Themed Weekend: Back-to-School

Our oldest will turn three in September. I can't believe it.

She was here:

pregnant-nine-months

And then she was HERE:

newborn-baby

And now she is all grown up:

you are my sunshine 2

How did that happen?

Some people have asked whether we'll send her to preschool.

The answer is "no."

For starters, I can teach her all of the basics at home. She loves learning and has a natural curiosity that is absolutely charming.

She:

  • can sing her ABCs (she sometimes skips a letter or two, but she's pretty close...)
  • recognizes all of the letters in the alphabet
  • knows all of her colors and shapes (except for octagon...we're working on that)
  • Uses scissors and glue and crayons like an old pro
  • Uses big words like "actually" and "organize" and "Corduroy"

Secondarily, she gets plenty of social interaction "as is." She is super close to her grandparents and she has friends galore to play with.

Finally - and perhaps most significantly - I'm not quite ready to let her go. Truth be told, I want her to be right here by my side. I want to be the one teaching her, laughing with her, influencing her heart and mind all day long. At least for now.

Besides, we like to be together. We like our days at home - me and her and her baby sis.

I know every family is different, every child is different, every situation is different - but that's what we're choosing (for now).

Needless to say, this weekend's theme is a little funny since I'm not really the "expert" on back-to-school stuff. But I will share tips for teaching "littles" and relevant product reviews/giveaways as well. And maybe YOU can share some tips too since you might be more in-the-know about the topic...

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21 comments on “Themed Weekend: Back-to-School”

  1. I am not sending my children to preschool either. They still need their mommy at that age and I do not understand the push for it. I want my children bonded to me, and not some teacher, kids/parents who do not share the same values as me, etc, etc. My children need individual attention and I am the one to best provide it.

  2. we did not do preschool either. I did send my oldest to pre-k (here preschool is for 3 year olds and pre0k for 4 year olds)since she had never been away from me (only twice for a few hours). I knew she need pre-k to seperate a little from her mommy. My youngest is much more outgoing but she saw her sister go and can't wait to go herself in sept. I can't believe I will be kidless for a few hours, it will be very strange.

  3. Since I work full time I was excited to get Mikayla into preschool once she turned 3. Daycare was just daycare and it was not stimulating her brain (learning wise) and I could tell that it was time to get her into school. She loves preschool and cannot wait to go back in September.

  4. Two of my children went to preschool, and 1 didn't(my oldest), and there was no difference I could see in their developement of social skills or knowledge. They learned everything they needed to know at home. I think if you're teaching your child the basics at home, and they have at least some peer interaction, school can wait until kindergarten. I don't think I would have done it any differently, except that I wouldn't have sent my youngest to preschool until she was 4 instead of 3. I also was a preschool teaching assistant for several years, and although we had a wonderful program, many of the 3 year olds were just not ready to be there.

  5. Oh yes the Preschool Question and having to hear everyone's opinions which somedays I don't mind and some days I am in the mood where everything makes me feel guilty :) We decided no to preschool, we love learning at home like you guys. Although she is in a music class and a dance class which is think is enough socialization along with playdates for a 3 yr old! Now to thinking about kindergarten that really stresses me out :)

  6. She's beautiful. We aren't doing preschool either - we can do it all here and I get the entire "social" problem but I think that's ridiculous. Children are starting way to young in my opinion and my son is 4 and I'm still nervous about the all day, five days a week kindergarten.

  7. she will be the sweetest three-year-old. it's true, nothing can match those free days at home together. Losing those was so tough!

    my 4-year-old goes to preschool just two short days a week. it is all I could bear to give him up.

  8. Although my son won't be 3 until November, we also have the option of sending him to preschool. The requirements are that the child be 33 months and potty-trained, both of which he qualifies. But there's something pulling at my heart telling me it's not time to let him go yet. So we'll reassess next year.

    Are you thinking of home-schooling or are you going to take that as year-by-year consideration?

  9. A quirky little aside after reading your post. I read your blog occasionally, but am not sure if you're into letting your daughter watch videos on the computer. If you're okay with it, my 2 y.o. is ALL about the "octagon" b/c she saw Jack Black on sesamestreet.org teaching Elmo about that shape. It's a very cute video and my daughter now knows the basic shapes (circle, square, triangle) plus octagon! :)

    Have fun having school at home!

  10. I am with you on most of the things you mentioned in this post. We will not be sending our daughter to preschool either. Mainly for the same reasons you posted about, as well as finances. I don't want to/can't spend the money at this time to have her learn much of what she already knows. AND...thankfully we have a great community of friends with kids the same age, so she is very social and spends times with others. She listens very well to others, can follow rules and directions...I think she listens better to others than she does to me :-) We already have 'school' days here at home when we focus on learning certain things. For instance, the other day we were working on recognizing numbers (she knows all of her letters), so everything we did in the morning was centered around the number 2.

  11. we are waiting too.
    it boils down to our lifestyle for us and what we value the most. family and community and involved life experiences are some of the top ones for us. one year at a time is how we are going to take it when it comes to schooling.
    i think sometimes there is so much hype about "going" to school that i have decided to change our language around that when describing what other kids do. We call them school days around here so he doesn't think he HAS to go somewhere to have school.

  12. Yeah, we didn't do preschool either. They grow up too fast as it is. I can teach them what they need to know and keep them home with me until they're ready for kindergarten.

  13. my oldest will be in kindergarten in a few weeks... and i am not really looking forward to it. i LOVE having him (and his brother) home with me. kidergarten will be half day and my husband tells me it will be just like he's taking an extra long nap... we'll still have some time in the morning and the entire afternoon. but still, i'm not ready.
    he went to preschool two days a week last year because we wanted him to have the chance to be social with other kids, walk in line, listen to a teacher and follow her directions, raise his hand, stuff like that. he didn't like that we couldn't stay at school with him, but he got used to it and had fun while he was there. i'm sure when kindergarten begins we'll have some of the same separation issues... he likes to be home with us as much as we like having him home. we try to make the most of every minute we have together.
    i guess it's part of being a mom... getting my kiddos ready to be in the world without me. i know they won't want me going off to college with them ; )

  14. Here are my thoughts on preschool (and you can totally take them with a grain of salt) but preschool is not really about learning ABCs or even social interaction with other children. In preschool they learn other skills that help them in school like: not talking when the teacher is talking, how to sit still for longer periods of time, to raise their hand when they have something to say, etc. On top of that they will be exposed to writing, the ABCs and other topics that help with school. Most importantly, if you find a good one, preschool is so much fun for kids! At least one year of preschool before a child goes to kindergarten really helps a lot with the transition to school. Kindergarten is getting more and more academic, and letting them have a "fun" school experience before they start kindergarten helps them to have a positive attitude towards school.

  15. I sent my oldest 2 to preschool when they were 3. My youngest is now 3 and we are going to wait, because I am not ready to let her go (sounds like you). There is plenty of time for school, but these years go by so quick.

  16. I won't be sending Lily to preschool either unless something very drastic happens. I can't wait to teach her the alphabet and animals and all of that. I can't wait to do crafts with her.

  17. I was thinking about your post yesterday about changing the world and it crossed my mind that you would be an excellent teacher. I think you are more than qualified to give advice on teaching little ones. You have already taught your little one so much and you have the frame of mind to keep searching for ways to grow her creativity, heart, mind and world consciousness. Those are the makings of great teachings.

  18. Although, my son won't be 2 until the end of October I am trying to come up with a schedule for us at home. We also stay home most days of the week and I like to fill the day with things to do. Playing but learning. I am excited to see what all you talk about this weekend. I am hoping for some good ideas for the 2 year old age!!!

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