Kate in Arabia Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 I've been debating about preschool for my almost 4-yr old for next year, primarily for language exposure. My oldest is competent, but not fluent in speaking, and that's with dh and I being pretty involved with him in his preschool years in trying to expose him to Arabic (we were living in the States then). My second child is not at the same level as my oldest was at his age, I think because weren't able to give him the level of one-on-one involvement we could when we had an "only" and less outside pressures. I can see this only continuing with the third. Now we're here, and have the opportunity to give her a start; homeschooling is going well for us, she isn't a big distraction and is pretty good about doing her own thing during our lessons or following along. Also she is in a gymnastics class and will be starting swimming next week, so I feel that she is getting some outside socialization. However, her brothers attend an Arabic/Qur'an class four nights a week which she does not. So I'm debating trying to put her in a preschool, one that would be for 3-4 hours a day? But then I am wondering if this is a good idea... will she balk because her brothers don't go; will she like it so much she will balk at homeschooling as she gets older; will it make her brothers want the same thing.. or will it be a great chance for her to be immersed and make friends? Anyone put their youngers in preschool/kg then homeschool? Did it work out well in the end, or would you recommend against it? Thanks in advance for any thoughts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erica in PA Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 I've been debating about preschool for my almost 4-yr old for next year, primarily for language exposure. My oldest is competent, but not fluent in speaking, and that's with dh and I being pretty involved with him in his preschool years in trying to expose him to Arabic (we were living in the States then). My second child is not at the same level as my oldest was at his age, I think because weren't able to give him the level of one-on-one involvement we could when we had an "only" and less outside pressures. I can see this only continuing with the third. Now we're here, and have the opportunity to give her a start; homeschooling is going well for us, she isn't a big distraction and is pretty good about doing her own thing during our lessons or following along. Also she is in a gymnastics class and will be starting swimming next week, so I feel that she is getting some outside socialization. However, her brothers attend an Arabic/Qur'an class four nights a week which she does not. So I'm debating trying to put her in a preschool, one that would be for 3-4 hours a day? But then I am wondering if this is a good idea... will she balk because her brothers don't go; will she like it so much she will balk at homeschooling as she gets older; will it make her brothers want the same thing.. or will it be a great chance for her to be immersed and make friends? Anyone put their youngers in preschool/kg then homeschool? Did it work out well in the end, or would you recommend against it? Thanks in advance for any thoughts. If you think that her personality is one that could well adapt to coming back home in a few years, then I would go for it. It sounds like a wonderful opportunity!!! But if you think it could jeopardize your homeschooling in the future, then I would think twice. I sent just my oldest son to preschool, and it was great for him. My second son could have gone personality-wise with no trouble adapting to homeschool after, but it just wasn't necessary for him because of his siblings and other activities. My youngest, my daughter, I would *not* have sent to preschool, because she is soooo social, she never would have wanted to come home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
partyof5 Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 Kate, I cannot speak to the language immersion, but I have had my youngest in preschool for the last year and we just brought her home mid-year, earlier this month. I was ready for a battle extraordinaire! Would she miss friends? Find home boring compared to her amazing Montessori classroom? None of my fears were realized. On the other hand, would she have enjoyed staying through this year and next? Absolutely. She loved the social aspect and didn't mind leaving her sisters behind to go for the morning. She rather enjoyed having her own special thing to do. Bottom line is kids this age are more resilient than we would be! :tongue_smilie:I would make a decision based more on your language concerns than your social concerns, since she is clearly getting that in her other activities. All that being said, I should tell you we removed her from the school for two reasons: inconvenience of the travel on my older two who did carschooling a lot for the commute AND expense. If it were closer and I were made of money, she'd continue. She loved it. My older two attended there too through kindergarten and both transitioned beautifully to homeschool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 Hobbes went to preschool two days a week from ages 3 to 5. He had a great time and I have no regrets. When he got too old for preschool I just told him that, and he came home. No problems at all. Best wishes Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophia Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 All of my dc have been in preschool for one year, except my 6 y.o., who was involved in a choir instead. It was a great experience for them and they all understood they were there for one year, then back home. My oldest is the only one who would have liked to stay in school, but that's because he can't get enough of other people-not because he actually wants to learn anything:rolleyes: He'd move to a commune if he could. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 Nature Girl went to preschool for two years, two days a week. There was some pressure to put her in 5 day PreK, but I didn't fold. We homeschooled alongside her preschool that year, and it worked beautifully. She then homeschooled until the end of 2nd grade. We have always had a close relationship, and she wanted to be with me (but she did love preschool). I think most kids are flexible at this stage. ONe thing to look out for is that other kids will start talking about Kindergarten towards the end of the year, and there might be some feelings of being left out. That's a good time to make a special place or start sharing a few plans for K, so that your child has something to look forward to and talk about. As far as language goes, it's pretty common for littles who are bilingual to have some fluency issues in one or even both languages. I personally think she's probably got enough exposure if you are doing two outside social things--but maybe you could find a program that's not quite so intensive--2 or 3 days a week instead of 5? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 Rebecca went to preschool for 2 years, just 2 days a week, but she adored it. When kindergarten time came around and we decided to homeschool, she merrily accepted that with no problems. Sylvia, on the other hand, had to be cajoled into attending in the first place, and tolerated it for a couple of months before announcing that she simply didn't want to go anymore. It wasn't a big deal for us to just keep her home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrianne Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 Anyone put their youngers in preschool/kg then homeschool? Did it work out well in the end, or would you recommend against it? Thanks in advance for any thoughts. We put our oldest in public preschool at 4. It worked out fine when we decided to HS the next year. He actually liked it because he did not have to get up an walk to school anymore (we lived in a no bus district). We have love HS ever since. A good friend of mine also put her younger son in public kindergarden only and had a positive experience. She was HS both of her boys, when ds 4 wanted to know when he could go to school and ride the yellow bus. Not wanting to crush his enthusiasm, she let him go to school. After that year, she brought him back home. They have HS ever since and love it. It is a tough decision - but I think it is all in how you handle the situation. It can be a special thing for just her to do. If you don't think it is working out, you can always pull her out. HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 My William attends a coop nursery school, and loves it! And the time I (as an adult) put into learning Arabic, and knowing the amount of effort compared to retained learning that transpired, I have to wish I'd been in an "immersion" program when I was a child (and had a sponge-like mind) instead. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3lilreds in NC Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 Both my girls went to preschool; Abbie went for 1 year after I started homeschooling Emma. We plan to send Schmooey to preschool, assuming we still live here and he gets in to the one Abbie went to. In your case, I'm 99.9% positive I would do it for the language exposure. Bill's right; kids learn languages SO much more easily than adults! I would go for it. I will say that my girls missed their friends after I brought them home, but they do activities and they do see people. Everything requires a transition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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