HI! So I've been looking around the boards for info about childhood education and came across a few boards that may have some great insight into this, so here I am! I'm Nicole btw. My DS is 15 months old. :) DH and I both work FT, and DS goes to an in-home daycare. I really LOVE her (thank goodness), and my SIL teaches preschool in a public school, so I never thought about other options. But I started reading about some different education programs ("Tools of the Mind" or "We Can", etc) and I really like some of these plans. This led me to some local Montessori schools, and they take kids starting at 18 months. I would have to wait until DS is 2 because of the cutoffs and such, but I really want to put him in one of these programs. (So this would be NEXT fall... lol)
So here are my slew of questions for you. I want my child to have every educational opportunity possible. I am a firm believer that education is immensely important and that starting early can only help that. I have wanted to send him to private schools anyway, and I spent most of my school days in a private school also. But is 2 TOO early? I know they're not doing algebra, but is there an argument that they should just be kids and play? I know there's a controversy about the parents that teach their kids to read at a year old or whatever, that it may actually harm their social skills, and other areas of development, because of the unnatural pressure placed on them to focus on reading so early. *I'm not agreeing or disagreeing w/ either side of that, just discussing*
If I wait until he's 3 to be in my SILs class, he would probably stay at his current sitter. She's awesome at teaching them communication skills and takes great care of them, but she doesn't do all of the things these schools do, like planning activities, taking "notes" of activities, painting, coloring, counting, little "experiments" etc... OK I'm rambling.
Bottom line, these Montessori schools are pretty expensive. But I would still have to pay for my SILs class even though it's at a public school. But her class is a half-day, 2 days per week. The private ones could be 2, 3, or 5 days, half or whole days. So how much more would he learn w/ special curriculae and 5 days of class? Plus being in the routine of school early. But is it too much for a toddler/preschooler? Am I making ANY sense? LOL What do you think?
I think that 0-3 the important thing is that the child feels safe, cared for and comfortable. If the environment is safe and nurturing, whether it is home, daycare, school or whatever, the child will naturally explore and learn what he is ready to learn.
It is not that I think it is harmful to put a 2yo in Montessori preschool, but I equally don't think that 5, 10 or 20 years down the line it will make one iota of difference in your son's life whether he spends his third year of life in a good daycare or in a Montessori preschool.
Save your shekels for something more important, like when he is 10 and really, really, really wants to learn to play guitar or ice hockey or the tuba.
I agree with the pp. Under 5 I'd say it's all about love, security, acceptance, the ability to play and explore.
I seriously doubt anything a child "learns" at 2 as far as real school goes, is anything that a 3 or 4 year old wouldn't get in a short period of time.
Kids won't read until they are ready. You surround them with age appropriate books and read to them. If they learn before K than that's great, but in reality, kids learn and take off when they are developmentally ready. And there are no studies that tell me reading earlier is better.
If your child wasn't happy at their daycare, if it was substandard in anyway or inconvenient I'd pull him out. Otherwise I wouldn't think about it until 3. There are so many opportunities you can do at home for free.
I also believe having involved caring parents is more important than anything else.
In my honest opinion, I think kids should be allowed to just be kids, at least until they start school. I see nothing wrong with home daycare-my son went to one and he was very happy there (still asks to go when there is no school). The daycare we used was unstructured, much as it would be if you were home with your child. Again-another reason we both liked it. We know kids who sent their kids to pre-school and pre-kindergarten who now go to school with ds. You cannot honestly tell who had it and who didn't. Now if your child had a learning issue, I'm all for early intervention. But if not, I just let my kid be a kid for a little longer.
I tend to agree with the PP's about saving the $$$ for later on, but had some random thoughts to throw in as well. :)
- Check with the local elementary schools. My son's school has a preschool in it for 3 and 4 year olds and they use Tools of the Mind.
- A big portion of Tools of the Mind is the belief that children learn from playing with each other ("dramatic play") as opposed to having a teacher teach them things. Your DS could definitely do this at a daycare!
