Several months ago, in a desperate hunt for daycare, my husband and I began preschool shopping in our neighborhood and every location close enough for me to get to without a car. We were suddenly thrust into the stressful situation of picking a preschool, a much bigger choice with many more variables than we'd ever imagined. We had some vague expectations of the place that would be a good fit for our family -- diverse, safe, bright and clean, buzzing with activity with definitive quiet and nap times, supportive and concerned about life outside the facility. What I wasn't prepared for was the issue of homework. HOMEWORK! In the two- and three-year old room.
The tour guide administrator laughed it off as more of a guideline than a rule that the kids complete worksheets tracing letters and numbers and coloring pictures. But, she added, nearly every kid does nearly every worksheet nearly every night. Sure, to some this sounds like leg-up early education but to me, the child of two very opinionated educators, this sounded like way too much. When I brought up the issue to one reading and writing specialist, she responded matter-of-factly, "This is ridiculous. Most kids aren't developmentally ready for reading or even for tracing. It serves no purpose. Kids read when they are ready and it is no indication of how smart they are. The end."
Yeah yeah yeah, you might be sputtering, but my child is not "most kids!" She's brilliant! She's ready! I happen to think my own child is pretty freaking smart, too, and he may love sitting down with a worksheet every night. I don't think it serves any purpose other than making the preschool market themselves as an academic machine and I will not add homework to my kid's backpack when he isn't even three yet. There's plenty of time for all that. We chose to keep looking for the right preschool and opted instead for a nice little in-home daycare. For now, I'm happy with him being in a place where play is king and where he's learning the fine art of socialization rather than how to get that little line on the Q just right.
