BRAVO! - for your comments about preschool in your blog You Don't Need Preschool for Your Kids
I'm a mother of a 16 year old boy and a 10 year old girl. I'm also a teacher. I went back after my little girl was in 1st grade-same school, same hours, etc. I used to laugh when people would suggest I should go back to work and put my daughter in preschool. They would say stupid things like, "Don't you think she needs the social activity?" Um, yeah right. I would smile at the person, look them in the eye, and say, "Isn't that what a family is for?" Really, it's in your own family unit the child first feels safe and learns how to interact.
My daughter was my "shadow" for years we went to the store, the bank, the cleaners, the dentist, etc-together. She learned how to say "please" and "thank you" by my example. She learned how to thank God for the food she has, how to plant flowers, how to treat the dog and the cat kindly, and how to love. She learned to be a good and kind person. Everyday we colored and read together. We visited the library and we rode our bikes. Sometimes, we went for coffee/juice at our local bagel store. When she started school, she knew all her letters, numbers and colors-more than a lot of the other kids who were in preschool. She continues to excel in school as does our son.
When parents ask me about preschool, I always say I don't believe in it- and then I tell them to think about it. How would your child learn better: With 21 kids in a classroom with a couple of teachers and an aide… Or 1:1. Our education czars are always pushing for "smaller class size", unless you totally suck as a parent, isn't YOUR classroom way better than ANY other classroom? I have a friend who stayed home to rear her now grown, married, etc kids. Before I had my son she used to tell people when they would ask in a condescending manner "What do you DO?" She would answer, "I am raising a human being." That IS the definitive answer.
Nancy
