Types of Preschools to choose from
When I sent my girl to nursery college, I wanted the most nurturing environment I could find. I chose a wonderful, progressive plan in downtown Manhattan. A couple of years later, when we were interviewing https://www.washingtonpost.com/newssearch/?query=Brooklyn uptown for a selective girl's school, the admissions director told me that whenever my daughter will be interviewed there, they would test her. She'd be expected to draw triangles, rectangles, squares and circles. My eyes opened wide in shock and I stated, "But my daughter doesn't learn how to pull those!" She looked at my daughter's file and stated (rather snootily), "Oh yes, your daughter went to one of those downtown play schools."
We was offended that she viewed the institution I loved so much that method. But what may i do? On the other hand, I ran right into a neighbor who had sent her child to a fancy uptown traditional nursery school. She was applying her girl to the same girl's school. THEREFORE I thought to her, "Do you know what! The kids are going to have to attract circles, squares, triangles and rectangles to get in." My neighbor said, "Oh, Erica can do this. They spent a whole month on a shape unit at her school." In fact, Erica had produced a whole shape book for every major shape (including diamonds!) throughout that unit.
So, when you select a nursery school for your son or daughter, whichever type of school you select, remember that at the end, there exists a test if you want private school or a gifted plan. Even though you send your child to a normal ol' public kindergarten, she'll be tested in the very start for placement in average, slow and advanced capability groups. Some schools prepare children for these tests and others don't. Frankly, I would have chosen the same progressive college I chose no matter what because we adored it. But I desire I had understood right from the start that there would be an important check by the end and if the nursery college didn't prepare my kid, I would have to.
Listed below are the five most common types or philosophies of preschools you will see - Reggio Emilia, Montessori, Waldorf and Progressive.
It doesn't matter if you're looking at a preschool in a church, temple, co-op, private or general public program - all of them are more likely to have adopted among these approaches to education.
Montessori
Personally, I really like Montessori schools and motivate you to tour one and see for yourself. Not only do children learn a lot, however they are taught not really to start a fresh project until they place the materials these were working on away. My girl was always extremely messy and I have to wonder if she wouldn't have been had I sent her to a Montessori college when she was extremely young.
Marie Montessori started her universities in the early 20th Century as a way to teach severely retarded kids. The components she created were therefore effective that they were later used in combination with normally intelligent children.
The goal of Montessori is to determine independence, self-esteem, and confidence in a child while fostering learning at his own pace.
In a Montessori classroom, the primary interaction is between the child and the the children, materials and not the teacher. At first, the teacher displays to the children the correct use of each set of materials. Then, the child can take the components out, place them on a mat, and use them as the instructor taught her. When she is finished, she places it away prior to starting another project. The emphasis is normally on self-directed learning.
Once the teacher has demonstrated the usage of the materials, children work on them individually or in small groupings. With this degree of individualized instruction, kids with learning delays or who are gifted frequently do well in a Montessori classroom.
The materials used in a Montessori classroom are built around three areas. 1) Practical life abilities (folding shirts, tying shoelaces); 2) Sensory (handling geometric shapes, putting blocks in to the correct holes) and; 3) Language and mathematics (handling sandpaper letters and figures, counting beads on an extended chain). Obviously, children learn an excellent handle this curriculum - quantities, letters, adding, subtracting, practical life skills, info and more.
The Montessori classroom is generally very warm, inviting and bright. There are usually many learning centers where kids can explore via hands-on, tactile materials.
Kids are of mixed ages, typically three to six-years-old, with the older children helping the younger ones. Kids should work at their very https://giphy.com/channel/senecavillagemontessorischool own pace and build their very own foundation of knowledge. If they emerge from Montessori, they are cooperative, arranged, respectful of other children's work, and in a position to work independently.
Progressive (a.k.a. Developmental, Child-Centered, Bank Street Model)
This is the type of program I chose for my kids and we loved it. Here, the philosophy is normally that children have to explore and learn through imaginary play, art, and block building. The progressive classroom is usually set up as a number of "centers" where learning can take place using open-ended materials. There might be a fantasy play area, a cluster of easels with a block corner, paint, more, puzzle area and a water table. Teachers set these conditions up in response from what they see the children are interested in. They move among the areas and motivate the kids to pursue their personal projects and ideas at these centers. Play is definitely the "work" of children and is taken seriously.
Here, there is no pre-prepared curriculum that kids follow. Since teachers are following the children's lead, what children study from year to calendar year and between the morning and afternoon periods could be different. Children work at their personal pace, learning through play. The conversation is between the children instead of between your children and the materials (much like Montessori). At no prescribed points are children expected to learn any particular skill. In fact, particular learning through teaching is usually frowned upon. This clarifies why my child didn't have a "unit" on shapes - This simply wasn't carried out in a progressive college.