Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Can I persuade you NOT to get me started on mandatory preschool? And, I learned two more new things this week.

We don't want mandatory preschool guys. We really don't. We don't want our three year olds in public classrooms, with the same problems we already see in public elementary schools. Plus, we've tried federally funded preschools, and while Head Start has been successful in many ways, it does not produce the academic outcomes the government was looking for. Anyway, three year olds need time to build and explore and learn how to make friends; they don't need to learn their letters and numbers. They'll spend the rest of their lives talking about letters and numbers - friendships and hand-eye coordination are more important at this age. I don't have many soap boxes, but Nick hit on one of them unintentionally. We may think that we do, but we really don't want mandatory preschool.

Ok, I'm climbing down now ...

Want to hear my two new things that I learned this week?

1. I went to my first church-sponsored fall festival last night. As a personal fan of Halloween and trick-or-treating, I expected it to be kind of silly. It was so fun! As an adult, it was fun to see all of the kids that are carted off to children's church every week running and playing and out in public, rather than in their designated room. And, if I was a kid, I'd much prefer the festival. They got just as much candy as if they'd been trick or treating, they got to play with their friends all night (rather than walking around the neighborhood with their parents), and they got to jump in the moon walk for free. What else could a kid want out of life? Or at least out of Halloween?

2. Scented oil burners - LOVE THEM. We bought one Sunday night. It's so cool, and our whole house smells vanilla-y now. Yay for scented oil burners.

And one to grow on -

3. Couscous from the grocery store is almost as good as couscous from a restaurant. And I LOVE couscous in the restaurant, so this is a handy discovery. Yay for boxed couscous.

Seven weeks and counting ...

7 comments:

buf said...

first...I went to preschool, and I talk friendships more than I talk letters and numbers, I think. correct me if I'm wrong :) ...so I don't think sending kids to preschool dooms them - I know kids who DIDN'T go to preschool who can't HANDLE people and relationships now because all they had before age six was mom and dad.

that said - I'm all for rights, not compulsory crap. give people the RIGHT to do things, the WAY to do things, the MEANS to do things (i.e. Head Start) - but don't force them to do things. if people don't want their children in preschool, why is it anyone else's choice but theirs? damn gov't. -- Janet

Anonymous said...

Preschool... Hmm... I dunno about mandatory. Seems that should be my choice. We keep getting younger and younger, and we can't seem to educate the OLDER ones well enough. We don't have enough money or teachers to take care of the 5 years olds and they wanna add 3 and 4 year olds? Craziness.

Halloween... I love dressing up though I never get to anymore. I LOVE dressing up my kids. I love stealing their candy. We do the Fall Fest at church AND go trick or treating. :)

Couscous... what is it?

I sent your baby gift today.

buf said...

hey, what IS couscous. I love it, I love storebought - I buy the kind with pine nuts, yum, but I've no idea what it IS! - jab

Anonymous said...

Couscous is middle eastern grits. Should that sentence be "Couscous ARE middle eastern grits"? Hmm...discuss.

Liz said...

Mandatory preschool!?! I haven't heard such talk before. I went to part-time preschool - mostly because my mother worked. But to make that manditory? I agree with Heather - we have a hard enough time maintaining the schools we have, how are we going to add something that could incredibly formative (good or bad). If a kid goes to a great preschool, and they are ready, and they still get the play formation that they NEED, then great, preschool can be a really good thing. But I imagine a kindergarten with 3 and 4 year olds sitting in time out because they didn't finish their homework!! What a horrible thought!!

Halloween - I love all holidays. And any day I get to dress out of the norm I love even more! I love Halloween candy, but even more than that, I love super-discounted Halloween candy two days after at the store! ;-) And yes, I actually DID dress up this year!! hehe

Stephanie said...

For the record, I started going to day care when I was a baby, and have friends that I still know and love that I met in my two-year-old classroom at Kiddie Kollege. So it's not day care OR preschool that I'm against - like Janet, it's the government mandated, compulsory aspect that offends me.

Didn't mean to scare you Nick. =)

buf said...

sooo...couscous is also corn poop, like grits is?

grits are?

-- janet