Preschool - Old vs. New

My primary goal for each child is to leave Stepping Stones with the necessary tools to succeed in Kindergarten.  In addition to knowing basic "curriculum", children need good social skills.  We work very hard at achieving a balance between academic and social skills.  I wish we did not need to place so much emphasis on academics, but we need our children to be prepared for our public and private Kindergartens.

Kindergarten is so different than it was when I went - Mrs. Anderson played the piano and the children sat in a circle and clapped in time to the music.  We learned to use scissors and paste.  We ate snacks and took naps.  We were not expected to know the alphabet and basic phonics.  We did not solve math word problems.  We did not know how to read.  We did not have ADD or ADHD.

We went to Kindergarten with good manners and good behavior and learned the curriculum when it was developmentally appropriate!

We learned to read in 1st or 2nd grade and yet we still went to college without any problem.  Why rush to push our children to do more than they are ready to handle?

I believe we are doing more harm than good when we push our children too early.  We are seeing more children diagnosed with ADD and ADHD and the school drop-out rate is staggering!  When children feel that they do not "measure up" they often give up.  Is this what we want for our children?  I know I don't!

New Preschool Year Begins!

As Stepping Stones Learning Center begins another school year, I reflect on the children who I have seen grow up into happy and self-sufficient citizens.  I have been in the preschool environment since I graduated from UC Davis in 1986 and I have had the benefit of watching many wonderful children blossom.  On this day, in particular, I think about the world we live in and the changes that have taken place since 9/11.

I look forward to the opportunity to watch many more children evolve into enthusiastic life-long learners!

Kids are funny!

"Out of the mouths of babes"...the other day one of the preschooler's was spinning in circles in the sandbox saying, "I'm a tomato, I'm a tomato".   I asked them to repeat what they had said and this is what followed.  He said, "I'm a tomato, you know, a great swirling wind".  I could not help but laugh as I let them know that the correct word was TORNADO not TOMATO!!

One day I was on the playground sweeping and a child asked, "what are you doing?  Are you brooming?".

Over the years, I have had the opportunity to listen to so much dialog between preschoolers.  They are insightful and funny and interesting and informative and most of all HONEST!