Long hrs in preschool/daycare harmful
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Long hrs in preschool/daycare harmful
| Sun, 03-19-2006 - 3:09pm |
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20051101/news_1n1earlyed.html
Very interesting. Particularly the difference in the middle to upper income kids vs low income.
"I personally feel children need the nurture of their parents and the home," she said. "Those early years, that's when they are bonding to their family. That nurturing, only the family can give that."
I tend to agree.
MM, WOHM to B&E, 7.24.03

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It is my neighborhood public school. I chose it both when we bought this house, and then five years later when we enrolled our oldest child in it. When I bought the house, it was more of a "Does this school that happens to be the neighborhood school meet my standards?" (If it happened to be a mediocre or failing school, I wouldn't have bought this house.) When I was deciding on private, Catholic or public elementary school for that first kid for K, it was "Does this school meet my standards knowing what I now know about my oldest child?" I wasn't looking to send him to other public schools, if that's what you meant. I was choosing between this neighborhood school, various private schools, and the school connected to our church. I did research the school's gifted program. I thought it was an excellent program. But now I know that the gifted program just isn't enough for some kids. (For plenty of kids, the gifted program is a wonderful thing and works well to meet their needs. I thought we'd be in that category.) There was really no reason for me to anticipate that my child wouldn't get an excellent education there.
Tell me what you think of when you think of an excellent school. I'm afraid that this school would meet your definition of excellent. I just think we fell through the cracks somehow. There was a glitch in the time/space continuum and my ds was in the wrong place at the wrong time!
I find my kid reading a book through two or three times straight before putting it down. Then a month later he'll pick up the same 500 page book and start reading from the middle. Huh?
I buy my ds a lot of books but I also find a lot at the library. He doesn't always like what I choose but when he gets desperate, searching the house for something new to read, he ends up reading them and then he comes to tell me how much he liked them! I've got his reading taste down pat, he just doesn't know it.
"know, most people, particularly children, tend not to segregate their interests into neat little boxes like that. It's quite incredulous that your daughter, all on her own (hence "child-led") came up with such a broad based, sequential outline of activities."
From post 494:
"although dh and I provide the general outline wrt to the subjects to be addressed, as well as being available to facilitate and/or assist with projects, the gathering of appropriate materials and information, researching current and future projects, etc.
Dd has the freedom to explore, plan, schedule, and come up with her own activities based on her ever changing personal interests wrt these general subjects."
"They tend to get obsessed with 1 interest and do nothing but that for long stretches of time, then something else grabs them and they focus on that."
This is not the case with dd. She has many obsessions some of which she explores on a short term basis, others which have been progressing for several years now.
"The way that your daughter unschools herself is very unusual,"
I won't argue there. Often times dh and I are completely amazed by some of the things she comes up with. Currently she's working on the following: making a knot alphabet out of yarn, inventing her own origami animals (as she can't find directions for animals such as the platypus, manatees, owls, etc), making a palanquin out of clay and toothpicks (we just finished reading the sequel to The Conch Bearer set in India), writing her own madlib stories (with blanks for nouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, etc to make a silly story), writing and illustrating a science book entitled What's the Difference which tells the difference between moths and butterflies, dolphins and porpoises, bugs and spiders, frogs and toads, etc.
"Also, you say you have nothing planned b/c your daughter comes up with this all on her own, yet you say you study one composer a month and one artist a month."
And don't forget one poet a month. Again, dh and I provide the general outline wrt to the subjects to be addressed, however dd gets to pick the specific composer, artist, and poet as well as come up with her own activities based on her ever changing personal interests wrt these general subjects."
"It doesn't surprise me that your dd is in the top 1% of her class or nationally (though I'm not sure you said that). Any child who spends 2 hours every weekday and 6+ hours every weekend, holiday, and summer studying"
That would be 4-6 hours not 6+ hours.
"To teach your child ahead of the class, then brandish the results of that teaching as proof of giftedness speaks to your motivation for such teaching."
When dd asks a question, dh and I are more than happy to answer it. This is only motivation we need.
"Some measures are perfectly simple and free and would help a lot of gifted kids, like lowering the barriers to whole grade acceleration and early entrance to K."
Yes.
"Most parents of gifted students aren't looking for a ton of funding to fall their child's way, just a lot more flexibility within the system and some understanding of what it means to be gifted by those who are teaching their children."
I agree that flexibility and understanding would go a long way.
"Are you claiming that the meaning of a holiday is forever set in stone based on its origin?"
Not at all.
Just pointing out that Christmas and Easter belong to everyone.
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"The answer to the second question, is that I believe that objective truth and morality exists,"
Is this belief an objective fact or a subjective opinion?
"and that Christianity is the best pointer to it that I have ever found,"
Again, Is this belief an objective fact or a subjective opinion?
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