Is John below average? Deborah's daughter is 4 months younger than him, but she can count to 20. John barely gets to 5. There must be something wrong...
Do you ever find yourself experiencing this type of thought pattern? I think most of us do from time to time. Honestly though, preschool learning has very little, if anything to do with success in upper levels of school. This Wall Street Journal article discusses the potential benefits and drawbacks of our preschool system. In fact, one of the lasting effects of preschool education is a minor increase in behavioral problems.
Preschool is popular, not for the benefit of children, but rather for the convenience of parents. Kids can get all of the structure and socialization necessary through parental teaching and parent arranged playdates. Because many parents choose to or need to work, however, preschools have become the norm, with 2/3 of four year olds attending them.
How can you be sure that your child will be ready for kindergarden if you choose to opt out of preschool? Easy- teach them yourself. This is the most sensible solution for stay at home parents. Unfortunately, it's not always easy. My stubborn just turned 3 year old has been nearly impossible to teach. He learned his colors and animals quite easily through life experience- me pointing out a red balloon or a horse or whatever. When it comes to actually sitting down with him and convincing him to try to learn something, though, forget it.
He can count to 10. I've heard him do it. Will he do it if I ask him to? Absolutely not. If I try to force the issue, he'll turn into a blubbering mess. Colton's always been one to learn on his own terms. He was a late walker, but the day he started walking, he could do it well, along with running and walking backwards. Same thing for potty training- I knew he could do it long before he knew. The week he potty trained, he would be dry all day and all night. He won't try to do something unless HE knows he can do it. If he has any degree of uncertainty, he will flat out refuse to try. It's a really frustrating aspect of his personality, and one that I hope he can work through as he gets older.
For this reason, I've taken a laid back approach to his homeschooling. I bought the rigorous curriculum packed full of fun activities, but it'll have to wait. All kids mature at different paces. We work on letters and memorization as he is open to it. I don't want to turn him off to learning completely. He loves to use the iphone to trace his alphabet and learn letter sounds. He can take control of his own learning without worrying about failing in front of anyone. I hate that he's afraid of failing in front of me. He shouldn't be embarassed or scared to try. I'm always positive and encouraging, but I think it's just something that he needs to grow and mature out of.
I know that he learns some in his Sunday school class, but definitely not at the pace of the other, slightly older kids in it. First kid is always experimental. We'll see how things go, but I'm hoping that we'll get better at it and be able to homeschool through elementary levels. If anyone has any tips to share, I'd love to hear about your experiences.
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