What kind of preschool program would be best for my gifted child?
I don't think preschools are necessarily a good match for our kids, because I don't think we
get the value for the money that other parents do. I understand wanting to send a child for
socialization, but you will probably not be able to find one that will really challenge your
child the way you might like. If you still want preschool, first check to see if a 2-year-old
turning 3 in Nov. is considered a 2-year-old, a 2 1/2, or a 3-year-old. I wouldn't put your
daughter in a 2-year-old class because most two-year-old still play "side-by-side,"
and basically your daughter would have no one to interact with. The optimal situation would
be a combined age class with your daughter at the younger end. Another thing I would mention
is not to get too caught up in teacher certification, licensing, training, accreditation, etc.
Of course you want your child in a safe place with someone competent watching over her, but
I have found that my daughter's best teachers had no training, etc. at all. I suppose since
they don't really know what is "age-appropriate" (I HATE that term), they expect more
and in my opinion at least, usually get it. Also, in preschools price and quality do not
necessarily go hand in hand. Sometimes the best preschools can be found in church basements.
Posted by pkuu, 2-2-2001
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What I suggest is just to find a place where the kids seem happy and where social development
is emphasized rather than academics. If your daughter is already ahead of most peers in terms
of academics, then she'd probably benefit most from the social development which (in my humble
opinion) is what preschool should be about anyhow. In that type of environment, she'll learn
how to deal with children who don't communicate as well as she does and also those children
will probably "catch up" more quickly in terms of social skills. They do work
on academic skills more now (in the second year), and it's still mostly old hat for Maud, but
since that material is handled in very fun and creative ways, she doesn't get bored even though
it's long familiar skill-wise. Her skills have also still progressed well, b/c most of that
learning is at home or by osmosis anyhow.
Posted by Maudsmom, 2-2-2001
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We do a child-led homeschooling (i.e. unschooling)... It sure is flexible and responsive to the
child's needs. The only drawback I can see is that it sometimes requires a lot of trust. My
daughter, for instance, didn't touch any formal math for ten months last year. I was having
occasional worries about this but kept my mouth shut and just kept giving her opportunities
to see math in action in the real world. And then she finally pulled out some math workbooks
and in the space of 2 weeks finished the equivalent of about a year and a half's schoolwork
in math.
Posted by Ensmom3, 9-15-2000
Our daughter attends a Montessori school. The Montessori philosophy seems to be one that works well with gifted children. Children are grouped in classes ranging over a 3 year age span. So a 3 year old has access to the same materials that a 6 year old does. Also, the Montessori philosophy allows children to have freedom to explore, and encourages children to work independently. This has been perfect for our daughter. She has done work along with the kindergartners, and then often goes off on her own to do her passion, drawing. All Montessori schools are not alike, however. It is best to visit each individual school to get a feel for whether or not it would be right for your child. For more information about Montessori schools, see http://www.amshq.org/ Comments by melody_mom, 1-6-2003