What is your 4/5 year old learning in preschool.?

[Anonymous]

Yes, sure too much. Only it's not for some parents and too much for others. It's unbelievable that some parents will think this way. I always asked my son's teacher to give him extra homework because it's was not enough for me. Your child is pretty capable to spend few min to do a homework even at 4 years old, but in long run will teach your child much more than just a homework. My son is now 18 and finishing high school, so i know that means a lot to be on the same page with the teacher, who really knows what she/he is doing. And don't worry about your child, extra homework, kids can handle it pretty good, maybe for the parents to sit down and spend 15 min with the kid is a big deal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't really understand the hostliilty towards homework in preschool, to be honest. For my class at least, the kids aren't getting hours of drills or anything. They get one math and one literacy hw each night. A literacy hw might be writing down three words in the -at word family. A math hw might be coloring in how many dimes they would need in order to buy something that is 30 cents. I think it is a good thing to keep parents involved - if they sit down with their kids to do 5-10 minutes of hw a night, then they will know exactly what we are working on at school. And while it's great that many parents try to teach their kids at home in different ways, the reality is that many kids don't have that luxury. So the hw we assign might be the only time their parents are really talking to the kids about the concepts they are learning in school. I don't see how a few minutes of reinforcement at home is a bad thing.

There's a lot of evidence that this kind of practice in PK leads to lower test scores in the upper grades because kids aren't learning to self-regulate, direct their attention, problem solve etc . . . when they're being spoon fed academics.

Cites please.

[Anonymous]

My concern is that I don't want my son to experience pressure to do academic tasks he is not yet physically and intellectually ready to handle and truly understand. The last thing I want is for him to get the message that he is unable to do school work and destroy his love for school and learning before he even starts kindergarden! Maybe at three or four he will find it frustrating to sit at a desk for an extended time to write his ABCs or numbers, but by 5 or 6 he will be ready. Why rush? I think it is better to be playing with sand, blocks, drawing to develop fine motor skills and hand eye coordination and getting plenty of outdoor climbing, running, and ball play and indoor dancing time to excercise his grosse motor skills. It's more important to me that my 4-year-old love to read books and sing songs than be able to write his alphabet. These basic preschool experiences are what will prepare him to be successful in school later. It is called PRE-school for a reason.

Thoughts?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't really understand the hostliilty towards homework in preschool, to be honest. For my class at least, the kids aren't getting hours of drills or anything. They get one math and one literacy hw each night. A literacy hw might be writing down three words in the -at word family. A math hw might be coloring in how many dimes they would need in order to buy something that is 30 cents. I think it is a good thing to keep parents involved - if they sit down with their kids to do 5-10 minutes of hw a night, then they will know exactly what we are working on at school. And while it's great that many parents try to teach their kids at home in different ways, the reality is that many kids don't have that luxury. So the hw we assign might be the only time their parents are really talking to the kids about the concepts they are learning in school. I don't see how a few minutes of reinforcement at home is a bad thing.

There's a lot of evidence that this kind of practice in PK leads to lower test scores in the upper grades because kids aren't learning to self-regulate, direct their attention, problem solve etc . . . when they're being spoon fed academics.

Cites please.

Do a google search: play executive functioning

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't really understand the hostliilty towards homework in preschool, to be honest. For my class at least, the kids aren't getting hours of drills or anything. They get one math and one literacy hw each night. A literacy hw might be writing down three words in the -at word family. A math hw might be coloring in how many dimes they would need in order to buy something that is 30 cents. I think it is a good thing to keep parents involved - if they sit down with their kids to do 5-10 minutes of hw a night, then they will know exactly what we are working on at school. And while it's great that many parents try to teach their kids at home in different ways, the reality is that many kids don't have that luxury. So the hw we assign might be the only time their parents are really talking to the kids about the concepts they are learning in school. I don't see how a few minutes of reinforcement at home is a bad thing.

There's a lot of evidence that this kind of practice in PK leads to lower test scores in the upper grades because kids aren't learning to self-regulate, direct their attention, problem solve etc . . . when they're being spoon fed academics.

Cites please.

Do a google search: play executive functioning

It isn't my claim. Is there not any support?

[Anonymous]

thanks OP for posting. My 2 yr old has come home with worksheets TWICE! I thought it was a mistake the first time. The second time I showed him how to draw a line from the color yellow to the banana and then let him do it.

Wanna guess what he did? yes, drew all over the page, the entire page. We turned it in but haven't gotten it back yet. I wonder if there is social promotion in preschool...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:thanks OP for posting. My 2 yr old has come home with worksheets TWICE! I thought it was a mistake the first time. The second time I showed him how to draw a line from the color yellow to the banana and then let him do it.

Wanna guess what he did? yes, drew all over the page, the entire page. We turned it in but haven't gotten it back yet. I wonder if there is social promotion in preschool...

Was it too much effort for you to teach him how to do it?

[Anonymous]

14:34

no, it was fun. We talked about colors, I explained the concept, demonstrated one and then let him go to town. I think we all enjoyed it. But it was not done anything close to "right" especially since my 2 yr old cannot yet draw a straight line.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:14:34

no, it was fun. We talked about colors, I explained the concept, demonstrated one and then let him go to town. I think we all enjoyed it. But it was not done anything close to "right" especially since my 2 yr old cannot yet draw a straight line.

Then you did it, it was fun, and it was beneficial. Why are you complaining? I'm sure the school will not say that it was done "wrong." If they do, that is a whole different story.

[Anonymous]

The parent should be able to decide if she/he wants homework or not.
Then talk to the teacher. Some parents want their kids to have homework and ask the teacher to send home. I know many of such parents. If not they send the kids for Kumon!
So out there you get different types of parents.