My second son is 4 and in 1/2 day church play based preschool. This year, they do ask the kids to keep a journal and do worksheets practicing letters.
I don't understand? It can either be a play based pre-school that offers the OPTION to do worksheets etc or it is perhaps a gently focused academic preschool. There really isn't a middle ground. The only loosely required academic activity at my kids' preschool was signing in daily. Other than that there were optional activities and teacher read alounds and such at group time but nothing required.
There isn't any thing wrong with more academic pre-schools but lets not confuse the issue by claiming to be a play based preschool with journals and worksheets. That would have tortured DS8 who is very outwardly bright and very stubborn. It also would have crushed DS5 who is starting K this year and is less obviously bright, perhaps dysgraphic, and very shy.
