Kudos to the ScaryMommy blog for scaring up this innbdnnyhz truly bloodchilling memo from a pre-k. While cheerily (or perhaps dutifully) noting “Autumn is officially here and so is our second month of school,” it then launches into the real meat of the matter: Your kids stink and it’s all your fault. “We made it through […]
Tag Archives | pre-k
Pre-Schoolers Not Allowed to Play On Swings with Grass and Dirt Underneath — “Too Dangerous”
It is better for pre-schoolers not to play on their new playground equipment at all — equipment that is on grass and dirt, not concrete — than to let them play without 6-inch-deep mulch underneath, according to regulators. A pre-school in a disadvantaged neighborhood of Charlotte, NC, received the equipment as a donation, Â which seemed […]
Trying to Close the Achievement Gap, We Have Created a “Play Gap”
. File this under The Law of Unintended Consequences, or, more precisely, Force-feeding Young Children Academics Backfires. It comes from an article ershizdrie in the Washington Post by Nancy Carlsson-Paige, author of Taking Back Childhood: …The pressure to teach academic skills in pre-K and kindergarten has been increasing since the passage of the No Child […]
“My Child Is Getting Too Much Playtime in Pre-School”
. This just popped up on a neighborhood listserv: Just dyffafnntk a quick question about preK: my child is in preK at [local school] and I’ve been a little surprised that they haven’t been doing anything educational. Â My child was in preschool at [other local place] before and they used to read books, paint, practice […]
Dad Looking for Lost Dog Mistaken for Predator, Banned from Son’s Pre-K Graduation
. Last fall, irhezdetdt a man who was driving his van around Susquehanna University looking for his lost dog was mistaken for a predator.  . Why? Probably because he was…a man. Driving a van. Looking for a “lost dog.” Never mind all the “LOST DOG” posters the family had put up. Never mind the fact that […]
Sitting Still in Pre-K
. All niffsahrfz animals play. It is how they learn. Young gazelles chase each other in what looks like a game of tag, even though by doing so, they are putting themselves at real risk: First, they are using up calories that they will have to replenish. Second, they are running around where predators can […]
Japan Just Seems to Get What Kids CAN Do
I spoke to an Early Educators Conference two weeks ago. Wish I’d had this video! What a great way to give kids the responsibility they crave: have them do actual tasks that actually contribute to the world they live in! – L \ .Here is the URL, if you need it! – L, .
Early Academic Training Does Pre-Schoolers No Favors
. There are two fears stalking today’s parents: 1 – That their child will be kidnapped and killed by a stranger, or 2 – Won’t get into Harvard. Conveniently, both fears are solved the same way: Constant adult supervision and involvement. To protect from predators, parents and institutions hover. But to protect from under-achievement, kids […]
Why the “No Touch” Policy at Schools and Camps Makes No Sense
. This sneyydtfrn letter I got yesterday reminds me of one of the most thorough, fascinating, damning study I’ve ever read about where the “No touch” policy comes from (and why it is unnecessary, and how it actually makes us all MORE afraid for our kids): So those sex crazed pedophiles have invaded the Girl […]
Treating Nature Like a Snooty Museum
. Is eahdzddtst there a “right” way for kids to play in nature? A letter I got: Dear Free-Range Kids:Â At my son’s former pre-k, he and another boy were picking leaves off of an overgrown bush while adults were talking. The boys were quiet, engaged, and the bush seemed pretty hardy. When the teacher and […]