It is that time of life when one begins to start thinking of playschools for their kids. Neither I nor my hubby or siblings have been to play school. The concept at that time was very rudimentary. We hit kindergarten straight. And we haven’t turned out badly at all.
Having said this, I am not closed to the concept of play school for my kids. MM spoke at length on this sometime ago I will do my research well and probably rely on Art Navy to come up with her list from where I will shortlist! And I have a responsibility too. My friend AD is waiting for my shortlist to refer to. So the cycle continues. While each of us may select something totally different, we will always like to share our thoughts and inferences with other mothers.
Ojas & Tejas are 19 months plus now. A part of me says it is time they start going to a play school for a few hours.
Having said this, I am not closed to the concept of play school for my kids. MM spoke at length on this sometime ago I will do my research well and probably rely on Art Navy to come up with her list from where I will shortlist! And I have a responsibility too. My friend AD is waiting for my shortlist to refer to. So the cycle continues. While each of us may select something totally different, we will always like to share our thoughts and inferences with other mothers.
Ojas & Tejas are 19 months plus now. A part of me says it is time they start going to a play school for a few hours.
Observations that support the view-
1. They love to interact with other kids but they are much older to them and hence the interaction is more led by the kids – they say something and the boys laugh or repeat or react. The interaction is not on equal platform
2. They enjoy playing with each other and plan games too
1. They love to interact with other kids but they are much older to them and hence the interaction is more led by the kids – they say something and the boys laugh or repeat or react. The interaction is not on equal platform
2. They enjoy playing with each other and plan games too
3. They behaved atrociously with a guest of their age- snatched the toy she was playing with- time they learnt to give and take
4. The jealousy demon hits them when they see me with any other kid- a far flung thought -may be once they start getting used to children of their age, they will be able to understand that no matter how many kids are there in this world, I will always be their Mamma and love them most
And the observations against-
1. When I see them sleeping peacefully till 9-9.30 in the morning, I hate to think that if they have to do a play school they need to wake up early as it takes atleast 1-1.5 hours for them to eat their breakfast, do their big job and then bath. Normally they intersperse their morning time with a lot of play and sleep after bath. I really do not have the heart to disturb this easy life of theirs.
2. They have to work hard for the rest of their life. I want them to enjoy this carefree life. I never bothered when they didn’t start teething/ walking/ crawling/ talking on the milestone defined time. They did their milestones a little later than usual. I always said- whole life they have to talk/ walk/ work hard…why this rush…
3. We never bothered about routine and fixing sleep/wake-up / meal time initially. After a point we realized that from their health point of view and also the caregiver’s point of view, it is important that they get plenty of good sleep and also eat on time. But I don’t want to make things regimental so soon for them- the school, being on time, the works.
Having said this, I still am more pro-pre school.
The school which I finally select should meet the following requirements-
1. Comfortable timing- and not too long a duration- My MIL should get sufficient time to get them ready on time. Can’t be too early because we parents really don’t have the time in the morning.
2. Outlook- creativity, learning through fun, non-academic, singing, dancing
3. Right Brain activities- clay modeling, building blocks, story telling, drawing, painting, music instruments, puzzles
4. Getting Dirty (in clean mud/ sand)- playing in the sand, gardening,
5. Interactive Teaching - Skit, puppetry, picture books, models
4. The jealousy demon hits them when they see me with any other kid- a far flung thought -may be once they start getting used to children of their age, they will be able to understand that no matter how many kids are there in this world, I will always be their Mamma and love them most
And the observations against-
1. When I see them sleeping peacefully till 9-9.30 in the morning, I hate to think that if they have to do a play school they need to wake up early as it takes atleast 1-1.5 hours for them to eat their breakfast, do their big job and then bath. Normally they intersperse their morning time with a lot of play and sleep after bath. I really do not have the heart to disturb this easy life of theirs.
2. They have to work hard for the rest of their life. I want them to enjoy this carefree life. I never bothered when they didn’t start teething/ walking/ crawling/ talking on the milestone defined time. They did their milestones a little later than usual. I always said- whole life they have to talk/ walk/ work hard…why this rush…
3. We never bothered about routine and fixing sleep/wake-up / meal time initially. After a point we realized that from their health point of view and also the caregiver’s point of view, it is important that they get plenty of good sleep and also eat on time. But I don’t want to make things regimental so soon for them- the school, being on time, the works.
Having said this, I still am more pro-pre school.
The school which I finally select should meet the following requirements-
1. Comfortable timing- and not too long a duration- My MIL should get sufficient time to get them ready on time. Can’t be too early because we parents really don’t have the time in the morning.
2. Outlook- creativity, learning through fun, non-academic, singing, dancing
3. Right Brain activities- clay modeling, building blocks, story telling, drawing, painting, music instruments, puzzles
4. Getting Dirty (in clean mud/ sand)- playing in the sand, gardening,
5. Interactive Teaching - Skit, puppetry, picture books, models
6. "Live Demo"- Great if there could be pets - children love animals and what better way to understand animals (rather than usborne touch & feel books)
Watch this space for updates on the schools I visited- when I do it
10 comments:
been there, done that. We took Sonny boy along to check out the schools. Finally we settled on one that he liked and we liked- clean, bright, airy rooms,enough toys adn work materials, and a green, green garden. Both of us plonked for the last one!
I don't know but somehow I never thought about the negatives with sending a child to playschool. I sent my son when he just turned 2. And he enjoyd it to the hilt! And we could see major changes in personaltiy because of the playschool. Postive changes that is.
Where do you stay?
check the timings and send them to a play school for an hour or two. You would be able to notice the changes in their personality and it would be a blessing when you send them to the kindergarten. Mine went, for a hour and half when she was 25 months and she enjoyed it.
Hey they're only 19 months and they have each other to play with too. You could look around and start doing the tours but surely, you could wait until 2 years na?
Playschools bring with them a host of germs, I'm sure you don't want to deal with two sick children?
That's my take:) I also feel the same way about their freedom.
itchy........ ( hear a shout? ) itchy dear........plssssssssssssss .......helpppppppp....Even I wanna change the header the grey one we both had is sulking.....lemme know hoooooooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwwww
BTW this looks good
thank you sooooooo much
well i go with the againsts... they have each other and if i had two i would keep them home till at least 2.5. as you said, none of us went to playschool and we all turned out alright. they will learn to play with other kids when the time is right. and yeah.. the germs.. and i dont mean anything like a tummy or colg bug. i mean typhoid, chickenpox.. the whole lot. most other motehrs are not particular to keep the child home to prevent germs from spreading.
you know I have gone thru this entire list about a million times... and there is a play school in my back yard literally...but somehow I just cant get yself to send sonny to school for 5 hours everyday - 5 days a week...I just am not able to get myself to do it....so I make excuses for not sending him...the latest is - he doesnt talk yet...so I'll wait till he does...
Right. Whether or not you send your kids to playschool is a purely upto you and the kids' father. I know of mums who leave their 6-month olds at nursery. And that's fine too. And all those who choose to keep their kids at home until they're five, that's their decision. But what really bugs me in matters such as this, is the sense of one-upmanship. This holier-than-thou attitude. Look at me, aren't I a wonderful mother because I give them ALL my time and attention? Aren't they just cruel to leave a 6-month old in the care of strangers?-kind of subtext. I've read a few blog posts which go to lengths about what wonderful mothers they are because they stay at home. What they seem to forget is that individual circumstances decide such choices. And it really is upto the parents. There are plus-es and minus-es in both cases. Personally, I found that I was better mum when I sent my son to a childminder (if only for a few hours a day) and he's been going to nursery ever since he turned 2. He is far more disciplined, his language skills improved and my mind words much better when I'm doing my own work. Anyway, it's been a long rant of a comment. Whichever way you decide, good luck. And I hope you're happy with it.
I was a single working mom until my daughter was three so we were no strangers to day care. She was 9 months old when she entered day care and as long as you choose wisely the boys should be fine. Yes, they tend to get exposed to more germs, but they have to build up an immunity to every day germs. Most serious illnesses you can vaccinate for including chickenpox (mandatory in US). Frankly though the cleanliness of the facility keeps illnesses at bay.
Your boys might benefit being in playschool for 3-4 hours a day so they have different things to be stimulated by and other children to play with. I would suggest that if there are two classes/groups that you split the boys up which is a common tactic for multiples as it helps them develop social skills independent of their twin.
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