When my second daughter was born, we decided it would be a good time to transition our oldest (who turned 3 just after her sister arrived) to preschool. We found a wonderful program that offers before- and after-care included in their tuition.
While they have operational hours of a daycare (6:00a-6:00p), they were quick to make it clear to us that they are not a daycare, but an educational institution and from the hours of 8:00am-4:00pm, the children would be learning.
For some parents, the thought of thrusting your 3 year old into the rigid daily routine of school, at such a young age, seems a little harsh. However, when we learned what their schedule would entail, it began to give us the hope that this extra bit of structure may actually help our daughter flourish. Her particular school operates year-round for preschool aged children through the second grade. As it has rolling admission for 3 year olds to enter the program, her “first day of school” was our choice and we had to prepare for it in special ways.
For preschoolers, the schedule-and routine of that schedule- is a big part of their total learning experience. Prior to the first day, my husband and I worked backwards from a typical workday for ourselves to decide when we would need to have for school each morning. After that was decided, we could assign a bedtime that would allow her to get enough sleep each day. For our schedules, our goal is to get her in bed between 8-8:30pm.
The structure of her day at school allows us to create a more streamlined schedule at home because her expectation level is already set. She has a daily list of tasks to accomplish before school and before bed each day. If she completes these tasks, she is awarded a sticker for the morning and a sticker for the evening. If she gets at least 8 stickers in a week (or if her inability to complete the tasks are not her fault that day), she gets a reward.
Those tasks (and rewards) would vary by child-but she loves accomplishing her goals and seeing a reward at the end. For her age, her morning tasks include: brushing teeth, putting on clothes/socks, finding her shoes, eating her breakfast. Her evening list includes: brushing her teeth, washing her face or bathing, going to the bathroom, picking out a story to read and picking up her toys in her room.
She doesn’t have homework yet, but we take the time during dinner, or just after dinner to ask about her day and what she learned; this helps develop memory and recall. With most 3- or 4- year olds, you’ll get some really creative answers! Her typical day involves stories, coloring, tracing/outlining numbers and letters, formal exercise, Spanish and Computer games. We know this because of the daily reports we get from the classroom – which include a behavior report that we can help guide her by.
For instance, my daughter is very (read: excessively) talkative. This lets us know when she’s had a more active day and may need some quiet time at home, or a gentle reminder that listening may sometimes be better than talking. Our favorite days are the ones where they have fire drills (every other month) because our evening is filled with her mapping out our “disaster plan” should there be a fire. For the curious, we have to go to our neighbors’ house and call the fireman at 9-1-1.
At the end of the day, the key is results. In 6 months, she has developed in ways we didn’t see coming. While she would use a crayon to scribble on some paper before, she’ll now color purposefully inside the lines choosing color either by creative choice or by her understanding of the reality (i.e. a green turtle or a purple dinosaur). She draws her family; sure, we all look likes potatoes with sticks for arms/legs- but it is thoughtful and creative. Last night, she drew her first picture of herself outside of her house. These moments pass too fast but with some guidance and structure, we can give our children their wings to fly and set them up for a successful future in school.
A typical schedule for our preschooler, at a glance:
6:15 She is woken up and helped getting dressed
6:30 She’s eating breakfast and watching a show of her choice—This helps her wake up slowly and keeps her focused while we finish getting ourselves (and our 8 month old) ready for the day.
6:45 Shoes on and off to school.
7:00 Arrive at school and group play until school starts. If we’ve had a late start, she does have the option to eat breakfast at school until 8am. For just a few dollars, this is completely worth it on some days if she’s had a wakeful night.
8am Physical Education
8:30am Music
9am Story of the Day
9:30am Snack
10am Phonics
10:30am Math; numbers, mathematical thinking
11am -12 noon Lunch
12 noon – 2pm Siesta
2pm
Puzzles, Games, Finger Plays, SM Motor
2:30pm Snack
3 – 4pm Independent Activities; creative play
4pm Group Activities until pick-up
5:00-5:15pm Picked Up
This is a guest post by Emily Myers. Emily resides in a historic neighborhood in Indianapolis, IN and spends her days as a Marketing Communications Manager and mother of 2 beautiful girls. She loves her geek of a husband and enjoys running and traveling.
