The problem with most preschools (and how to solve it)
Photo: iStockphoto
There was a mom at my son’s preschool?let’s call her Phoebe’s mom?who used to complain all the time about how much playtime our three-year-olds had. “Why can?t they teach letters at all"? she would ask, almost daily.
The answer was that the school was ideologically play-based. There was intentionally no formal instruction about letters or numbers, and no prescribed art projects with pre-cut shapes and preconceived results. Instead of an obvious curriculum, the teachers engaged with each and every child on their level.
Like Phoebe’s mom, many parents want and expect formal teaching as part of their preschooler?s day. But one childhood educator says that’s a very bad idea. Erika Christakis, a former professor and childhood educator at Yale University, says kids need more pretend play in their day, not less. In her book, The Importance of Being Little: What Preschoolers Really Need from Grownups, Christakis argues that young children are spending too much time in schools that are not developmentally appropriate for their age. Too many preschools are set up ?with adult eyes and adult desires,? says Christakis, and are ignoring the way small children learn?which, she says, is through long uninterrupted playtime. For example, studies show that children use more advanced language skills when they are playing supermarket than when they count pictures of grocery carts.
If you’ve ever sat with a three-year old who ...
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