Hellobee Boards

This is one of these parenting things im meh about. We don't adhere to any one parenting philosophy and neither does our daycare / preschool. I prefer it that way.
My girls learn a ton from their teachers every day that I'm seriously amazed. That's good enough for me. And overall the "teachers" viewpoints are very similar to ours on important subjects so that is good.

I'm not too caught up on preschool philosophies... I mean , it's preschool! I just want DS to be exposed to lots of learning, experiences, and a variety of people. He goes to school 2 days a week and the community is so diverse! The other week days he spends with grandparents, he spends a ton of time outside exploring nature and gardening, and he attends swimming and music classes. He has a daddy day too. He gets lots of attention and love, which is the most important at this point.

DS will be starting a 2's program in the fall at a church preschool. I wanted him to get comfortable in a playground/classroom setting with other kids and a teacher, have a predictable daily routine, being a kind/good citizen, and have God/prayer be a normal part of his day (because he will be attending a private Christian school eventually). This school fits that - they have a weekly color, shape, and ZooPhonics letter/animal combo as themes that inform their activities for that week, a daily routine that involves stories, crafts, inside and outside playtime, snack, lunch, nap, etc. The teachers are all sweet and nurturing and there seems to be a good mix of kids in terms of gender and diversity.

It seems weird, but I wanted my son to have structure and routine, which he reallllllly thrives under, but without a forced philosophy, like Montessori or Waldorf. I think it's because he's always been sort of an outside the box thinking type kid - like he never plays with toys the way they are supposed to be played with, he uses things in odd contexts, he's not super verbal yet, very experimental and inquisitive, and he's introverted and determined and stubborn. He always hits his milestones within the normal range, but it's very much when he feels like it and all at once. So we just felt like having a predictable context with general courtesy rules and kind authority figures in which he could be himself and figure stuff out would be a better fit for him than having him abide by a certain philosophy. We felt the Waldorf programs around us were SUPER drink the Rudolph Steiner koolaid and yet wasn't structured enough in some ways. And the Montessori programs I just felt might frustrate my son in certain ways.

I gravitate towards a Charlotte Mason philosophy for our at-home preschool activities. Our LOs won't be attending formal preschool, although they still get plenty of time with other kids.

Special education public preschool. I don't really care about having a particular philosophy, I mainly want the socialization aspect.

I do see what I interpret as a lot of Montessori influence (since that's what I'm more familiar with via HB) with the low, open access shelves, drinking from open cups, and gaining classroom responsibilities.

DD1 goes to an Emergent Curriculum preschool. It's similar to Reggio Emillia.