Hellobee Boards Topic: Do you think preschool is necessary these days?

Hellobee Boards Topic: Do you think preschool is necessary these days? https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Mon, 06 Apr 2026 06:44:11 +0000 Mrs. Goose on "Do you think preschool is necessary these days?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-think-preschool-is-necessary-these-days#post-2675593 Fri, 06 Jan 2017 22:19:00 +0000 Mrs. Goose 2675593@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I think preschool is necessary only from a social standpoint. To me, any potential academic learning (which I already know the preschool program I'll send my daughter to is low in that regard) is irrelevant and pretty unnecessary. I think the bulk of a child's learning at that point is all coming from social stimulation and their play experiences and that is what is most important at that age, to me. There is a huge push for play-based learning in kindergarten programs here and they want to extend it to grade 1 and 2, but I'm not sure that will happen. I have worked in and supplied in kindergarten classrooms though and the play-based learning aspect is not very big unfortunately. Orchid on "Do you think preschool is necessary these days?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-think-preschool-is-necessary-these-days#post-2675532 Fri, 06 Jan 2017 20:20:59 +0000 Orchid 2675532@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I definitely don't think preschool is necessary. In fact, we've made a deliberate decision to avoid it for our little ones. We do plan to homeschool until at least 6th grade though, so our situation is different. I hate that kids are being stripped of childhood and the joys of self-driven, play-based explorative learning. The kindergarten standards are quite ridiculous. There's enough evidence that this approach is not ideal. I do teach my children all day long but avoid any formal instruction. Learning opportunities abound all the time. Reading by 3 or 4 is not a goal we have though, so we emphasize being able to investigate interests and creative problem solving. I don't think any preschool could possibly offer a better educational experience. ShootingStar on "Do you think preschool is necessary these days?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-think-preschool-is-necessary-these-days#post-2675519 Fri, 06 Jan 2017 20:00:37 +0000 ShootingStar 2675519@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I think school experience is important for kids, but then SAH parenting isn't something I have any familiarity with. I was a daycare kid and so are both of my children. I also see my own limitations at being able to teach and socialize them. Greentea on "Do you think preschool is necessary these days?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-think-preschool-is-necessary-these-days#post-2675516 Fri, 06 Jan 2017 19:54:55 +0000 Greentea 2675516@https://boards.hellobee.com/ No. But what is meant by "necessary?" There was a post recently about whether children should be taught to code. My answer would be no. That is a skill anyone can learn. IMO all of this learning is to help a child develop their brain, learn to cope with life's challenges, develop skills and interests, learn to get along with others while getting their needs met, learn about the world and how to contribute to society, learn empathy, and so on. So, my answer to whether children should learn to code would be no because imo, learning to read music and play an instrument (for example) would help them develop in these important ways offscreen- ways that will be conducive to brain and skill development that will allow them to learn, and have confidence in learning to code if they so choose. So, is preschool necessary? I would say no, but it depends what the goal is. Is the goal to prepare a child for kindergarten? Or for lifelong learning? Each child and family are different, so it isn't a simple question and answer. looch on "Do you think preschool is necessary these days?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-think-preschool-is-necessary-these-days#post-2675441 Fri, 06 Jan 2017 16:37:15 +0000 looch 2675441@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @honeybear: Thank you for taking the time to respond, I really enjoy the discourse with you. I think at the end of the day, the main issue is that even if I had the time, I couldn't effectively teach because I do not have a deep toolkit. I don't have access to materials, I get analysis paralysis when having to research methods...I am my own worst enemy. I have thought about homeschooling, I am an intelligent person with an advanced degree so I feel I can learn, but I have never learned how to teach. I also think teaching is an art, as you've very eloquently put. lawbee11 on "Do you think preschool is necessary these days?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-think-preschool-is-necessary-these-days#post-2675394 Fri, 06 Jan 2017 15:40:04 +0000 lawbee11 2675394@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Maybe not necessary for everyone, but with two full-time working parents who have no desire to stay home, yes, it's necessary for us. Even from a social perspective I can't imagine sending my LO off to public school without attending some sort of preschool program beforehand. Freckles on "Do you think preschool is necessary these days?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-think-preschool-is-necessary-these-days#post-2675386 Fri, 06 Jan 2017 15:34:01 +0000 Freckles 2675386@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @honeybear: your comment on the different teaching methods is very interesting. my daughter is a sight word reader (complete memorization) but forget trying to get her to read by sounding out the words. once i explained this to her preschool teacher, they were able to recognize her reading abilities. I think preschool is necessary in getting kids used to structure and order, and having to share attention with multiple children. I think if i was a SAHM, my kids would be ready academic wise for kindergarten but they would struggle on the social/emotional end (which i don't think you can really teach at home). honeybear on "Do you think preschool is necessary these days?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-think-preschool-is-necessary-these-days#post-2675379 Fri, 06 Jan 2017 15:24:18 +0000 honeybear 2675379@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @sarac: Could you give a few examples of the skill/knowledge expectations of your child that were achieved as a result of preschool? A few of the things she’s expected to know now would be useful too. I’d like to understand why you feel so strongly about how preschool is necessary and I think concrete examples would be helpful. @looch: What if you had been able to teach your son to read using different method than starting with sight words? That would have been fine, right? Sight words are just a means to an end, and what matters at the end of the day is that the child can read a document and understand it. What your experience shows is that this child is not responsive to one execution of one method. But there are other methods and variations on those methods, and trying those when the prior one doesn’t work very well isn’t a sign of failure, that’s good teaching. What you experienced can happen in classroom too, and we all know that it does. A teacher will teach using one method and the student won’t be responsive to it. Will the teacher change the method? I’d like to think that many would, but I know that some don’t, they just move on, to the detriment of the student who either figures it out herself or decides not to learn. There are kids who check out of class all the time. All of us went to school with kids who were super smart who checked out and did poorly because no one found another way to get them to what really matters. I think the takeaway from your situation is that this is an example of the complexity of teaching and how it is dependent on the teacher and student and the relationship between them. A committed parent with one child or a couple of them is going to be able to maneuver around obstacles in a way that is less likely to happen in a classroom full of children. As far as cooperation goes, I do have one advantage that many don’t, and that’s time, but I have that advantage because I drastically reorganized my life to have it. My son tends to be fairly cooperative and generally motivated, so perhaps I’ve got some degree of good luck on my side too, but the main advantage I have over what I think you might have been doing is that I can offer him the huge “carrots” of close to unlimited time for things like exploring his other interests or reading a favorite book or playing outside or going on a field trip or playing with his friends or building Legos after we’re done. However, if I’d tried to do the lessons we do while also doing a full or partial day of preschool or daycare or early elementary, I’m fairly certain it would have been a disaster, because there isn’t really time for the “carrot” stuff after that. Also, I think preschool teachers have a huge advantage over parents who are trying to instruct their children simultaneously with daycare or preschool, and that advantage is probably largely why many parents view preschool as so essential. The advantage is the time of day that preschool typically occurs. Little children are better disposed to learning/doing what they’re asked to do in the morning and sometimes in the early/mid-afternoon, which is when every preschool I’ve ever heard of happens. Try holding preschool at 5pm or 6pm or even in the morning on weekends after a long week of daycare. I think it might be possible, because children are adaptable, but I have to imagine that it would be a challenging experience for everyone, especially at the beginning. sarac on "Do you think preschool is necessary these days?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-think-preschool-is-necessary-these-days#post-2675284 Fri, 06 Jan 2017 13:08:21 +0000 sarac 2675284@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @FaithFertility: my daughter ended up starting k this year. With two years of preschool she was well prepared. She would have been way behind both socially and academically without it. meredithNYC on "Do you think preschool is necessary these days?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-think-preschool-is-necessary-these-days#post-2675262 Fri, 06 Jan 2017 12:41:09 +0000 meredithNYC 2675262@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @looch: we had the same experience with our oldest. She really resisted our attempts to "teach" and frankly I did not want to force it to the detriment of our relationship. Depends on the kid, for sure, but I would say an overwhelming majority benefit from preschool. FaithFertility on "Do you think preschool is necessary these days?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-think-preschool-is-necessary-these-days#post-2675257 Fri, 06 Jan 2017 12:33:40 +0000 FaithFertility 2675257@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @sarac: that is because sadly even with common core all districts are different, use differdifferent tests,reading programs etc..... :meh: Best thing I would do is reach out to local district look at their standards and maybe ask a local teacher! FaithFertility on "Do you think preschool is necessary these days?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-think-preschool-is-necessary-these-days#post-2675255 Fri, 06 Jan 2017 12:31:36 +0000 FaithFertility 2675255@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Absolutely! With the way standards are these days, K is the new 1st and so on!!! Kids are expected to know things that K used to teach going in! sarac on "Do you think preschool is necessary these days?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-think-preschool-is-necessary-these-days#post-2675204 Fri, 06 Jan 2017 11:31:11 +0000 sarac 2675204@https://boards.hellobee.com/ No, it certainly isn't rhetorical flourish - I think that with the obscene demands placed on kindergartners in the US preschool is a near necessity. I'm sure that some parents are able to prepare their children socially and academically. But I couldn't even find an agreed upon list of 'skills needed to enter kindergarten', when I tried. Mrs. Blue on "Do you think preschool is necessary these days?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-think-preschool-is-necessary-these-days#post-2675202 Fri, 06 Jan 2017 11:27:20 +0000 Mrs. Blue 2675202@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Of course it depends on the kid and the parents to a large degree, so with that caveat . . . I think as much as we expect from our littles in the early elementary years, Pre-K is becoming more and more necessary. I don't know that I think that means it's always GOOD, though, or maybe I should say the way learning should really be for 3 & 4 year olds. Again, not that it's a bad, terrible thing, but what concerns me is how early we are pushing our kids to start academic learning rather than letting them learn by playing, imagining, reading, etc. like kids are naturally wired to do. Thankfully, there are some great PK programs and teachers that work to keep school as developmentally appropriate as possible. I struggle sometimes wandering if that much of a structured, academic environment is really how it SHOULD be at 3 & 4, even if I think it is how it HAS to be when we have such rigorous testing requirements only a few years later. So, yes, our kids are/will be in PK, but I wish we could just revamp the whole system and fix what I believe are some critical issues. Foodnerd81 on "Do you think preschool is necessary these days?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-think-preschool-is-necessary-these-days#post-2675043 Fri, 06 Jan 2017 08:18:13 +0000 Foodnerd81 2675043@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @looch: my older daughter just started preschool in September so I have no way of knowing how K will go,but my reasoning was just what you said. I have no worries academically but she needed to social learning- learning how to behave in a school setting. So I'm glad to hear you are happy with your choice! travellingbee on "Do you think preschool is necessary these days?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-think-preschool-is-necessary-these-days#post-2675032 Fri, 06 Jan 2017 07:41:47 +0000 travellingbee 2675032@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @looch: I have experienced the same and I'm a teacher!! looch on "Do you think preschool is necessary these days?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-think-preschool-is-necessary-these-days#post-2675024 Fri, 06 Jan 2017 07:23:08 +0000 looch 2675024@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @honeybear: I wanted to address this separately, because I have attempted many times to teach my son things and have failed spectacularly at every turn. Sure, I taught him things like his alphabet and numbers, but when it came to more high stakes learning, such as sight words in preparation to read, he had no interest in learning from me. It became a battle and rather than create a negative association to learning, I backed away. I don't think it had anything to do with age or readiness, because a month later, he happily learned the sight words with instruction from his teacher. I really think parents teaching children is more of an art than a science and I just didn't have the skills to reach my son. looch on "Do you think preschool is necessary these days?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-think-preschool-is-necessary-these-days#post-2675023 Fri, 06 Jan 2017 07:20:19 +0000 looch 2675023@https://boards.hellobee.com/ My son is in K now and he has attended preschool (not daycare) since he was 3 years 8 months. I only make the distinction because the program we chose didn't offer full day care. He was in a 4 s program and then a 5s program and entered K at age 5 and just turned 6 last month. All of that to say, that yes, preschool was essential for him. Not so much on the academics (that's not my son's problem area) but on social and emotional skills and behavior. The kids in my son's class are expected to sit still for almost 5 hours of instruction during the day, with just 25 minutes each for lunch and recess. That is a long day and they're do a lot of rigorous work that requires physical body control. While his preschool was play based, it gave him the environment to practice what is expected of him in kindergarten in a gentler way. As a result we've had an extremely smooth transition into K, with no discipline or learning issues whatsoever. I am so pleased with the decisions we've made to get to this point and I realize that it is different for everyone. Baby Boy Mom on "Do you think preschool is necessary these days?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-think-preschool-is-necessary-these-days#post-2675000 Fri, 06 Jan 2017 04:45:29 +0000 Baby Boy Mom 2675000@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I think that pre k definitely helps kids adjust to K, and I think that being in some type of group setting is important for getting used to that environment especially depending on how adaptable your child is. That said, I don't think it's necessary. I could have easily taught my child the things they learned in preschool, but I'm glad he went because it gave me the freedom to focus on other skills at home. lamariniere on "Do you think preschool is necessary these days?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-think-preschool-is-necessary-these-days#post-2674997 Fri, 06 Jan 2017 03:17:24 +0000 lamariniere 2674997@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Where we live, there isn't much preschool. Most kids are in some kind of daycare, but they aren't very academic. My son started elementary with just a little bit of academic knowledge. He has made huge strides in school and his teacher is extremely pleased with his progress, but I wish he had had a bit more under his belt going in to school. We may send our DD to a more academic center the year before she starts school. Kemma on "Do you think preschool is necessary these days?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-think-preschool-is-necessary-these-days#post-2674991 Fri, 06 Jan 2017 02:24:03 +0000 Kemma 2674991@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I can only speak from my experience in the New Zealand system but by the time my big girl was 2.5 she was more then ready to go out and start learning the things that I couldn't teach her at home and she absolutely has benefitted from attending kindergarten / preschool (even though she was well socialised through attending playgroups and music classes etc). I guess I kind of see preschool as the bridge between being at home and going to school. 2littlepumpkins on "Do you think preschool is necessary these days?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-think-preschool-is-necessary-these-days#post-2674985 Fri, 06 Jan 2017 01:35:29 +0000 2littlepumpkins 2674985@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @honeybear: I know your comment was addressed to another poster but I think if you didn't realize they had to know all that and it wasn't something your child expressed interest in, then a parent could easily get caught off guard not having taught their child certain things. On a side note, as far as parental ability to prepare them, there's no way I could have taught my child some things she learns in preschool as far as socialization. Some kids might do totally fine without it but not mine. travellingbee on "Do you think preschool is necessary these days?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-think-preschool-is-necessary-these-days#post-2674879 Thu, 05 Jan 2017 21:38:32 +0000 travellingbee 2674879@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Necessary? Not completely. Highly beneficial? Absolutely. As a teacher, my experience is that most kids do have some preschool and those that don't struggle more. I wouldn't even consider not sending my kids to a quality preschool. Anagram on "Do you think preschool is necessary these days?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-think-preschool-is-necessary-these-days#post-2674847 Thu, 05 Jan 2017 21:17:50 +0000 Anagram 2674847@https://boards.hellobee.com/ oh, I don't know. I guess it depends on the kid and I obviously only have a sample size of 2, but I feel like my oldest would probably have been fine if one of us were a SAH parent and she didn't do any kind of preschool before K. She's pretty adaptable though. Now my second....I guess we'll see next school year when she starts daycare, but I do think she might benefit from a daycare environment before K, so she can get used to new people and being in a classroom environment. She's way less adaptable. honeybear on "Do you think preschool is necessary these days?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-think-preschool-is-necessary-these-days#post-2674844 Thu, 05 Jan 2017 21:16:41 +0000 honeybear 2674844@https://boards.hellobee.com/ The right answer to this clearly depends on the child and his or her specific situation. However, I think that in general, for a child who has parents, family, or caregivers who can take the time to read to them, talk with them, and otherwise provide opportunities to learn about the world, preschool is not necessary. @sarac: You think you could not have taught your child the things that she was taught in preschool to the extent that she would be "so lost" in K if she hadn't gone? I assume that's a rhetorical flourish, because whatever the expectations of the K program, I'm sure you (and everyone else on these boards) are fully up to it. winniebee on "Do you think preschool is necessary these days?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-think-preschool-is-necessary-these-days#post-2674745 Thu, 05 Jan 2017 19:59:52 +0000 winniebee 2674745@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Yeah, I do lilteacherbee on "Do you think preschool is necessary these days?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-think-preschool-is-necessary-these-days#post-2674743 Thu, 05 Jan 2017 19:58:53 +0000 lilteacherbee 2674743@https://boards.hellobee.com/ As a former pre-k teacher, I think its very beneficial to have at least one year of preschool before kindergarten. My sister teaches kindergarten and its insane how much they are expected to know by the end of the year. Also, academics aside, so much of preschool includes the social aspects as well as learning the expectations of a school setting. I think most kids who don't have experience in these areas have a harder time transitioning when it comes to the academic side of kindergarten. sarac on "Do you think preschool is necessary these days?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-think-preschool-is-necessary-these-days#post-2674732 Thu, 05 Jan 2017 19:49:36 +0000 sarac 2674732@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Oh my gosh, my daughter was expected to come into kindergarten knowing so much - I have no idea what kids who haven't been in school before do. They'd be so lost, so far behind. catgirl on "Do you think preschool is necessary these days?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-think-preschool-is-necessary-these-days#post-2674721 Thu, 05 Jan 2017 19:34:08 +0000 catgirl 2674721@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I think a year of preschool or daycare with some academic structure is important for the majority of kids. There will of course be some kids who can jump straight to kindergarten without issue, but I believe the vast majority would struggle if that is the first time being in a school setting. Mrs. Goose on "Do you think preschool is necessary these days?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-think-preschool-is-necessary-these-days#post-2674715 Thu, 05 Jan 2017 19:26:02 +0000 Mrs. Goose 2674715@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I think it will definitely be necessary for my child because she is still shy and I stay at home with her. So I'll send her to preschool when she is 3 for a few mornings a week the year before kindergarten starts. If your child goes to daycare or out of your home care somewhere I think it is less of a necessity. Having worked in a school, I saw how hard it often was for the kids who came straight from home to school and I'd like to avoid that for my daughter.