A happy update on preschool:
DS4s tears when I mentioned "checking out other preschools" the other day turned out to be that he is unhappy in the current one, moreso than I realized. He was very open to visiting a different one. We've done that now and he enjoyed it and we are now pretty sure we are going to switch.
Some of the differences, many of which were only visible to me after actually seeing him in both settings:
In the current one the percentage of speech that is by the teachers through the day is much higher. The content of that is maybe 10% personal questions or neutral comments to individual kids and 90% is management, mostly reminding them to sit still, not be too loud, not run, or top down sorts of whole group questions made in a loudish voice such as "is this a letter or number?" (only loud so that everyone can hear over the hub-bub of distracted kids). All the little boys look squirmy and distracted for much of group time.
The new one the teachers are quieter and maybe 10% is directives such as "everyone, group time", or reminders to sit still. 90% is discussion, interested questions, questions on how the kids would like to manage something, taking votes, or answering questions from the kids. The children are not too loud or running excessively, because they are busily engaged with things they enjoy doing. There is never a "criss cross applesause" or "zip your lips", because it's okay if the kids lounge a little and the kids are listening because the topic is worth paying attention to.
There is more verbal interaction between the kids both related to information or academics (for example arguing over species names during free play) and cooperative (asking to help a kid do a puzzle). The teachers are always circulating engaged with some child in some way versus more of an over-seeing role. At group time nearly every child looks engaged.
The ratio oddly enough is identical, so it's not that there's more kids per teacher at the first. However the new one is smaller overall and perhaps that naturally fosters more of a individual approach.
In terms of schedule, in the first there is more group time, about 1/2 the time is full group. In the second there is only maybe 1/5th of the time in full group activity.
Yet the content at the second is more advanced and academic in some ways. The alphabet is taught individually or in twos via activities to kids that are at that level so one doesn't encounter it if not at the level for it. Particular facets of academics such as reading are pushed only if a parent has identified a need. But the teachers aim high in group discussion or the choice of topic at group time, then individually explain to kids who are lost. For example, the stories they read have at least some words that would be unfamiliar to most kids, and can have fairly convoluted plots.
Group activities the day he visited the new one: listening to a girl show and tell stories she had written (actually scribbly pictures she'd drawn and she would explain what they meant), the kids freely asking her questions about them, "is that the pumpkin?", "what happened to the little girl?". The other main activity was composing a song as a group where each child contributes a line and the teacher writes them all down and rearranges, helps with flow. And 5 min of weather, date etc at the beginning. One teacher read a story.
Having seen an alternative, I really feel now that a year at DSs current school would have set him up poorly for starting school. Taught him that teachers are often ignorable, taught him that it's normal to feel squirmy during school and pent up by the time it's over, that it's normal to be chastised for just being you, that there's nothing one can do about those feelings, taught him that there is nothing at the blackboard worth paying attention to and that it's not worth speaking up to answer questions. He may end up learning some of those things later but why have an extra year of that kind of brainwashing?
The new one hopefully will teach him other aspects of school: more about conversational turn taking, that you get higher level answers when you ask higher level questions, that teachers know a lot, that other kids have interesting things to say sometimes, etc.
Okay so I'll post again after the honeymoon is over, LOL, in a few weeks I'll probably have something I don't like about the new one -- but right now it's just glowing in comparison.
Polly
