Reply to Not happy with emergent curriculum..what is a buzzword that will get us more structure and learning?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Don’t listen to these ridiculous posters, the handwringing over anxious preschoolers completing reams of worksheets is just a reflection of parents worried other kids are outpacing their own. My child went to an academic preschool where they played but also spent an hour writing, reading (letter sounds) and adding small numbers. My child also *gasp* spent 30 minutes at home practicing phonics and a K math book daily. When did he play? The rest of the whole day! He missed absolutely nothing, and went into K reading chapter books. I really don’t get the Only Play thing with kids.[/quote]

Ok, but what did he gain by going into K reading chapter books? That’s the point. Kids have the entire rest of their schooling to sit at desks and read. They have a very short time when they can play all day. Most of the kindergarten classrooms in Arlington don’t even have toys because there is no time in the day for playing; it’s all academics. Let the preschoolers play![/quote]
This is the problem: somehow there exists this idea that children who advance early aren’t playing and I’m honestly puzzled how this myth has survived so long. A four year old can learn how to read in 10 minutes a day. A year of that, and the child can read at a 2nd grade level. Preschool is the best time to learn. The child has no pressure and endless time. You know when the worst time to read begins? When they are sitting in a classroom with 26 other noisy children for 8 hours a day with a report card detailing their progress. If you don’t see the benefits for a young child to be able to pick up any book in their library and understand it independently, then we don’t share the same views on parenting. And that’s okay, that’s exactly why preschools offer different curricula.[/quote]

NP.  My child is at play based preschool- he likes it and we have no intention of moving.  That being said, he loves us reading books to him at night and has expressed interest in being able to read the words himself.  When you say a child can be taught to read in 10 minutes a day, do you have specific recommendations of how we could do this at home?[/quote]
Yes. First, the only requirement to be able to read is the recognition of letters and the sound they make. Starting 4 (or 3.9 if your child already knows the letter sounds), start with simple CVC words (at-bat-cat-mat-hat). Repeat each sound individually and then run your finger under the word slowly while sounding out the word. Repeat for 10 minutes. Once the child knows them (a few weeks later sometimes) on to the next (pan-can-tan, etc.). Then you move to BOB books, then leveled readers, and finally chapter books. Ten minutes per day gives your child 60 hours of reading, which is exactly how long it takes a 4 year old to learn how to read at a second grade level (I say this to illustrate how painfully slow and inefficient learning to read in a classroom with 27 students and a teacher truly is). A parent teaching their child one-on-one before school is much less pressure. But unfortunately, all of the play-only PPs here will insist I am pressuring my child and making him anxious. Be warned, it will take away 10 minutes of your child’s daily play time![/quote]

You have ONE child, right PP? My oldest was an early reader. Identified all letters before she turned 2, knew they letter sounds perfectly. Could read CVC words at 3, chapter books at 4.5. She loved it and begged us to teach her. My second came along and he loved being read to, but didn’t learn CVC words until Kindergarten. Not due to lack of time or attention to him, but because his brain just wasn’t ready for it like his older sister. He is much better at math than she is, both of them have been identified as gifted. Just saying, you were able to teach your 3/4 year old to read because his brain was ready, maybe if you had another kid you would see they might not have the same schedule. Some kids do learn and pick it up early, but if a preschool is focusing so hard on getting kids to read, some of those kids will end up embarrassed and frustrated by not being able to complete the curriculum like other friends. It’s not about the play, pp, it’s about maximizing their time in preschool and building solid foundations so they are ready to learn when their time comes.[/quote]

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