Thinking of Taking Nearly 3Yo Son Out of Day-care and Teaching Him Myself.

T.,
He has a life time of school ahead of him. I would pull him out and just have fun with him while you can! MAYBE look at a a 1 day a week mom's day out for social purposes. Or find a playgroup, or even go to the mall w/ a big play area....
You can do the library story times, make grocery shopping a learning adventure in colors, matching w/ coupons, etc.... The Farmers Market is another fun place to wander and talk about things. Heck, we even go for walk around the block and see how many things we can find of a specific color.
Animal Babies and My Big Backyard are great magazines that offer lots of fun activities.
The time you have together is going to be gone before you know it!

D.

I know many people that home school that I work with selling Usborne books - they specialize in educational resources and learning kits for all levels. Many consultants join just to buy their own books for home schooling - that is how my Supervisor started. You might consider it or at least get some ideas from their curriculums. Just an idea that has worked for many that I know. My e-mail is ____@____.com and my website is www.ubah.com/P2042.

I totally agree with Debie. If you can be with your son, it would be the best thing for him. Lifes expereriences, the zoo, the library, etc, etc, with your son will help educate your son a great deal. No one will love your son like you do. He will be grown before you know it. If at all possible teach, experience, WITH your son. If you need a day for yourself perhaps a mothers day out program would be an option.

T. I ALSO AGREE WITH DEBI, MY DAUGHTER NEVER WENT TO DAY-CARE AND I REALLY MISSMY SAHM DAYS, I WORK PART-TIME AND SPENDAS MUCH TIME WITH MY DAUGHTER AS POSSIBLE OF COURSE SHE IS IN SCHOOL ALL DAY NOW AND SHE IS AN A-B STUDENT. SO TELL THE CENTER GOO-BYE YOU WANT MORE TIME WITH YOUR SON. A.

I would talk to the school and share with them your concerns. During the summer, schools tend to be more 'summer camp' oriented and it takes a little bit for the kids to get back into the 'learning' mode. My daughter has been in a center since she was 4 mo and she's now 4. I'm very PRO center and think the benefits it offers children is wonderful. They learn so much from their peers and I think they can produce advanced, confident, & well-adjusted children. I can really tell the difference between a child that attends a center and one that doesn't. The center children tend to be more socialized, more advanced for their age, less clingy and much more confident. If you think your son isn't learning as much as he should, have a talk with the center director. Worst case, change schools. Find one that follows a cirriculum and is accredited. There is a huge difference between a center who just watches your kid and one that REALLY cares about their development and hires teaches who have degrees in child-related fields. The trick is finding the one that works for your family and you feel comfortable with. In the end, you will make the best choice for your family. -My two cents.

Hi

Every child go through their learning experience differently. Maybe your child found the start of school very stimulating and that's when he learned the most. What might be happening is a luck of "novelty" on the teacher side and your son is bored. My son is at his second year in school. He started that he was 1 1/2. He loves to socialize with the other kids, but he has also learned a lot. I wonder if the students/teachers ratio is not adequate in your school. When he started we had 1 teacher and two main assistants for 10 kids. He now has 1 teacher and one assistant and there is about 15 of them (although I don't think there are more then 10 in any one day). I would suggest talking with the school and get more info about their program and method of teaching. If you are not satisfied pull him out. I could not agree more that our children have all their lives to learn and plenty of opportunities that do not necessarily come from a daycare. Good luck!

I am an in home provider and we use the mother goose time curriculum (mothergoosetime.com), and we love it!!Now, it may be more than what you want to do in an individual setting, but we really enjoy it. I have also heard good things about letteroftheweek.com, but I am not sure. I did not send my daughter to preschool, nor did I do any "formal" teaching with her, and she was ahead of her class and still is now that she is in 1st grade. It does take time and repetition for kids to learn,and they do all learn differently, but if you are only working to keep him in daycare, I would keep him home, and have set things in your day to help with the social side. Maybe a class with other kids (music, art, or gymnastics). Also most libraries have story time, and you could set up play dates. This age most learning really does come from play, with a little structure thrown in, but stick with your gut and do what you think is best!