Am I the only one who doesn't see the point in pre-school?

Question

People ask me if I put my daughter in pre-school yet. Like it's mandatory. Of course it is a positive experiance, but necessary, I don't see it. I can certainly teach her abc's colors and numbers and socialization you don't need at a school, a playground can give her that.

Answer 1

It's not so much the socialization she needs, but the interaction with a teacher, an authority figure other than parents. Children need to learn how to take direction from, communicate with, and feel comfortable with a teacher. They also need to learn about a classroom setting and how it differs from your kitchen table, or where ever in your house you sit down and work with your child. One year of preschool will make such a big difference when she gets to kindergarten. It will make it a little easier on her, it's one less thing she has to learn how to deal with when she goes to school, she will have already had experience with a teacher and will have some expectations and familiarity. No isn't not necessary, but why not try to prepare children for a big lifestyle change like going off to school.

Answer 2

I really didn't plan to put my daughter in preschool. I also figured there was no apparent point to spending money to teach her things she already had learned at home. The reason I finally buckled and put her in preschool is because almost all of her playgroup friends were starting preschool and she wanted to do it too. After the fact, I am very glad I did put her in. She didn't really learn anything acedemically that she didn't already know, but she had such a fun year, making new friends, going on fieldtrips, birthday parties, etc... She was so excited on the days that it was preschool. She loved to come home and show me what she had made that day and who was the special "star". She loved when she was the "star" for the day and she got to stand up in front of the class and be the helper. It was a great experience for her even though she already knew her colors, alphabet, etc... She will be starting kindergarten this fall and I do believe she will have benefited from the experiences she had at preschool, even though in the beginning I felt it was pretty pointless.

Answer 3

You're pre-school. If you put your daughter in pre-school, you exposing her to so many things that you don't have control over. People, but especially small children, are like clay. Are you going to mold her, or let someone else do it? The age bar to enter pre-school and kindergarten starts at a very, very early age. I'm not accusing parents that *do* put their kids through pre-school are "evil" but they're certainly losing out on those special moments. The question should be: how involved in your child's life do you want to be?

So, you're not alone. There's fun interactive clubs out there for people of every age to socialize with other people.

Answer 4

Without pre school how will your child be ready for elementary school? It's prep so they are not traumatized when entering the larger program. Elementary school is not all playground play. Kids are learning much more than ABC's and 123's these days in preschool anyway, my daughter reads and writes sentences and is going into kindergarten starting August all of which was learned in preschool.

Answer 5

I didn't send my son to preschool either. We worked on ABC's, numbers, colors, etc. at home. He wasn't behind any of the other children. In fact, he knew more than some that had attended preschool. The only problem he had was separation anxiety from me. This only lasted a few weeks and then he made friends and was fine. In retrospect I should've had him in some type of play group to help him adjust. Anyway, he's now a 3rd grader and doing great!

Answer 6

I totally agree with you. My oldest who just completed the 1st grade went in to k, only knowing what I tought him, he didn't know his ABC but could tell me what every letter was when I pointed at it. he knew the basics i guess you could say. He did just fine. He is reading at a 3.5 grade level now and knew the whole ABC song on the 2nd week of school. He then came home and taught it to my then 4 year old and 3 year old. I think that kids do just fine. Now on the other hand, I think that if a child is far behind his peers around the age of 4 he or she may benefit from it, but not to say that his parents can just stop being lazy and teach it too them!!!!!!

Answer 7

If you feel your kid doesnt need preschool, there's nothing wrong with that. Many other countries don't have preschool and their kids do just fine. It only becomes a problem when the parent doesnt take the time or is not able to teach the child basic skills like abc's etc. Since you are going to do that, no probs.

Answer 8

#1 pre-school is so fun for children #2 if your child isn't around other children his or her age it might be a good idea for them to learn how to interact with the other children # 3 kindergarten comes after pre-k do you want your child to have a head start on the routines of school ( raising your hand before u speak to name just one) # 4 some children don't handle being separated from their mothers all day in kindergarten very well so if u send them to pre-school even if only a couple of hours a day then they can easily make the transaction from MOM to school with out the feeling of abandonment.

Answer 9

In my opinion, the importance of preschool is many things including socialization, and exploring creatively through arts, music and play. Academics is more of a by product. Another important part of preschool is learning to sit in circle time for a given amount of time on a daily or somewhat daily basis. Most kids love it and it's a great place to meet new familyies and have fun. These are the kids you will more then likely know for the rest of kids school years.

Answer 10

I thought the same thing before I put my oldest child in preschool 3's. You can teach her all of that at home, and take her to a playground for socialization.......True. But you dont always see the same people at the playground, and that can make it tough for her/him to socialize to make friends.

Preschool does prepare them for kindegarden, and it gives them rules to follow, and consequences when rules are not followed. They learn by mistakes other children make, and they make themselves.

I can definately tell a difference from when my child started, to the day she graduated from her preschool. I can also see more confidence in her that was not there before she started preschool. Besides all of that, at age 2-4, would you want your mom to teach you, or would you rather be at preschool doing learning activites, art, and playing with kids you see on a set schedule?