My daughters are currently in daycare, but most of the kids leave after they turn 2 for preschool programs. They will be turning 2 in a few months, but we’ve decided to keep them where they are at least until the summer. However, that still means that we need to find them a preschool situation now. And even though I’ve been a secondary teacher for 12 years, I’m finding I know very little about early childhood. It’s amazing to me how different the jobs and expertise are of the preschool teachers and mine. They think about and observe things that as adults, and as a secondary teacher, we take for granted.
For example, the preschool kids are supposed to be able to close a circle. This is not something that we think about anymore, but it means a preschool child has made progress. My students come to me much more fully formed than my daughters will go into their 2’s program. They will change a lot over that first year. When I teach 9th graders, then see the students again when they’re older, they’ve matured but it is not such a stark difference as it is in those first years.
I am getting a crash course in early childhood education and learning about the different approaches so we can make a decision about where to send them. I do think they will be successful in many of the environments that we’ve already seen, with the dedicated staff available to guide them. It just remains to be seen if there is a clear front runner for that elusive ideal space for them….and who has room for twins.
Meditations on Literature and Literacy...Continued 