Saturday, April 25, 2009

Saturday with Boo-- Off to School?

So Boo wants to go to preschool. Because she's a preschooler. (Duh, Mom.)

Socially, yeah, it would probably be a good thing. Academically... well, if she's not being challenged, I'm not sure it's worth it. Does anyone have any idea what Challenger School costs? I'm scared to even look.

Anyway.

So, even though I'm not a big fan of homeschooling... this is where I find myself. Add in to that the fact that she's got a late birthday and is going to be one of those hyper bored kids... I don't even want to think about that poor teacher. Really, I don't.

What was I saying? Oh, right, preschool. Homeschooling.

Yesterday she asked me to teach her something. That's more or less how she put it. Well, Mommy had 600 bazillion things to get done because it's going to be a very busy weekend.

"Why don't you practice writing your name? That's a very important thing."

"But I know how to spell my name."

"Well, yes, but it's good to practice. Practice your handwriting."

"I used to know how to write 'A's."

"You know how to write 'A's. You know what they look like."

"Yeah, 'cause they're like mountains. They're like triangles and I'm good at triangles."

*Note there is NOT A SINGLE "A" in her name.

"That's right. Just like a triangle."

So, what did she do? Her magnet board princess playset, of course.

Honestly, what was I thinking?

Oh well, maybe it'd go better if Mommy weren't running around like a chicken with her head cut off. We'll try again next week.

7 comments:

  1. That is one thing my son needs to work on - learning to write his letters. He always wants me to do it, and won't give it a try by himself. He still has another year before Kindergarten, so I suppose he still has time to practice.

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  2. I keep thinking I want to organize a preschool co-op thing with up to 10 other local moms, where 2 or 3 times a week, half the moms stay with the kids, alternating houses, for like maybe 4 hours of singing, learning, playing, snacking, while the other moms get a break, then you switch. But then there's the people who never want to take their turn, plus there has to be a master organizer and plan B's ... I keep going back and forth as to whether it's worth it.

    I certainly DO NOT think intelligent women should pay someone else to teach their children the basics of reading, writing, math, and manners. But it would be nice to share the workload some days ... perhaps I should just BE a preschool teacher. hmm hmm hmm ... thoughts.

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  3. Amy- Totally the way Boo is. She could if she tried, but she gets so frustrated.
    Honestly, though, I worked at Sylvan for quite a while and he's got plenty of time. What they have to know to test at a kindergarten level really isn't that much.

    Mrs. B Roth- Yeah, I've talked to moms about that a bit... then I moved. Which kinda screwed that up. 'Cause I was totally going to do some sort of swap like that with Cari from Bookscoops. But that's too far to drive that often.
    I've also thought about teaching, not preschool really, but doing like 3 week summer camps on the alphabet, early reading skills, etc.
    My problem is Boo would really benefit from the group setting and learning to listen and follow instructions... and a teacher is totally different from mommy, you know?

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  4. I don't know, my cousing's learned quite a bit in preschool. They teach them to read now, instead of waiting for kindergarten. They also offered introductory Spanish.

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  5. Hmm. Maybe it depends on what program you find.

    This week is crazy crazy, but maybe we can start doing something next week... see how it goes!

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  6. Yep, you just had to have more space and move away didn't you. Just kidding, I know why you moved two active kids in small space is not a good thing for mom's sanity.

    Sorry I don't remember how much challenger is, but you might look into Head Start, they might even teach reading as part of it. Pre-school programs vary greatly to some that teach reading to others that don't - it depends.

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  7. Yeah, I don't know there was just something about spending all my time with 2 kids in... what? 700 square feet?

    I'm starting to think I might spend this next "school year" having Boo "assist" in teaching Mister letters and numbers. :D

    That's good motivation, right?

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