My brain is just whirling thinking about preschool again. Since I calculated the cost of keeping the boys home this year instead of sending them to preschool, I've been alternately regretful and thrilled with our decision. On the good days, I love it - the joy, discovery, imagination, and affection. On the other days, I regret it - the pooping, fighting, whining, hitting, and demanding. A conversation I had with a gymnastics mom this morning (gymnastics is Fridays now, and I met a mom I had ECFE class with last spring), has got me thinking about preschool for next year, despite it being October now. Why? She said preschool sign ups start in February. Say WHAT? (If that's the case, then I suppose my decision to keep them home was made for me long before I made it.)
Which also got me to thinking....I didn't go to preschool. None of my three younger siblings went to preschool. However, all four of us graduated high school...I graduated with honors. Each in our own time graduated from college...hey, I graduated with honors, there, too! Yet I did not attend pre-school.
So why do I feel so much pressure to send them away? Sure, they make me batty some days and that's when I really would like a couple of hours' break from being a full time three year old twin boys mom plus a baby, but is that a good reason to spend thousands and THOUSANDS of dollars on preschool? (I am not exaggerating here like I am known to do. It really would cost multiple thousands of dollars each year to send them both.) Almost all of my friends with 3 year olds are in preschool, including some of the boys' ECFE classmates - they go to ECFE on the days they don't have preschool.
But don't I have a DEGREE in education? Secondary ed, yes, but education all the same. Couldn't I teach my kids how to read for free instead? I majored in Language Arts for crying out loud.
So I did a wee bit of research today, and by that I mean, googled on the ipad. Not gonna lie. I found a website listing the things kids need to know before entering kindergarten at http://www.successful-homeschooling.com/homeschool-preschool.html. Okay, it's a mom blog, and she doesn't credit this page to anyone, so one could argue that it's her opinion, but even so, it's common sense.
I won't bore you with re-writing all of her points, but I was very happy to see that both boys meet all of the reading and math skills she lists, and some of the writing, gross motor skills, and social skills she lists. The ones we missed were things like "cut and paste,"(I'll be honest, I avoid overtly messy projects. Just being alive with them is messy enough) "walk backwards" (which they may be able to do, I just need to ask, it's not like I do a lot of walking backwards around here) and "managing buttons and zippers," all things we are working on or easily can work on in the future. I mean, I have two full years...surely we can manage zippers and walking backward in that time?
But googling "homeschool preschool" automatically brings up a million and one homeschooling sites and I'm not even considering homeschooling for real, beyond preschool. I'm just thinking, perhaps we should save that (imaginary) money for college, which I cannot teach them, and spend more quality time with them while I can, teaching them what I DO know.
And I know my colors, numbers, and letters pretty darn well.
I guess I have till February to decide. No pressure.
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