Three-year-old preschool, locally known as 3K, is a pretty big thing here in Wisconsin. It kind of shocked me when I first moved here. I was familiar with Head Start and I'd heard all about super wealthy city parents putting their kids on private pre-preschool waiting lists before their child had head control (I even knew a couple of those parents in DC), but I never knew average Joe parents like me paid for their kids to attend regular old pre-preschool classes.
I met a mom who teaches at one, and she explained to me that they didn't exist until the state of Wisconsin made four-year-old Preschool available to everyone (free, as part of the public school program). At that moment 3K was born. And in high demand. I'm not exactly sure what to make of that, but I find it fascinating.
Anywho, this whole introduction is to say I will not be enrolling Reid in a 3K program. Developmental delays excluded (by the way, his stutter is back), I see little need for it. I do see a need to keep Reid's curiosity at a peak. I believe responding properly to curious little minds has the potential to build lovers of learning. I see a need to keep socializing him with other kids his age. He really needs to keep working on the partnership of play. And unfortunately, the mom's and I who did preschool co-op last year just don't see a way to continue it this year (what with older kid's schedules and new babies coming).
So ... here are my goals for Reid's makeshift 3K:
1. Once a month I would like to take him on a field trip. So far I'm planning to arrange something with a recycling center, paper factory, cheese plant, and possibly one of Oshkosh Truck's departments (they make everything from firetrucks to military vehicles). I'm going to need a couple other ideas, but for now those things give me a good start. Reid would really like to take a tour of the sewers. Hopefully a video will satisfy him. To really make these outings feel like a field trip, I plan on inviting all the mom's in the meetup group and other local friends I have.
2. I've already enrolled him in several preschool classes around the community. We'll go to two more turtle tot classes at Heckrodt before the baby comes, and he'll take swimming lessons and a Fall Art class at the YMCA (while I do laps in the pool -- poor Nell probably won't enjoy drop in child care all by herself).
3. I've begun organizing all my busy bags from the busy bag swap I held almost a year ago. We've been using many of the toddler bags since then, but haven't touched any of the preschool ones. Once a week I'd like to give him time to explore those activities and similar ones I've made myself.
4. I also hope to prepare a printable of some sort for him each week. This really should be an easy task, but so far I've found I'm not much for making him practice tracing, cutting, matching, or patterning. He has really been into cutting lately. So I have no excuse.
Nell loves coloring and asks to color daily, but Reid has never really enjoyed coloring or drawing. So Nell sits up in her seat and colors while Reid cuts "so many shapes" (aka scraps) out of a simple piece of construction paper. That's as extensive as craft time gets around here. I really need to whip out the glue and paint more often.
Which I suppose should be my final goal. I'm not going to number it 5 though, because then I'll feel more accountable to it ... but I'd really like to plan at least one craft a week for both Reid and Nell. Why am I just not a crafty mom?
A couple days ago we reworked Reid's chore chart, and I let him choose a couple of his own chores. The first one he chose was "homework." So I think he's on board for a little preschool action at home. It'll be a nice way to put some structure into our day, especially as winter and a new baby approach.
I met a mom who teaches at one, and she explained to me that they didn't exist until the state of Wisconsin made four-year-old Preschool available to everyone (free, as part of the public school program). At that moment 3K was born. And in high demand. I'm not exactly sure what to make of that, but I find it fascinating.
Anywho, this whole introduction is to say I will not be enrolling Reid in a 3K program. Developmental delays excluded (by the way, his stutter is back), I see little need for it. I do see a need to keep Reid's curiosity at a peak. I believe responding properly to curious little minds has the potential to build lovers of learning. I see a need to keep socializing him with other kids his age. He really needs to keep working on the partnership of play. And unfortunately, the mom's and I who did preschool co-op last year just don't see a way to continue it this year (what with older kid's schedules and new babies coming).
So ... here are my goals for Reid's makeshift 3K:
1. Once a month I would like to take him on a field trip. So far I'm planning to arrange something with a recycling center, paper factory, cheese plant, and possibly one of Oshkosh Truck's departments (they make everything from firetrucks to military vehicles). I'm going to need a couple other ideas, but for now those things give me a good start. Reid would really like to take a tour of the sewers. Hopefully a video will satisfy him. To really make these outings feel like a field trip, I plan on inviting all the mom's in the meetup group and other local friends I have.
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| This picture is from last Spring, when Reid and his best buddy explored all sorts of city trucks at the Touch a Truck Event |
3. I've begun organizing all my busy bags from the busy bag swap I held almost a year ago. We've been using many of the toddler bags since then, but haven't touched any of the preschool ones. Once a week I'd like to give him time to explore those activities and similar ones I've made myself.
4. I also hope to prepare a printable of some sort for him each week. This really should be an easy task, but so far I've found I'm not much for making him practice tracing, cutting, matching, or patterning. He has really been into cutting lately. So I have no excuse.
Nell loves coloring and asks to color daily, but Reid has never really enjoyed coloring or drawing. So Nell sits up in her seat and colors while Reid cuts "so many shapes" (aka scraps) out of a simple piece of construction paper. That's as extensive as craft time gets around here. I really need to whip out the glue and paint more often.
Which I suppose should be my final goal. I'm not going to number it 5 though, because then I'll feel more accountable to it ... but I'd really like to plan at least one craft a week for both Reid and Nell. Why am I just not a crafty mom?
A couple days ago we reworked Reid's chore chart, and I let him choose a couple of his own chores. The first one he chose was "homework." So I think he's on board for a little preschool action at home. It'll be a nice way to put some structure into our day, especially as winter and a new baby approach.
1 comment:
Love the goals! Good luck with the crafts. I'd count the cutting paper as one. My daughter collects random garbage and loves gluing and taping things together. That's as crafty as I get. As far as preschool art goes, I kinda hate the word "craft" cuz it often means they're making a certain thing. Art just sounds easier. You just provide the materials and they make whatever. After studying early childhood ed, I kinda assumed everyone did 2 day a week prek for 3s and 3 days a week for 4s. But at USU, we had great developmentally appropriate preschools. I'm struggling to find that for my kids (outside the one I teach, since my daughter insists on having her own teacher that's not me). My problem with 3 year olds in pre k is they're often pushing academics and not enough play. Sigh. Rant over.
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