Anonymous wrote:Depends on the child. We did play based for a year and did not work for my child. Structured worked much better.

OP here. Thanks for the response, this is really interesting. Would you mind sharing a bit more detail? My child is very quiet and shy but happy and playful around my husband/myself/people he knows. I would love to find a place that caters to his personality while also helping him out of his shell a bit...I just have no clue what that is yet.

OP here. Thanks everyone this is super helpful and tracks with my gut instincts. Will put off the curriculum consideration further down the road til 3 or so.

Depends on the child. We did play based for a year and did not work for my child. Structured worked much better.

I think your priorities are in order. I wouldn't sacrifice any of them over curriculum.

I do think structure is always important, in that there should be one - but most likely you're already checking that box.

Anonymous wrote:Kinder at the earliest. Don’t mess up a good thing over “curriculum” for a three or four year old.

+1

We chose our preschool by visiting every preschool within a 15 minute radius and picking the one that felt the best and had the most nurturing, engaged teachers. And zero regrets -- this was the right choice. We can walk to school, our child loves going, and we just get a really good vibe from the place. They do an Emilio Reggio approach (very play based) though they also incorporate some kindergarten prep in the 4yo class. I have actually been impressed with how much DD gets out of the fairly limited academic focus -- she is already sounding out words and can do basic addition/subtraction just based on the 15 minutes a day of academic instruction combined with some reinforcement both at school and at home. She's also learned some basic Spanish because one of the instructors will do little songs and games with them in Spanish. Exceeding my expectations on that front.

But the vast majority of her school day is focused on play, social development, and emotional regulation. And that's how it should be. Most kids will learn to read in K or 1st (and this is considered on time) and need only basic academic awareness (numbers, letters, and some instruction/exposure to basic things about how the world works) before that. But the main benefit of PK, in my experience, is that they learn to navigate a classroom, start figuring out how to deal with friendship, disagreements, collaboration, etc. That's where the action is. So I'd recommend choosing a school largely based on the quality and engagement of the teaching staff because that aspect of preschool education takes a much more experienced, measured approach than just teaching the kids letter sounds. You can't learn emotional regulation through rote memorization. You want teachers who understand how to build it into the curriculum and use play to help kids figure this stuff out.

At three and four kids just need an enriched environment. Opportunities to sing, paint, draw, dance, pretend, listen to stories, build, etc. They should also have opportunities to explore the world around them, learning about caterpillars turning into butterflies, seeds growing into plants, clouds making it rain. They should talk about the weather and seasons, letters and counting. No curriculum is necessary, but just lots of good stuff around them and being introduced daily, not just the same thing every day in a room with toys.

In kindergarten, schools should start with a phonics and basic math curriculum.

Kinder at the earliest. Don’t mess up a good thing over “curriculum” for a three or four year old.

Anonymous wrote:But more to your question: I feel like at 2 kids are just absorbing the world around them rather than actively learning. At age 3 they start to actively learn things so a curriculum/structure may matter more then.

Agree with this. We moved DS to a center at 3 and I thought it was a good time to move on- you could sense he was starting to outgrow an in-home environment and just ready for a change.

Anonymous wrote:I'm a FTM and trying to figure out when I need to start looking at curriculums/structure in the places I visit. My number one priority has been finding a loving environment for my DS, then affordability and convenience. As he approaches 2, I'm wondering whether I need to start making sacrifices on price or commute to get him a better education.

Thoughts?

You have it right. If your kid is happy and thriving and the place is convenient and affordable, I wouldn't change anything. Your kid will attend K with other kids who have never gone to preschool- and it will be fine. Commute, cost, and happiness is all you need to consider right now. Save your energy for later.

But more to your question: I feel like at 2 kids are just absorbing the world around them rather than actively learning. At age 3 they start to actively learn things so a curriculum/structure may matter more then.

Personally I think a fancy curriculum is less important than how it is implemented. Our DD just turned 3 and is at a daycare center that uses the Creative Curriculum which is pretty standard at a lot of the daycares around here. We thought about switching her to a more of a preschool style school with more experienced teachers, looked at a lot of Montessori schools, but ended up sticking with where we are. Part of it was that her early intervention therapist told us that she really liked the environment there because the teachers are very loving with the kids and they plan fun activities. Even though sometimes they do things the therapist doesn't love (like letter tracing), that is just a small part of the day. I think at this age a fun and loving environment is the most important thing. Our DD has special needs so academics is not at the top of our list though. YMMV - I have friends that swear that their kids are advanced in math because they did Montessori.

I'm a FTM and trying to figure out when I need to start looking at curriculums/structure in the places I visit. My number one priority has been finding a loving environment for my DS, then affordability and convenience. As he approaches 2, I'm wondering whether I need to start making sacrifices on price or commute to get him a better education.

Thoughts?