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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No, I don't think they will be. And I don't think any child needs to be in more than 1/2 day preschool if his Kindergarten is only 1/2 day.
My point was that the playgroup cannot provide the socialization benefits that the child entering Kindergarten needs to experience before Kindergarten. "My" playgroups over the past 5 yrs have been socialization opportunities more for the parents than for the children under age 2 or sometimes age 3 who obviously engage in little more than parallel play for a short time.
You too have said that your playgroup allows for parallel play only and IMO is thus somewhat limited and unlike the preschool group experience.
Since you utilize preschool anyway, it's a non-issue. My point was a narrow one about the playgroup only.
That's hilarious.
"Does your DD do any of those from scratch,"
Yes. From post 605:
homemade pixie sticks, gummy worms, fruit roll ups, rock candy, playdough, soap, chalk, candles, etc.
"such as researching the supplies and recipes, doing the leg-work, setting everything up herself?"
Sometimes yes, sometimes no. 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."
I imagine origami, making a flag and building 3D puzzles may be tough for a 9 yr-old on her own without substantial involvement from a parent."
3D puzzle building, yes. But as for the other two, no. In fact, she is quite advanced in the art of origami and has moved on to more difficult cut, fold, and paste paper projects.
Check out the link below. This is where she found the project for making paper sunbursts (made with a icosahedron base and 20 hexagonal pyramid points) that a mentioned in a previous post. BTW, she's made about a dozen or so projects from the book so far, including the glitter Andromeda Galaxy, the comet, and the rocket on the front of the book.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1402721315/002-7651714-0672045?n=283155
"In the stores, there are row after row of all of these kits for many of the things you listed which IMO thwart the child's imagination, rather than enhance it."
I think it depends on the kit, some are good some aren't. But generally I tend to agree with you.
"But I also refuse to spend my money on kit after kit. A lot of those things are included in special classes and rooms at our children's museum too, if our school is not already handling some of those."
I hear you. However, some resources (such as the Paper Galaxy book I provided the link to) was available at our public library.
"But, generally, I want my kids to engage in a handful of hobbies and passions that they can immerse themselves in (rather than just dabble) and that will carry them through their adulthoods. That's my hope anyway."
This is my hope as well.
However, dd tends to immerse herself in quite a few hobbies and passions as opposed to a "handful". I'm not really sure why this is, as dh and I are definately the "handful" types. Go figure.
"I agree. That's why a strictly unschooling philosophy doesn't work for us, I can't work that way. I'm a creature of routine and find that my children thrive with a certain degree of structure."
I'm also a creature of routine and structure LOL. Strangely enough, dd tends to thrive in both a child-led homeschooling/unschooling evironment, as well as a traditional classroom environment. However, Dh and I definately see this as a plus and feel like she's basically getting the best of both worlds.
For instance, we very much appreciate the fact that not only does she have an opportunity to engage in a variety of activities and projects based specifically on her own personal interest and skill level, but that she can also explore topics and themes that might not be addressed or covered in a traditional classroom at all.
On the flip side, she really enjoys/benefits from group socialization and educational experiences with other children not only her own age but also in a multi-age setting, as is the case of the multi-age program she's involved in at her school (the only one in our district btw).
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