Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Age or Ability Specific Forums Pre-school Preschool 2010-2011

Time for a update... DS3 seems to basically like preschool and we have not heard of problems from the school. I am down on it today though -- tonight for example he mentioned he got a time out at school for not sitting down at circle time, he was wandering around. (I don't know the circumstances but our own discipline policy at home only does time outs for more serious infractions, so extremely rarely, thus it seems like a harsh measure.) There seem to be a lot of rules.

And then there is the monotone intonations he makes about letters, "D. D for Dog. D for Dinosaur" in a flat voice. I ask what books they read to them and it's all very simplistic letter oriented stuff, except for every couple weeks there is a day with more real stories, which he enjoys. He did mention he is not required to sing one of the songs -- apparently the other kids do but he doesn't want to and isn't made to. Possibly due to him knowing the subject of it already -- or maybe they just haven't figured out how to force him to participate, LOL.

I really deeply dislike the "artwork" he brings home, pre-fab things where the child has no part in it except to follow one or two instructions. Such as stickers stuck on a picture the teacher drew or cut out.

The last and unhappiest bit is his class has a new teacher, the new one is nice also and trying really hard to make the kids like her -- but of course it's an adjustment. He was much more bonded to the original teacher than to the other kids so in a way it's starting all over again.

He seems to not mind going, he would rather stay home in the morning but he runs inside once he's there and then usually is looking wound up and happy when he comes out. I just feel like the schema of it is designed to kill creativity and make him into a sheep. But then again I guess maybe that is the inevitable nature of school in general and one learns to manage within the boundaries of it?

We are moving and looking forward to him going to a play-only mixed age coop type preschool after Thanksgiving, my dilemma for the moment is whether to pull him out of this one early or continue for the next month. I guess I don't have a sense of whether damage is being done or whether he will brush it off. I am grateful he is not staying in this one all year, especially with the teacher we had a raport with gone.

Polly

When I was in my panic mode about DD's preschool and what an awful choice we made I knew I couldn't let her finish up the year, but with DD we saw major differences in her. Even though I wasn't comfortable leaving her in the school for the rest of the year I would have been fine with another month while I searched for another school. We just lucked out that the school remembered her and her abilities and took her over people on the waiting list. (She had done their summer camp for 3 weeks.) So we were able to move her within a week.

If you're moving and starting another school in a month I wouldn't stress over his time at the school.

Polly,

Wow, it sounds like they use the Handbook on How To Do Everything Wrong in Running a Preschool. So, no, that's not the way it has to be.

But I agree with Katelyn'sM om, if he's not showing signs of being miserable, one more month is probably just fine.

So glad you're moving to a better progam!

http://i945.photobucket.com/albums/ad296/Hablame_today/65c4b5d7.jpg
I asked him what it was. �He said "an up and down thing" and started pumping iron. �Wish I knew how to post a little video. �Here he made a machine gun, but he's using it like a rifle. �Poor confused kid. � �http://i945.photobucket.com/albums/ad296/Hablame_today/bc328f05.jpg
Ok, just two more pics. �He's got the erector set Jr for his birthday. �He put the tires on the rims and screwed most of the nuts and bolts in place. �I tightened one or two hard to reach spots. �But can you believe the whole design is all his very own!! �Ok. �Maybe you can really believe it. �:D
http://i945.photobucket.com/albums/ad296/Hablame_today/dd5cc68d.jpg
I tightened the nut that's blocked by the tire and I snapped the bolts into the rims because he just couldn't after trying. �I told him to pinch and push at the same time but he tried and still couldn't. �But he mounted the tires on the rims and handled most the nuts and bolts on his own. �

He's been playing with the Trio blocks for four days non-stop. �He just got a mess of them for his birthday. �He got the construction Trio sets so he first took the truck part and built a handle on it as tall as he so he could push it around while standing. Then he built blocks between the wheels and the body because dada's always pointing out various SUVs with lift kits. �Which by the way he still calls GPSs because our suburban has a GPS and he still get those acronyms confused. �He also still calls a microphone a "styrofoam" no matter how many times I correct him. Let's see he made two trio sticks and played them like a violin. �He made two vertical sticks connected by a horizontal one at the top. �He tried to connect that to his spiderman bag and call it a suitcase. �Here he is making a quick phone call before he finishes making his "race car" (seen above).
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At least this answers the question my brother asked me a few weeks ago, is Wyatt creative? �I had to answer I don't know. �We don't see kids his age enough for me to compare. �He lies a lot. �He'll tell me he can't eat his lunch because there's giants in the kitchen threatening him. �Or that he didn't lose his cellphone, that a monster ate his phone and spit it back in his hand and he hid it from the monster and now he doesn't know where it is. But I'm not sure that's really creative or just wrong.

I mentioned in another thread that we're starting to work on spelling this year and he is starting to do word searches. �That was last week's news. �I sat with him for two lessons saying, uh, �look for "blue". �Look for the B's. Is there a L beside it? �No? �Look for another B. �We're looking for blue, B.l.u.e. �Did you find it? �I see it. �No I'm not going to show you. �You find it. �Ok, here take the marker and highlight it. �Good job.
He found one word on one page without me talking me through it. One word and he said he was done with the whole page. �Oh well. �Good job!

The game of the week is Connect Four. �

I think that it would be hard for me to get anything done in regards to moving if I was worrying about DD. I think if ur mommie gut tells u one way or the other to listen to it. If he is dumming himself down that is a long time..... I think teachers who try to get kids to like them can have a hard time. Kids love teachers and people in general. Teachers need to teach to the children noticing each child and going from there. I think that is what will make a child like the teacher. I think kids really want to learn. My two cents good luck.

I think the lies do speak to creativity, it speaks to a rich imaginary world. I dont think they are lies the way older kids or adults lie. My DS 4.5 was/is the same way. I was worried for awhile when it would be about things other people have or other people did, he would say it was his or he did it or didn't do it. At first I corrected it, but then realized it was how he was processing the world and incorporating the world into his imaginary world. He has imaginary friends with fantastic lives, where he says stuff like he and the friend do this or that.

DeHe

I'm not going to worry about it yet. �I'll assume it's a phase that will pass. �He just seems to think everything's always fun and games anyway. �It looks like he just realized we don't always have to state the facts and he's playing with it, he thinks it's funny. �He was so literal before. �But it's bad, really bad. �He went potty today. �I wiped his butt and he went to the table with no undies on. �I said "go put your undies on". �He said, "They're right here". �He points to his bare hips. �I said, "Where?". He said, "on my butt". �And he looked me straight in the eye and told me this when he's sitting naked right in front of me. �He had a glimmer in his eye but he kept a straight poker face. �I'm not making a big deal out of it, but I have told him "nobody's going to believe you if you keep telling lies". �Eh, if he gets much worse I'll just write it all down and make a book or a videogame world out of it. �

Today I got a treat. �He's been learning hooked on phonics since last year so I've seen him sound out single words. �And he'll sometimes read a nice big flashy sight word he's picked up somewhere (PBS?). �But he only reads words not sentences. �Well he just did that two week free trial of the reading eggs. �It really worked! �I bought him a cheap-o phonics DVD from toysRus because HOP 1st introduces the blended sounds on a boring cd, I need something with "ch" "sh" "th" phonics lessons. I put on the DVD and left. �I heard from the other room "This a cat". �Then the DVD guy read, "this is a cat". �I heard Wyatt correct himself, "this Is a cat."

We signed DD up for piano lessons this year through a program that comes to her school. We thought this would be the best route due to the additional Spanish time, since the instructor teaches in Spanish and since she is a full time student it would be a really long day for her if we added piano lessons after school. The instructor has been very impressed with DD's abilities. She was able to read the notes by the first two lessons and her attention span is amazing. But I haven't been impressed with the lessons. I don't feel they put much if any emphasis on practicing while at home.

So this week we rented a piano for the house. We do have a keyboard but it just isn't the same especially if you are learning. We decided to rent for now since we're still at the beginning and don't want to buy until we're sure she is devoted to the piano. The nice thing is part of the rental fee will go to the purchase of a piano so we won't lose all of the money.

We also found a teacher who will come to the house and give her lessons. She will be his youngest student but thanks to her 2 months of lessons through the other program we know she is ready and he was excited to hear about her attention span and note reading. She starts with him on Monday.

Good luck with the piano lessons. With DD12 having a piano made it more real for her. I think the teacher can really make a difference too. My little one also says things that are not really true. I do not think it is the same as lying. I think more of it as learning to manipulate language. I recently found an early K program for four year olds that uses the reggio method. I've googled it but anyone know or have experience with this method? Unsolicited the woman said that they have had children stay for the year and leave reading at a third grade level...I thought that sounded hopeful.

My DD's preschool used Reggio Emilia methods. We loved the school, but I don't know how much of that was good-match and how much was good-method. I know the atelier (art studio) was a big part of Reggio Emilia, and there was a lot of time devoted to structured, in-depth work in the arts. They also spent a lot of time outdoors, which I think was a school-specific thing, rather than a Reggio thing.

It was definitely a play-based school, not academic. DD's teacher identified her at the beginning of the 4yo class as one of the kids likely to be reading by the end of the year, but she wasn't - nor was there any pressure for her to be.

IMHO a 4yo going from non-reading to 3rd-grade-level reading says more about the 4yo than about the preschool - and I'd be leery of a preschool that said otherwise. (I'm thinking specifically of the academic program we looked at at another school, where 4.5yos were in the "3yo" class, having been asked to repeat the year due to lack of material mastery, and the kids in the 4yo room were silently doing worksheets at their desks.)