Would you want a teacher trying to make your 3 yr. old read?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. By "make", I mean it's a top priority for the school. If the children are reading at age three, they feel like they're "successful".

I would run from that school. Social emotional development is the main priority at age 3. The vast majority of 3 year olds are not developmentally ready to read.

+1

Is this a public or private preschool OP?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. By "make", I mean it's a top priority for the school. If the children are reading at age three, they feel like they're "successful".

I would run from that school. Social emotional development is the main priority at age 3. The vast majority of 3 year olds are not developmentally ready to read.

+1

Is this a public or private preschool OP?

The French Maternal School is a private school in NW DC.

[Anonymous]

Still not clear on how they're "making" them learn to read. Are they reading to them, and showing them letters and teaching them how to sound out and recognize words? That's not "making" them read, that's teaching them, and it's fine. Those who are ready will pick up on it, those who aren't wont. Are they punishing 3 year olds who can't sit still long enough for the lesson and taking away privileges if they can't read? Then that's pushing it too far.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Still not clear on how they're "making" them learn to read. Are they reading to them, and showing them letters and teaching them how to sound out and recognize words? That's not "making" them read, that's teaching them, and it's fine. Those who are ready will pick up on it, those who aren't wont. Are they punishing 3 year olds who can't sit still long enough for the lesson and taking away privileges if they can't read? Then that's pushing it too far.

Do you really believe a three year old child needs to be pushed into formal academics at all? What's the hurry? Why not focus on developmentally appropriate activities at this young age? Ever read the book "All Grown Up and Nowhere To Go" by Dr. David Elkind? This book was written quite some time ago. Since then, research has been steadily mounting against this antiquated practice of "hot-housing" little children.

[Anonymous]

Is your three year old being "taught" to read in school?

[Anonymous]

Children in preschool should hear lots of vocabulary and conversation as well as being read to. This will create a love of language which sets the stage for learning to read. Why the rush?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a preschool teacher.

I don't think that starting a child on decoding should be the priority in a 3 year old program. I think that there's a place in preschool for some rhyming games, and quick lessons on letters and sounds, and reading a schedule that's set up to go left to right, but not much more.

On the other hand, I think that a good 3 year old program should be very much focused on the skills that kids will need to be skilled readers in middle school and beyond. For example, I think that a good preschool program includes:

Lots of opportunities for kids to grow their vocabulary in the context of stories, and science "experiments", and field trips and more. Afterall, research tells us that vocabulary is a huge predictor and driver of reading skills.

Lots of opportunities for kids to understand the structure of a narrative, through dramatic play, and acting out the stories in a book, and working with props like flannel boards, and puppets. Because we know that kids who can visualize a story in their head, understand it better, and understanding what is read is the heart of reading.

Lots of opportunities for kids to develop their oral language, by talking talking talking, and listening to each other talk, at the lunch table, and in the block corner, and at show and tell. Because kids develop their sense of syntax and morphology by practicing and practicing, and until they know what sounds right when they say it, they can't begin to use context cues to support their decoding, or the understand complex sentences.

Lots of opportunities for kids to have experiences with print in meaningful contexts, such as hanging up their coat on the hook with their very own name, and dictating the text for a birthday card to Grandma.

All of these things build readers, and all of them belong in a good preschool program. If a program is rich enough in these things, some kids will make the jump to reading in their 3 or 4 year old year, and almost all of the rest will start Kindergarten so ready to read that they take off.

Bravo! I wish you were my child's preschool teacher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And that, ladies and gentleman, is where your child should be going to school - at that PP's school!

I agree! Preschool and day care administrators and teachers take note: ppp's approach is what many of us want for our kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

On the other hand, the playbased instruction that the first group missed, during the time they were sitting and being drilled on reading, wasn't useless. The kids in the second group will continue to show gains in social problem solving, something that's a huge predictor of long term success, long after any reading gains have worn off.

How do I know if my 3 almost 4 year old is getting drilled on letters and numbers too much and not getting enough time to play? In his day care class they have a couple of circle times a day in which they work on identifying letters and their sounds and talk about their shapes. They work on writing their names. How much of this instruction is too much?

He is there for an 8 hour day. For two of those hours he is napping. He loves the free play, outdoor time, story time, looking at books on his own, art projects, music. But I am always worried circle time is a drag.... Not so inspiring.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:18:56 Nine. Why? No reading issues now if that's why you're asking. Honestly I would have preferred he go to a school like 21:56 with the drama built in but I toured 15 of them and didn't find it. Other than the lack of drama, the preschool was pretty similar to 21:56's.

No, I wasn't asking because of any possible reading issues. I was courious if early readers stay ahead of later readers. I once had the head of one of those ultra-elite NYC schools, tell me no. By 6th grade, he said you couldn't tell which were which.

I'm the preschool teacher PP.

What the research seems to show is this.

If you have 2 kids, and you put them both in a preschool program that pushes decoding. Now, let's say that one kid gets it, and enters kindergarten reading fluently, and the other kid doesn't, and enters kindergarten knowing 1/2 their letters.

In this case, it's likely, although not definite, that the child who entered with stronger skills will continue to have stronger reading skills.

Now, imagine that you take the same 2 kids and put them in a program that emphasizes play, with very little instruction on decoding. One child picks up a lot by osmosis, and enters kindergarten knowing 1/2 their letters, and the other enters kindergarten knowing none.

Again, the child who ends up with the stronger skills, will continue to have stronger reading skills.

However, if you then compare the top kid from each of the two pairs. The one who was pushed, and can now read, and the one who wasn't pushed, and now knows 1/2 the alphabet, you're going to find that they even out very quickly. The effect of pushing wears off, and by 2nd or 3rd grade, the two kids will be indistinguishable in their decoding ability. The same thing is true of the two kids on the bottom. The one who came in with less with catch up. So, the early instruction was pretty useless, as it didn't lead to lasting gains.

On the other hand, the playbased instruction that the first group missed, during the time they were sitting and being drilled on reading, wasn't useless. The kids in the second group will continue to show gains in social problem solving, something that's a huge predictor of long term success, long after any reading gains have worn off.

+1 million!! I love this preschool teacher (both of her posts)! So much sense and so well stated. Especially the bolded part. Nervous parents love to measure reading skills bc they are comforted by that quantifiable info, but kids are losing so much valuable, though less quantifiable, skill building, problem solving, social emotional development with all this focus on learning reading and math in preschool and teaching to the test in K and beyond.

[Anonymous]

No!!!! And they better not try to teach my twelve year old to read either!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No!!!! And they better not try to teach my twelve year old to read either!!!

Snark!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:18:56 Nine. Why? No reading issues now if that's why you're asking. Honestly I would have preferred he go to a school like 21:56 with the drama built in but I toured 15 of them and didn't find it. Other than the lack of drama, the preschool was pretty similar to 21:56's.

No, I wasn't asking because of any possible reading issues. I was courious if early readers stay ahead of later readers. I once had the head of one of those ultra-elite NYC schools, tell me no. By 6th grade, he said you couldn't tell which were which.

I'm the preschool teacher PP.

What the research seems to show is this.

If you have 2 kids, and you put them both in a preschool program that pushes decoding. Now, let's say that one kid gets it, and enters kindergarten reading fluently, and the other kid doesn't, and enters kindergarten knowing 1/2 their letters.

In this case, it's likely, although not definite, that the child who entered with stronger skills will continue to have stronger reading skills.

Now, imagine that you take the same 2 kids and put them in a program that emphasizes play, with very little instruction on decoding. One child picks up a lot by osmosis, and enters kindergarten knowing 1/2 their letters, and the other enters kindergarten knowing none.

Again, the child who ends up with the stronger skills, will continue to have stronger reading skills.

However, if you then compare the top kid from each of the two pairs. The one who was pushed, and can now read, and the one who wasn't pushed, and now knows 1/2 the alphabet, you're going to find that they even out very quickly. The effect of pushing wears off, and by 2nd or 3rd grade, the two kids will be indistinguishable in their decoding ability. The same thing is true of the two kids on the bottom. The one who came in with less with catch up. So, the early instruction was pretty useless, as it didn't lead to lasting gains.

On the other hand, the playbased instruction that the first group missed, during the time they were sitting and being drilled on reading, wasn't useless. The kids in the second group will continue to show gains in social problem solving, something that's a huge predictor of long term success, long after any reading gains have worn off.

+1 million!! I love this preschool teacher (both of her posts)! So much sense and so well stated. Especially the bolded part. Nervous parents love to measure reading skills bc they are comforted by that quantifiable info, but kids are losing so much valuable, though less quantifiable, skill building, problem solving, social emotional development with all this focus on learning reading and math in preschool and teaching to the test in K and beyond.

Agreed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a preschool teacher.

I don't think that starting a child on decoding should be the priority in a 3 year old program. I think that there's a place in preschool for some rhyming games, and quick lessons on letters and sounds, and reading a schedule that's set up to go left to right, but not much more.

On the other hand, I think that a good 3 year old program should be very much focused on the skills that kids will need to be skilled readers in middle school and beyond. For example, I think that a good preschool program includes:

Lots of opportunities for kids to grow their vocabulary in the context of stories, and science "experiments", and field trips and more. Afterall, research tells us that vocabulary is a huge predictor and driver of reading skills.

Lots of opportunities for kids to understand the structure of a narrative, through dramatic play, and acting out the stories in a book, and working with props like flannel boards, and puppets. Because we know that kids who can visualize a story in their head, understand it better, and understanding what is read is the heart of reading.

Lots of opportunities for kids to develop their oral language, by talking talking talking, and listening to each other talk, at the lunch table, and in the block corner, and at show and tell. Because kids develop their sense of syntax and morphology by practicing and practicing, and until they know what sounds right when they say it, they can't begin to use context cues to support their decoding, or the understand complex sentences.

Lots of opportunities for kids to have experiences with print in meaningful contexts, such as hanging up their coat on the hook with their very own name, and dictating the text for a birthday card to Grandma.

All of these things build readers, and all of them belong in a good preschool program. If a program is rich enough in these things, some kids will make the jump to reading in their 3 or 4 year old year, and almost all of the rest will start Kindergarten so ready to read that they take off.

Bravo! I wish you were my child's preschool teacher.

Yes, more play time is needed.

[Anonymous]

We picked French Maternal because the school is much more academic than your average preschool - but it does not "make" children read or expect them to learn how to read. I also found it to be a very nurturing environment that emphasizes creativity and emotional and social development, and the school community is very nice and warm. While there, my child was happy and social, but also learned a lot, and could recognize and write all the letters, sound out letters, add and subtract, and understand many different concepts. It prepared her very well for elementary school and the transition was so easy.