Preschools and Their Philosophies

I am pretty sure this topic has been brought up countless times, but it's something I'm starting to think about these days. I had originally thought I'd be sending them to preschool at age 3, but I'm wondering about sending them to possibly a 2x/week half day type preschool schedule...partially for my sanity, and the other is they seem to want to learn more these days.

There are so many philosophies to consider and I'm still looking in to which I prefer. I know I'll be sending them to preschool, but which one? I dunno...

I do think I prefer play-based. Even play-based with some structure. I went to a religious preschool that was not focused on religion. There wasn't a lot of academics involved but there was story telling and basic counting and that sort of thing. A lot of art and creative thinking. I believe that is more play based. I don't remember if it was more child initiated/directed or teacher directed. I just don't think kids at age 2 or 3 need to be pushed to learn to read yet, but I think they learn best through play and discovery. Some structure is fine to help kids gain more experience to what they may not have thought to consider before. Teachers make great guides to new experiences, but I don't think they need full on structure and not be able to discover something themselves or learn at their own pace.

Type of preschools and preschool philosophies

Are you more interested in any specific type of philosophy(ies)? Which and Why?

 

My duo are starting preschool in the fall (they'll be 2 years, 3 months). We are sending them to a small, play-based preschool. I did research on the different philosophies and while I did like elements of many of them, for me, a simple, play-based school is where it's at

 

Mine will either be starting at a day care in the Fall (if I get a job) or a preschool in January...both will most likely be play based. Right now I think it's important for the socialization and having some structure to the day. I don't want them to start Pre-K at 4 totally shocked by the whole thing.

 

My lo's are in daycare and I am hoping to send them to a Montessori school part-time when they are 2 1/2. I think the decision is a personal one based upon the individual children involved. Already my lo's have unfortunately attended several daycare centers (including a new one today) so I think I have a general idea of what may work for them. There is a nice webarticle which provides a quick summary of some the diffent, formalized, preschool approaches (http://www.globalmama.com/2009/02/19/hunting-for-a-preschool). My choice for a Montessori school is based upon their desire to learn, the calm atmosphere of Montessori classes, and the reputation of the schools.

 

we're currently investigating a montessori near our current daycare center. our current center is play-based, which is my second choice.

religious is not an option for us, and i tend not to feel like some of the others (waldorf, reggio emilia, co-op) are good fits for us. waldorf in particular just wouldn't fly, since both DH and i have made careers in technology and media, and they discourage the presence of that sort of thing in the home.

 

We are starting preschool next month after they turn 2 for the same reasons (get some time outside the home and have some fun learning). We just picked the highest rated closest to our home based on neighbors and other input. It’s a religious school (totally opposite from how I was raised and where we are today!) But again it's the best and low ratio's (3:1) and it's play-based. I think I'll do more research after the summer based on which Philosophies I want to go with. They are young and I think anywhere they go will be fun at this age!

 

I never even realized there were so many philosophies. We definitely won't be doing religious based day care, and probably not Montessori, since that has been a disaster for my step son (although it may work for my twins since they have more driven curious personalities). Personally, I'd want to go to the actual center no matter what the philosophy and see exactly how things play out.

 

I don't really belong in Second Year, but the title caught my eye. My children are entering a preschool/daycare for the first time in Sept so I started looking at about 10 places of various philosophies last Dec. I really agree with the bolded part. It is one thing to have a philosophy in mind, but it is another thing to see how that philosophy is incorporated at each individual center. It seems most places want to associate with one philosophy or another, but some are loosely based, at best. For example, I went to a "Reggio Emilia inspired" preschool where all the programing was done off-site by someone who programs for several preschools at once???

I was most interested in play-based or Montessori, but came away very disappointed after visiting my first Montessori school - the children were doing worksheets, the teachers seemed harsh and it was very achievement oriented. I also visited some play-based centres that looked wonderful on their websites but were disappointing in person - teachers speaking harshly to students, milk left out on the counter, etc.

In the end, I chose a small little Montessori inspired centre based out of two portables. Nothing special on the outside, but clean and cheerful on the inside. The determining factor when it was all said and done was not the philosophy, but the teacher. The teacher we found truly cares about her students, is flexible, and has experience with twins. I knew the moment that I left that centre that it would fit my children way better than the other places we had visited.

 

I read an article while I was pregnant on the 5 reigning philosophies of preschools:

http://wondertime.go.com/learning/article/choosing-a-preschool.html

It was interesting and gave me a good sense of the type of preschool I'd like to investigate. We probably won't do this for the boys until they're more like 3, but I'm starting to look at the options now in case there are waiting lists.

I'm leaning toward Montessori as well (I used to teach Spanish to preschoolers at the local Montessori when I was in high school, and I was very impressed back then). ITA about Waldorf. My brother's child has been in Waldorf since he was 3 (he's now 12) and they're very big on it, but since I'm in IT there is *no stinking way* I'd be able to get rid of all the computers in my house. It would be career suicide. I also won't send them to a religious preschool so it's probably Montessori or play-based for us.

As PPs have said, it will probably really depend on the actual school, and not just the philosophy, that will determine where we send the boys.

 

Ours is officially High/Scope (something I didn't know until we were already there, and still don't really understand), but the philosophy sounds to me like the descriptions of Developmental, Child-Centered, etc. There is definitely structure (circle time, "work time," outside time), but there isn't much emphasis on academics unless the children are into it. In our area (especially the preschool is affiliated with a bunch of science labs) there are a lot of children who do want to learn to read, write, and do math, because that's what their parents do all day. So they do a fair amount of that, but it's very child-directed.

There's a lot I like about Waldorf, but I couldn't handle one that wasn't somewhat flexible. My sister's kids went to one where she could never send them to school in a T-shirt with writing on it. That would be way too strict for me. But I do like the experiential, outdoor emphasis.

There are also some very well-liked Montessori schools around here. One thing they do, which I wish ours did, was let older kids be "resters" instead of "nappers"! Ours are not forced to nap, but they are encouraged to nap all the way through pre-K! Result being that we have 2 kids who don't fall asleep until 9:30 or 10 at night. :headbang:

 

Looking through that list, I do think that play-based and play based with some structure is for me. I wouldn't go for religion either. It's not my thing. I'm not religious at all. I was sent to one as I had mentioned earlier, but it's just not for me and what I want for my boys. I know that would make my family happy, but they aren't raising my boys. I think Montessori is too structured. I hear they are very good schools though, but just a little too structured for me. The Reggio Emilia schools are supposed to be like Montessori schools with more project directed and play based. I liked the sound of it with the whole free thinking concept, but there there aren't any around here and I'm still not sure if it's really what I need. I think there is one near me, but VERY hard to get in to. Not worth it to me. There are no co-op schools here and I think they need time away from me. They do go to My Gym classes which is great, but I'm there all the time and they don't get full on attention from the teachers or other students cause of their parents. I guess I just got to rethinking what my boys needed and I think some time away from us in a school setting might be what they need. Cameron wanting to sing and play the piano. Kiefer putting things together and toilet training himself. I see how much they want to learn on their own. I'm not sure I can keep up!