• Home
  • About
    • Contact
  • Blog
  • Subscribe
  • Shop

Real Life at Home

  • Learn
    • Printables and Worksheets by Age and Subject
    • Homeschooling
    • Book Lists for Kids
    • Play
    • Teaching Life Skills
  • Create
    • Crafts and Projects for Kids
    • Easy DIY and Projects
    • Homemade Gifts
  • Holidays
    • Valentine’s Day
    • St. Patrick’s Day
    • Lent
    • Easter
    • Mother’s Day
    • Father’s Day
    • Independence Day
    • Halloween
    • Thanksgiving
    • Christmas
  • Printables
    • Printables and Worksheets By Age and Subject
    • Exclusive Printables for Subscribers
    • Terms of Use
    • Coloring Pages
    • Word Search Printables
    • Crossword Puzzle Printables
  • Recipes
    • Easy Recipes Index
  • Catholic
    • Catholic Printables
    • Catholic Activities
    • First Communion
    • Catholic Monthly Activities
    • Catholic Word Search Printables
    • Saints and Heroes Printable Packets
You are here: Home / Preschool / Is Preschool Necessary?

Is Preschool Necessary?

September 23, 2015 By Shannen Espelien · Disclosure: This Post May Contain Affiliate Links. {I may be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.}

370 shares
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter

advertisement

The following post is from Shannen of Middle Way Mom:

Parents are inundated with the do’s and don’ts of parenting. Child-led weaning? Cry it out? Whole life unschooling? The options are endless, with resources all over the Internet citing why their way is best.

Many of us can manage these questions about the baby years on our own, but as children get older, we tend to be more concerned about their education. We want our kids to start life with a solid foundation, and have all the opportunities they wish available to them. Education is key, we know. But how early does education need to start?

Do kids need preschool before they enter kindergarten? What does early education look like?

advertisement

Are we obsessed with early education?

In interviews with day care centers, I was surprised to hear they have curriculum for not only for preschoolers, but also for infants. How early does early education start?

In generations past, there was little to no expectation that children would come into kindergarten with previous academic knowledge, and now we are frequently finding preschools that tout “kindergarten readiness.” There is definite pressure on mothers to ensure their children know as much as possible before that first day of kindergarten, but that begs the question, is preschool necessary before kindergarten?

What does education look like?

So often, we think of education like our college years. Sit down, listen, write, repeat. We forget how much kids learn from exploratory play! Does learning have to happen at a desk, or in a classroom?

Learning can happen at the mall, the zoo (even without accompanying worksheets), the nature reserve, and even our own kitchen. More research lately is pointing to the fact that education in the early years should look more like play than anything else.

Do you need curriculum?

As parents, we like check boxes and to do lists, so curriculum can definitely have a place in early education efforts, but the best curriculum will lead you to finding education opportunities in every day life.

Before Five in a Row is fantastic at sparking your own ability to find learning opportunities in everyday activities while also giving very guided suggestions for the parent who wants a how-to guide.

Be mindful that preschool curriculum is more for the parent than the child. {Tweet this}

Some children love workbooks, but most times the best education is hidden in every day activities like cooking, reading, and playing outside.

Do children need the classroom experience?

If I had to put myself in a labeled box, I would say we are generally unschoolers in the preschool years, yet I still find myself looking through catalogs at preschool activities in our community. I recently came across a description of a summer preschool program that listed one of its benefits as “teaching children to sit and listen.”

I have to say that I disagree that this is necessary.

There are other situations where learning to sit quietly are more appropriate, like when eating meals. A child who never has any classroom experience and enters kindergarten will quickly learn the rules of the classroom. While a classroom setting can be beneficial for spontaneous moms with kids that thrive on routine, I would argue it is unnecessary for kids to “learn” the classroom setting before kindergarten.

For that naturally spontaneous parent who struggles meeting the needs of their routine-thriving child, sitting in on a few class sessions may spark some ideas on how to better build routines at home.

Is preschool necessary?

In short, preschool in a formal sense is not necessary when there is high parent involvement and opportunities for exploration. Preschool, in a formal sense, has been cited as very beneficial for working families that have less time available for providing exploration on their own, and can help stay-at-home-parents with forming routines.

Instead of jumping to a formal preschool, find resources that help you brainstorm how to build learning into every day life. To get you started, here are some of my favorites:

  • Before Five in a Row
  • Nature Study for Preschool
  • Open the Door, Let’s Explore

What other preschool resources do you like to use?

{Read Other Posts at Real Life at Home by Shannen}

Other Posts You Might Enjoy:

homeschool-preschool

Preschoolers are capable of doing a lot to help around the house! Here are 20 chores they should be doing regularly.

Working with a Reluctant Preschooler - www.RealLifeAtHome.com

Join 35,000+ Other Awesome People

Subscribe to the Real Life at Home weekly newsletter to get our latest content, exclusive free printables, learning activities, and ideas for celebrating with your kids all year

Success! Now check your email to confirm your subscription. P.S. It's important that you confirm or you won't receive any more emails with free printables, fun tips, and other helps to make your life just a tiny bit easier.

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

Powered by ConvertKit
370 shares
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter

Filed Under: Preschool, School

About Shannen Espelien

Shannen homeschools her teen daughter, focusing on earning college credit while in high school, and is getting ready to start the homeschool cycle again with three little ones. You can find her blogging about how they homeschool high school, preschool, and everything that goes along with it, plus meet up with her on Pinterest, Twitter, and Facebook.

Previous Post: « Saint Francis of Assisi Crossword Puzzle Free Printable
Next Post: Apple Crafts for Kids »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Claire says

    September 24, 2015 at 2:04 pm

    Several years ago, I wrote an article with a similar title for Catholic Mothers Online. I am a highly involved parent and my son’s childhood has provided many opportunities for exploration. However, I felt that preschool (a very part-time, play-based preschool) was necessary for my son for a variety of reasons. I would never make a blanket statement that preschool is necessary for everyone, and I would never make a blanket statement that it is unnecessary. A good preschool can be beneficial in many ways, depending on the needs of the individual child.

    Reply
  2. Jane Hawk says

    July 24, 2021 at 6:11 am

    I agree with the commenter above that preschool is optional. Some kids need it, and some can get all the same opportunities to explore and learn at home, without curriculums or plans.
    Since we were working parents, the kid went to preschool and it gave him a lot of benefits. But even without preschool parents can organize a lot of activities in play forms which will also be useful for the child’s development.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Meet Angie

Angie, mom to three very fun kids, is the founder of Real Life at Home.  With degrees in elementary education (B.A.) and special education (M.S.Ed.), as well as being a former homeschooler, she is passionate about supporting both parents and teachers by providing printables, crafts, and activities to help children learn and grow. Read More…

Search

Connect with Real Life at Home

  • Bloglovin
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Footer

  • Home
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclosure Policy
  • Cookies Policy
  • Terms of Use and Conditions
  • Disclaimers

Amazon Affiliate Statement

Real Life at Home is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com

Categories

© 2006 - 2021 Real Life at Home / Tiny Owl LLC. All Rights Reserved. | Built using the Genesis Framework and hosted on WPEngine.