Better curriculum or better community?

[Anonymous]

My best friend is an early childhood educator and she insists the most important thing for pre-K is for kids to move and be outside. Their physical development needs are huge at that age, and their mind is already very engaged because everything is new. Just talk to them a lot, play music, point out various objects and pictures, but don't sit them at a desk and make them learn the ABCs (unless they really gravitate to letters and numbers, which some kids do--but some don't!).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some would say the play-based program has the better curriculum.

+1 This is so true!

At the age of 3, play based is age appropriate. I would have put him in play-based from 2-4. But since you've already put him in an academic based preschool I wouldn't switch for 1y only since you like his current one.

I wouldn't factor in the number of friends at this age since it doesn't really matter.

What is an “academic preschool” ... what are examples of “academic preschools” in the area? I’ve heard of play-based or Montessori...

In Arlington the most popular “academic” preschool is little ambassadors. You won’t see that listed on any preschools website, but you can tell by the way they describe learning. More academically based preschools will usually describe specific skills they will be teaching the kids often academic based. At a preschool fair the director did verbally say they are more academic based. You can see it in how they describe their curriculum, saying kids will be practicing writing numbers for example:

https://www.littleambassadorsacademy.com/preschool

Then here is the pre-K curriculum: https://www.littleambassadorsacademy.com/prek

They will of course still use fun ways to learn many of these things but it’s usually much more structured and the activities more teacher led rather than child led. You can see in their photos for example all the days of the week, the weather on the wall, etc similar to what you might see in an elementary school classroom. The approach is not particularly supported by research foe this age group, and isn’t what I would choose but parents that go to little ambassadors LOVE it so it is a well run program. And some parents feel more comfortable seeing all that structure which I understand

Thank you! Any other examples of “academic preschools” in the area besides Little Ambassadors? From reading DCUM... some parents at Primary Day in Bethesda or Georgetown Hill in BM use words/phrases such as “academics” or “prepared for Kindergarten” in their positive experiences at the respective schools...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Right now my 3 year old is in a preschool program that has been great. The only downfall is there’s only 1-2 kids he will go to elementary with, although they are good friends of mine. In contrast, there’s another program down the street that 10 children he will go to elementary with are in. The current school has a great reputation for preparing the kids for school and he has a late birthday. The second school is play based entirely so doesn’t prepare kids as much academically for kinder. I absolutely love the teacher he will have at our current school for prek-4. Would you switch for the sole purpose of having that fun community of peers and kids prior to kindergarten? I’m friends with them but we miss a lot of the get together because school doesn’t align.

Kids from play based curriculum do better in life, so I'd move him for the better curriculum.

Not necessarily. We tried both for my child. Play based was a waste of time and just child care. Changed to an "academic" preschool with academics, structure and routines and child thrived. It set him up really well for K and future success. Child thriving years later in school. Having learned to read early, and given basic writing, math and other skills early on really helped.

Which school did you switch to?

[Anonymous]

Please send your child to the play based program. They don’t need to learn anything in preschool past possibly recognizing colors and letters and how to sit in a circle and take turns.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some would say the play-based program has the better curriculum.

+1 This is so true!

At the age of 3, play based is age appropriate. I would have put him in play-based from 2-4. But since you've already put him in an academic based preschool I wouldn't switch for 1y only since you like his current one.

I wouldn't factor in the number of friends at this age since it doesn't really matter.

What is an “academic preschool” ... what are examples of “academic preschools” in the area? I’ve heard of play-based or Montessori...

In Arlington the most popular “academic” preschool is little ambassadors. You won’t see that listed on any preschools website, but you can tell by the way they describe learning. More academically based preschools will usually describe specific skills they will be teaching the kids often academic based. At a preschool fair the director did verbally say they are more academic based. You can see it in how they describe their curriculum, saying kids will be practicing writing numbers for example:

https://www.littleambassadorsacademy.com/preschool

Then here is the pre-K curriculum: https://www.littleambassadorsacademy.com/prek

They will of course still use fun ways to learn many of these things but it’s usually much more structured and the activities more teacher led rather than child led. You can see in their photos for example all the days of the week, the weather on the wall, etc similar to what you might see in an elementary school classroom. The approach is not particularly supported by research foe this age group, and isn’t what I would choose but parents that go to little ambassadors LOVE it so it is a well run program. And some parents feel more comfortable seeing all that structure which I understand

Thank you! Any other examples of “academic preschools” in the area besides Little Ambassadors? From reading DCUM... some parents at Primary Day in Bethesda or Georgetown Hill in BM use words/phrases such as “academics” or “prepared for Kindergarten” in their positive experiences at the respective schools...

Primary day looks like about as academic focused as a preschool program as you can get from their website. Any curriculum that is outlined in prek as working on very specific phonics skills etc is going to be academic. A little harder to tell with georgetown hill but I would say it seems pretty curriculum based. A truly play based preschool that is run well (pp who had a poor experience is right that there are some that aren’t great, like anything) will not follow a set curriculum but teachers will be skilled at following the children’s interests and doing project based work where they delve deeply into those subjects they are interested in. This is a really great way for kids to learn and learn to love learning. You’ll see these programs including a lot of outdoor time, a lot of free play (vs say that kids have to move from one area to another at a certain time, oe all work on the same project at a time) but even though kids have a lot of freedom, teachers are incredibly thoughtful about the materials and helping kids go deeper with their interests. Here is a contrasting website from a high quality Arlington program that is play based. Again you will find happy parents at both! And some kids thrive in the academic environment but it’s not generally recommended by educators as it’s not seen as the most developmentally appropriate and can backfire if kids feel pressured early.

https://www.clarendonchildcarecenter.org/index.cfm?scn=ws&dsp=pageread&vw=1051

You can notice here how the language is very different - compared to say primary day it’s much less talking about specific academic skills they will absolutely teach your child, but more the process of learning that they use. Often there is also a big focus on social emotional learning too, learning independence, etc. Many in these programs would argue these are the essential building blocks to do well in kindergarten and beyond, kids have a lot of time to learn the phonics during kindergarten and beyond and often they learn much of this and best through play.

Sorry I only know northern va programs but just trying to give you an idea of how you can pick these things up through school websites.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some would say the play-based program has the better curriculum.

+1 This is so true!

At the age of 3, play based is age appropriate. I would have put him in play-based from 2-4. But since you've already put him in an academic based preschool I wouldn't switch for 1y only since you like his current one.

I wouldn't factor in the number of friends at this age since it doesn't really matter.

What is an “academic preschool” ... what are examples of “academic preschools” in the area? I’ve heard of play-based or Montessori...

In Arlington the most popular “academic” preschool is little ambassadors. You won’t see that listed on any preschools website, but you can tell by the way they describe learning. More academically based preschools will usually describe specific skills they will be teaching the kids often academic based. At a preschool fair the director did verbally say they are more academic based. You can see it in how they describe their curriculum, saying kids will be practicing writing numbers for example:

https://www.littleambassadorsacademy.com/preschool

Then here is the pre-K curriculum: https://www.littleambassadorsacademy.com/prek

They will of course still use fun ways to learn many of these things but it’s usually much more structured and the activities more teacher led rather than child led. You can see in their photos for example all the days of the week, the weather on the wall, etc similar to what you might see in an elementary school classroom. The approach is not particularly supported by research foe this age group, and isn’t what I would choose but parents that go to little ambassadors LOVE it so it is a well run program. And some parents feel more comfortable seeing all that structure which I understand

Thank you! Any other examples of “academic preschools” in the area besides Little Ambassadors? From reading DCUM... some parents at Primary Day in Bethesda or Georgetown Hill in BM use words/phrases such as “academics” or “prepared for Kindergarten” in their positive experiences at the respective schools...

Primary day looks like about as academic focused as a preschool program as you can get from their website. Any curriculum that is outlined in prek as working on very specific phonics skills etc is going to be academic. A little harder to tell with georgetown hill but I would say it seems pretty curriculum based. A truly play based preschool that is run well (pp who had a poor experience is right that there are some that aren’t great, like anything) will not follow a set curriculum but teachers will be skilled at following the children’s interests and doing project based work where they delve deeply into those subjects they are interested in. This is a really great way for kids to learn and learn to love learning. You’ll see these programs including a lot of outdoor time, a lot of free play (vs say that kids have to move from one area to another at a certain time, oe all work on the same project at a time) but even though kids have a lot of freedom, teachers are incredibly thoughtful about the materials and helping kids go deeper with their interests. Here is a contrasting website from a high quality Arlington program that is play based. Again you will find happy parents at both! And some kids thrive in the academic environment but it’s not generally recommended by educators as it’s not seen as the most developmentally appropriate and can backfire if kids feel pressured early.

https://www.clarendonchildcarecenter.org/index.cfm?scn=ws&dsp=pageread&vw=1051

You can notice here how the language is very different - compared to say primary day it’s much less talking about specific academic skills they will absolutely teach your child, but more the process of learning that they use. Often there is also a big focus on social emotional learning too, learning independence, etc. Many in these programs would argue these are the essential building blocks to do well in kindergarten and beyond, kids have a lot of time to learn the phonics during kindergarten and beyond and often they learn much of this and best through play.

Sorry I only know northern va programs but just trying to give you an idea of how you can pick these things up through school websites.

Very helpful! Thank you!

[Anonymous]

Personally I think both sound great so I'd lean toward fewer transitions and keep him where he is. Stability was a huge benefit for my kid in preschool, and he was excited to make new friends in K.