Preschool?

I have always had a pretty definite stance on preschool. By the time Calli was just a few months old I was already hearing comments about preschool, reading things about preschool and I just thought it was crazy! I have always said she wouldn't go and I have stuck to my guns pretty well over the years. I think a lot of people in my generation and generations before never went to preschool (myself included) and we all turned out just great. In fact, I was reading before kindergarten. By fourth grade I was placed in a gifted class and continued to take some advanced courses through my senior year in high school. I didn't need the socialization either; I just walked out my door to play with my best friends each day. I was a shy kid, but that was just my personality. Just like I can see Calli's personality is very outgoing, which has nothing to do with being around other kids; it's just how she is!

I am a stay-at-home-mother. My job is hard, at times overwhelming. But I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. I have five short years with each of my children at home before they have to go off to kindergarten. Why would I want them to spend most of that time in a "preschool"? I think that word (preschool) is tossed around way too much lately. Parents talk of sending their two-year-olds to preschool. At that age, it is not preschool, just daycare.

I think I have done a fairly good job finding a balance between too much socialization and not enough up to this point in Calli's life. Before the age of two we had play dates with friends with kids the same age. We still continue those to this day and they are great. Once Calli turned two I enrolled her in a dance class. I started taking her to play places or bounce houses around town where there were other kids. At the age of three we signed her up for soccer, continued ballet classes and started going to library storytimes. She goes to the park all the time and to the gym with Richard and plays with the other kids in the childcare. She goes outside when weather permits and plays with the kids in the cult-de-sac if they are out. She is an extremely bright girl, at the age of three-and-a-half. She knew her ABCs at two, she can count to twenty now, she recognizes most of her letters and all of her numbers to ten. She has been writing her name for awhile now. Has known all her shapes, colors, animals, etc. for a long time. What is any preschool going to teach her that she can't learn at home, really?

One big thought I have is that if preschool were so vital as some "experts" claim (there are studies both for and contrary to this so really you have to choose what to believe and do your own research) then why is it so expensive? Why do I have to pay for it?

Education is so important. I really believe this with all my heart. After all, teaching is something I hope to pursue after I have raised my babies. But it is just getting ridiculous how young we expect our kids to start. What about just being kids? What about just enjoying childhood and just giving us parents the opportunity to enjoy their childhood before sending them off to school eight hours a day? That time will come soon enough and will last for long enough (really, thirteen years of school isn't enough and we have to start earlier than that?). Kindergarten has become a full day in all the districts here in San Antonio and I know that is a trend through the nation. There are also some really smart educators here who felt that the day wasn't long enough already for a five-year-old and have removed recess from a lot of the schools. A half day of kindergarten with a recess was good enough for me and my generation. Why is it not good enough any more? What exactly are kids expected to learn that I wasn't before the age of eighteen?

All of these opinions of mine are leading me to one point: I am now thinking of putting Calli in preschool. No it will probably not be "traditional" eight hour a day preschool, but is perfect and exactly what I was looking for. There are programs all over town here called Mother's Day Out. This particular one takes place Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9-2. They have a curriculum they follow and a very structured day, including time for nap, lunch, snack and outside play if weather permits (which here means less than 100 degrees out). Calli will be four in June and, if she gets in, will start this program in the fall. There are 10-12 kids in the small class so there are no guarantees, but I will also look elsewhere if need be.

I now believe that preschool should be judged on an individual basis. No two kids are the same so why should the way we raise them be the same? Calli is an extremely outgoing kid who loves to be around other children and make friends. She loves to learn, loves to draw, loves to read (LOVES it), all things she can do in preschool. She is the kind of child who will greatly benefit from a program like this. It is just enough during the week for her to get out of the house and do something away from me in preparation for kindergarten. But it isn't so much that she will be gone all the time, causing me to lose the title of "stay-at-home-mom". Of course, I'll still have two other little ones at home with me!

Calli is very much looking forward to beginning preschool. We toured one of the Mother's Day Out programs near us yesterday morning. While the director showed me around, they invited Calli to sit in on the four-year-old class. She jumped right into circle time and by the time I went back to retreive her fifteen minutes later she had already cut out and colored a flower in a pot (and told the teacher how to spell her name correctly too). She couldn't stop talking about it the rest of the day. When Richard walked through the door she said "Daddy guess what, I went to preschool today!" Richard looked a bit confused, but I told him we had just looked at one. It's still five months away, but I know it won't be easy for me. It's the first step in sending my baby off to real school, which she also has been talking about for months. She can't wait to go to kindergarten someday.

Someday, Calli, someday. But for now, just stay little a little longer...