongly that preschool should be non-academic and learning only though play. Her DD's preschool had worksheets etc, daily. Sarah's school had none at all. In K last year, she sent her DD to a private K that was very academic with homework, spelling tests, etc. She struggled all year with getting her DD to do homework and to learn the spelling words. At the end of the year her DD was reading some, but hates to read and is afraid to read chapter books because she is afraid of "failing" at them. Sarah went to a very low key private K that was also play based, learned to read, adores reading and has spent the summer devouring early chapter books of her own volition. So YMMV, but here's just one example of how pushing academics early can backfire and of how not pushing academics can have no disadvantage.

So yes, I think you're taking the preschool thing a little too seriously. :)

[hobokenmom]

I wholeheartedly agree with this post.

I think there are very very rare instances where kids should be bumped up a grade.

Early academics, in my opinion, just causes more burnout.

[Roleysmom]

I completely agree too. This scenario was my fear when we were considering whether to keep DD in the school she's in now for K or go with an accelerated public program with worksheets, homework and required reading. We decided to stay where we are.

My one thought to the original poster is to see if there's a multi-age classroom preschool program near you. (Montessori is one example of a mixed age program.) That would give your child exposure to other things that she could explore if interested but it's far from academic.

Good luck!

Paula

[SnuggleBuggles]

There was no teaching in ds' 3 or 4 yo class. There was "teaching" by exposure. There was a writing corner where they could practice writing letters if, and only if, they wanted. That was about it. Teaching opportunities came from things like circle time activities where concepts were introduced in stories (like rhyming) and things like that.

I wanted preschool to be about learning through play. I wasn't going to choose a kindergarten that wasn't a good fit for his interests, skills and abilities. He starts kindergarten in 2 weeks and it seems to me like he will be just fine. He has a bit of "summer brain" where he isn't as sharp on his lower case letters as he was at the end of the school year but I can tell it's right on the tip of his brain and will come right out. I also know him and know that things will click when he is ready and interested- and it won't matter one bit if he is getting taught about it at school or home. Just being exposed is enough and I know he will ask when he wants to learn more. :)

Beth

[Moneypenny]

DD is not in preschool, but we researched for a while and decided, if she goes, she will go to a nonacademic preschool. Our reason is that we can work with her on the academic stuff but we can't give her the social environment (although she does go to playgroup, etc, but that is a different kind of environment). We also have not seen any evidence that makes us believe that pushing academics at age 3 or 4 lead to any kind of benefit down the road.

I looked up what our town's 4K goals are to make sure we wouldn't be putting her at a disadvantage, and with the exception of rote counting to 20 and being able to physically group items up to 10 (this is by the END of the school year), there wasn't a single academic milestone. It was all stuff like following directions, playing with peers, skip, hop and jump, use bathroom and wash hands independently, walk up stairs with alternating feet, etc.

Susan
mama to my 3-year old cutie pie

[miki]

ITA with Beth. My kid goes to a preschool with a multi-age classroom (3s and 4s together). It's very loosely based on Montessori principles. What I like is that the teachers follow the child's lead. The kids learn through experience and play. If they are interested in doing more academic stuff, they are given the opportunity but it's not forced at all. The younger kids learn from the older kids and the older kids learn to be responsible for helping out the younger kids.

[JBaxter]

I would put her with children that will start school when she does. Nathan is in Montessori so he is with 3's 4's &5's but here is the schedule for the next 2 weeks
Learn to serve snacks, learn to use the bathroom properly, intro the bell , learn to roll a rug, sit on the line, push in chairs, playground safety, introduce parts of the calendar, intro to easel art work, intro to couuresy, start continents and continents song.

He is 3 and knows his numbers to 20, upper and lower case alphabet colors and shapes. I have him in preschool for the interaction in a class room setting WITHOUT me :)

[californiagirl]

DD goes to a play-based pre-school. She's 3 and 7 months, and she's in a class with kids her age. The pre-school does have concepts they're trying to teach at each age, but she's so far ahead of them that the last three times she's moved up they've said "We're not even going to talk about academic goals for this classroom. She's already met those."

I think play-based learning really helps them meet the kids where they are. DD has in no way lost her edge (she writes her name, reads a half-dozen words, is starting to sound words out, counts to 29, if she asks for 5 grapes and you give her 3, she can tell you she needs two more...)

DD's best friend went to an academic pre-school for a while, which started worksheets at around this age. (Admittedly, his father refused to make him do homework at age 3, so maybe that wrecked the school's plan or something.) He's 6 months older than DD and only started to catch up to her when he moved to a Montessori school.

[o_mom]

DS1 is starting next week in a 3 yo class and he is 3 yrs, 11.5 months. He sounds very similar to your DD with the early learning. While I do share some of your concerns around the academics, my DS really does need more of the social aspects of PS. This school is very low key on the academics. They have a letter of the week and the kids make a book through the year with the letters, but everything else is play based learning. 4yos do a bit more with the academics - writing the letters and numbers, for example.

I think that for my DS, throwing him into a 4 yo class next year without that 3 yo year would be a mistake. He needs a year of learning how to behave in school (and in general, LOL) without feeling like he has to learn new stuff at the same time. I fully expect that much of the academics this year will be review for him, but that is OK at this point. Then again, we are only paying $100/month for 2 days/week, so it is not a super expensive program.

[jerseygirl07067]

I really appreciate everyone's input. What you are all saying makes a lot of sense. I wasn't considering putting her in a 4 year old class, just noting the differences that I've observed at the schools. Sorry if I didn't express myself correctly!

You all put it in perspective for me though, and I must remember it is all about having fun and learning through that experience. I actually did look at another school today and interestingly they have a 3 year old class and an older 3 year old class for kids whose birthdays are in sept/oct/nov/dec. In FL where I am, the cutoff for school is sept 1st. I thought that was interesting and might look into that older 3 year old class.

But if we do a 3 year old class somewhere else I will now feel much better about it thanks to you all. :)

Marcy

[jerseygirl07067]

I really appreciate everyone's input. What you are all saying makes a lot of sense. I wasn't considering putting her in a 4 year old class, just noting the differences that I've observed at the schools. Sorry if I didn't express myself correctly!

You all put it in perspective for me though, and I must remember it is all about having fun and learning through that experience. I actually did look at another school today and interestingly they have a 3 year old class and an older 3 year old class for kids whose birthdays are in sept/oct/nov/dec. In FL where I am, the cutoff for school is sept 1st. I thought that was interesting and might look into that older 3 year old class.

But if we do a 3 year old class somewhere else I will now feel much better about it thanks to you all. :)

Marcy

[peasprout]

It seems as though the popular opinion is that preschool is more for social skills than anything academic. I thought this way also when DD started preschool. Even though I thought she was advanced for her age, I was more concerned about her learning practical life skills (she was in a Montessori program). But then DS came along. He is 3 years 4 months and will be starting preschool soon. But he's already reading at the 1st grade level. I never pushed him, he started on his own before he turned 3. He loves to learn and he's been absorbing more and increasing in his knowledge every day,...it's amazing to watch. Because of this, I am now more aware of how capable a child's mind is of learning and being streched, especially at a young age. And I am also feeling like I need to "feed" him more. I don't think preschool is the place to do it though, only because they aren't set up to really teach academics. So to keep her stimulated, you would probably have to do it at home. I know you mentioned that she's not interested in learning with you, in which case you might have to wait until she does show an interest.
Anyway, just wanted to let you know that I understand your desire to keep your child stimulated. I hope you find something that works for you!

[o_mom]

I forgot about an older 3's class! A few schools I looked at had this. Ours doesn't have it for 3's but does for 4's (4 yo by Mar 1st I think). BTW, I wasn't reading your post as putting him in a 4 yo class at 3, but maybe thinking about skipping the 3 yo class for this year and just going straight to 4 yo class next year.

[lisams]

Also chiming is with agreement!

DD's pre-K is play based and last year she learned so much, especially with writing! Seriously, when it's fun, they want to learn and they enjoy it and it STICKS in their brain because it's meaningful to them! Pushing academics can be a risky thing to do. I'd rather have an academically average or even below average, well adjusted child who enjoys school than one who hates school but can recite their multiplication facts!