Is This A New Trend?

[childcaremom]

Last year I had a boy in my care who was older 3 (turned 4 in February) Mom told me he could read, knew all his numbers, etc which he did...BUUUT, he didn't make eye contact, engage in cooperative peer play, have age appropriate self help skills (he was asked to slip on shoes and would spin in circles on the floor crying) He was more work than an of the other kids his age in my care.
So um yeah, that's great he can read...
In fact most of the kids I've had in care who were "academically advanced" had significant issues in other areas. Rarely have I witnessed the total "genius" package ::

This has been my experience, as well.

I don't get a lot of parents like that here, personally. But I have noticed that more and more in home daycares (locally) are offering preschool-type programming, heavy on academics. Their pictures show their spaces looking like small school rooms. Not where I would send my child but I'm used to being different.

[daycare]

I think that it starting to become more of what parents are being sold.

here in california we have a program called first 5. I believe that they are the largest agency that provide resources to children from zero to 5. Most of the catering from this agency is for low income children.

Well this agency advertises EVERY WHERE. in these ads, they say a child learns the most from zero to age 3, so get your child learning, teach your child, do this, do that and etc.

I participate with this agency and i don't practice a lot of what they have set for their curriculum, but I would honestly say that it is an amazing organization over all.

I honestly can tell you that when i have a child come in at 18 months and stay with me for a least two years, I have those children reading. the earlier they get subjected to a learning environment, the earlier they pick it up. They are building good habits.

the older the child is when they come in 3 and up, I have a much harder time getting them to break old habits and grasp the idea of learning.

I don't agree with doing ditto sheets or anything of that nature. learning is fun and if it's not fun for the kids, then they are will not learning.

[CalCare]

It's different for different groups of people. My son is in a kind of hippie charter school in second grade. Most of the families from that group place higher value on having their child in nature, on the farm, camping and hiking. There are a couple of outdoor only preschool programs here. Parent pay big bucks to drop their kids off at parks with the teachers. No facility at all. So you can imagine how many flash cards they have. On the other end of the spectrum, in the same town, we have parents coming in to tour at the center (I no longer work there) where they asked about kindergarten prep, etc (and you better believe those parents had plenty of ideas, plans and resources lined up to provide teachers!).

This is why I never understand why providers get worked up about a 'curriculum'. A curriculum really just means you wrote down a plan. The plan can say the area of development intended (ex: large motor), what materials you'll use (ex: obstacle course), what goals you have for the children and perhaps a little info about what happened. So if parents say they want to know what the toddler curriculum is, you tell them. It's developing social, large motor etc by experiencing daily care and exploring materials, etc...

I know in this case you are saying they actually asked about flashcards. But I do see providers getting concerned about the word 'curriculum'. I think it's just a more organized and easier way to communicate what it is providers are doing with the children. Because you know the child is learning important skills, but the parents don't know. They dont see commercials for social skills and creativity and the progression of fine motor and the advantage kids have for the rest of their school careers from knowing how to communicate better with peers. They see commercials for ABC Mouse. They think oh, ABC Mouse does all this for 99¢ / month, I'm paying the care place $500/ week, the care place should be doing at least this much.

So in the situation when a parent (who truly doesn't know what's necessary for their child's optimal development) asks do you teach the infants and toddlers numbers and letters, I would tell them about the sort of activities they do, what they learn from them and that lessons on letters and numbers are not developmentally appropriate or useful and are in fact detrimental to an infant and toddler curriculum... I think parents don't really think people who work with children know what they are talking about. In their eyes, we are doing the babysitting job that they did when they were 12 years old and they know what level their understanding of child development was at that time. So, they think that's us. The only way to show them we know what we are talking about (and that what we are doing is correct and best for the kids) is to give them clear, factual information from reputable sources. Show them articles from the NAEYC about how children develop. Show them reports and studies from the psych community about the importance of play. Then ask them who is saying ABC Mouse is good for kids? The people who get paid for ABC Mouse- that's all. No one else. Why haven't any doctors, psychologists, or child development professionals said ABCs and 123s are important, good or healthy or best for young children? Because it isn't true. Why would any of those groups deny the benefits of flash cards if any benefit existed? It's not like its something we couldn't easily do, if it was proven to be a positive for kids. Anyone can put letters on a piece of paper and hold it up. But who here knows how to teach 2 two year olds how to resolve a conflict without a forced apology and a time out- I'm talking conflict resolution and teaching those toddlers how to work things out together. Some know how to, some don't. What about how to place the right materials in the right way to interest and intrigue toddlers to handle and experiment with the materials and learn its properties and how to predict the way materials will react or behave under different circumstances? How about how to take one step at a time, holding the rail on the patio because if they learn that first instead of just holding an adult's hand or having no stairs at all, they will develop a better spacial awareness and muscle control and will be forever physically changed by that development. Those are the things parents should be hoping to see in an infant toddler curriculum.

[BabyMonkeys]

I have two 21m boys and a 15m boy. We do art a couple of times a week, but it is basically just giving them finger paints and letting them create their own masterpiece. One of the 21m boys loves it and picks and chooses colors and thinks about every stroke. The other 21m has no interest whatsoever and the little one makes a horrible mess, but has fun.

We read lots of books, sing songs, felt board stories, finger puppets, etc. We talk about what we are doing all day. The older boys know red, green and purple, the baby thinks everything is purple.

They all will count 1, 2, 3, but they don't associate that with counting items yet. They learned that one because I would let them jump off a diaper box into a pile of pillows when we were stuck in the house one day and they were crazy.

We have an ABC book, and we sing while I point to each letter. They will all try to say ABC, but they don't associate it with a particular letter yet.

I don't use a curriculum, I tell the parents that we are purposefully playing. They are exposed to the concept, even though they aren't quite ready to learn it yet. I think early exposure without pressure is great. Maybe the parents interviewing just want to make sure that their baby has exposure?

[littletots]

Recently lost two dck two families because at 2yr well check Ped told dcp child needed certain amount of words. Both dcp freaked and put dck in 2yr preschool (primrose & Goddard).

[Ariana]

Recently lost two dck two families because at 2yr well check Ped told dcp child needed certain amount of words. Both dcp freaked and put dck in 2yr preschool (primrose & Goddard).

The thing is, they learn most from their parents talking to them not Primrose and Goddard!

I have a website where I state that I am play based and I site a bunch of Educational resources that I have known about since I graduated college 10 years ago. I also flat out say that I do not do themes or circle time. My main focus is on emergent curriculum which means we learn what the kids are interested in. We never sit and I never teach. It goes against everything I stand for as an ECE. One thing that people comment to me on about my own kids is how imaginative they are. I think it's because I let them be kids. Most kids I see nowadays look depressed and have no imaginative skills. That's what I end up working on in my daycare!!

[Ariana]

Great article!

It's also a known fact that there is NO evidence that early childhood education has any long term benefits beyond 3rd grade. Other than for kids who were already behind.

Yes and if I remember correctly the only thing that made a difference in the first place was HIGH QUALITY early education which roughly translated meant educated professional and low turnover rates.

[Play Care]

I definitely do a certain amount of "presentation" teaching for the parents.

What I do for the kids:
Purposeful free play options and invitations to play.
Rotating Sensory tubs
Daily story time and singing songs
Art available always
Healthy meals
Lots of reading time (being available when they are interested)

What I do for the parents:
Document my awesomeness with pictures of the great play their kids engage in
weekly "pinterest" like crafts for their fridge
10-15 min a day of "preschool" with 3-5 year olds with tracing practice, letter project, counting/sorting etc. type project to send home (or pics of it to them)


I don't do anything that I believe has ZERO value, but my program is a product I have to sell so I do a little that I think is a little less beneficial than the rest, but allows me to charge more

This is my program as well, and to be honest I don't think it's over the top or inappropriate for the ages of kids in my care.

I do balk at the idea of having to use a formal curriculum (i.e. mother goose, fun shine, etc) or have kids sitting for long periods for formal learning activity.

[nanglgrl]

This is my program as well, and to be honest I don't think it's over the top or inappropriate for the ages of kids in my care.

I do balk at the idea of having to use a formal curriculum (i.e. mother goose, fun shine, etc) or have kids sitting for long periods for formal learning activity.

I do the same except we rarely do Pinterest type crafts and we also have a weekly theme that activities and books are based around. The theme is more for me since it helps me organize activities, use all of the resources I've aquifer and makes sure I'm not reading the same books over and over. Circle time is mostly for the 4 and 5 yo.
The only times we do a craft that a parent would want to hang in the fridge is Christmas, Mother's Day and Father's Day and I still try to choose crafts that the child can do themselves for the most part.
I still get parents of the under 3 group asking what their child is learning. I've explained how children that young learn, I've posted articles and it appeases them for a while. I explain that when the 4 and 5 yo work on handwriting the younger children work on their fine motor skills and their ability to hold a writing tool correctly so they are working on their handwriting even if the scribbles on their paper aren't letters. My daycare kids that stay with me end up going to kinder ahead of the game but I can usually tell by the time the child is 2yo if the parent will end up pulling them to send them to formal preschool at 3 or 4.

[spedmommy4]

What gets me is when I see the effects on even the young school agers. I have Kindergarteners and transitional Kindergarteners in my program, and the ones who are really struggling in school have really poor social emotional skills. I have two that came from play based preschools and two from academic.

One from the academic preschool was sent home last week for biting and has spent this week in the behavioral resource room. Here with me, he needs just as much social support as a young 3 year old but there is no way he is getting that in Kindergarten. I personally believe that the huge benefit to early childhood "education" is the social skills that young children learn. Convincing parents of that is tough . . . At least until their Kindergartener gets sent home for biting.

[Controlled Chaos]

This is my program as well, and to be honest I don't think it's over the top or inappropriate for the ages of kids in my care.

I do balk at the idea of having to use a formal curriculum (i.e. mother goose, fun shine, etc) or have kids sitting for long periods for formal learning activity.

Yes, I don't pay for a curriculum. I do have monthly themes to help me plan corresponding sensory bins, art/crafts projects, letters to trace (lots of Ds this month since we are doing dinosaurs) and appropriate toys to cycle in and out. The kids and parents love the themes, I decorate the room and it makes the first week of every month feel like Christmas. It also helps me feel like I am "doing" something. I need to control something (planning activities and what not) in order to relax into letting the children play. I am super type A

[Controlled Chaos]

I do the same except we rarely do Pinterest type crafts and we also have a weekly theme that activities and books are based around. The theme is more for me since it helps me organize activities, use all of the resources I've aquifer and makes sure I'm not reading the same books over and over. Circle time is mostly for the 4 and 5 yo.
The only times we do a craft that a parent would want to hang in the fridge is Christmas, Mother's Day and Father's Day and I still try to choose crafts that the child can do themselves for the most part.
I still get parents of the under 3 group asking what their child is learning. I've explained how children that young learn, I've posted articles and it appeases them for a while. I explain that when the 4 and 5 yo work on handwriting the younger children work on their fine motor skills and their ability to hold a writing tool correctly so they are working on their handwriting even if the scribbles on their paper aren't letters. My daycare kids that stay with me end up going to kinder ahead of the game but I can usually tell by the time the child is 2yo if the parent will end up pulling them to send them to formal preschool at 3 or 4.

Yep, this. Honestly part of the parent pleasing art we do once a week or so is to appease this crowd as I hate turnover. I don't like training new kids So one hand print brontosaurs I help the kiddos glue a googly eye to makes the over achieving parents happy. AND I do believe there is something to doing an activity for the practice of learning to follow directions every once in a while. Then I give them extra paint and goodly eyes and let them go wild ::

[Baby Beluga]

I like to think of myself somewhere in the middle of academic and play based.

I have monthly learning goals that contain:

1-2 letters
1-2 numbers
1-2 colors
1-2 shapes
1 science concept
1 opposite pair
1 positive social goal
1 theme each week (depending on the theme and interest we will do two weeks)

I stress to parents that these are just goals and I just introduce the material to the kids. It is not stressful and if a child walks away from one month not being able to recognize a triangle - it is okay. Same with the themes. I have found (especially now that so many kids get so much screen time) that children are not introduced to as many different things and events as they used to be. The themes help me to be organized and they help introduce the children to things they may have not otherwise been introduced to. To help with this, I get about 8 books for each theme and we read them daily.

Everything is done is a very hands on play based way. This week we are exploring fall. So far we have sung a song about falling leaves, counted and sorted leaves, explored leaves with a magnifying glass, gone on a "color of the month" scavenger hunt though the house, thrown leaves up in the air and down on the ground (opposite pair this month is up/down) played a game of sink or float using leaves, pine cones and acorns and made a hand print fall tree and a fall scene.

For art, I never make an example piece and I tell parents art is about the process not the outcome. Our fall trees yesterday were a perfect example. I had one child who took his time carefully making his fingerprint leaves and one other child who dove into the paint and finger painted the entire sheet covering her tree - they both had fun and they both were proud of their work.

[happymom]

This is so funny because when I was inquiring about what my infants schedule would be like I recieved an answer based on academics rather than what I was looking for (naps/feeding/changing/etc).

Ummmm........

It is nice for my 3 year old to be exposed to so much learning at his daycare. I noticed a huge change in him when I moved him from his in-home daycare to his center based daycare.

My son's in home daycare was very art and academics oriented. He was writing letters and numbers and learning sight words and phonics at his in home. They spent a lot of time coloring and doing art projects but also watching videos. He was always so so proud of the paintings and coloring pages he brought home.

In his center based daycare they have a curriculum posted, they do much more singing/song based things, they are MUCH LESS focused on writing/phonics and art and much more focused on themes. The art he does in his center based daycare is very limited (paintings with just one color, seems to be very rushed, he is rarely proud of the things he brings home, sometimes he tells me that he didn't make that, Miss L made it). Most of his academic progress (writing mostly) from his in home daycare just over two months ago has already been lost.


These are just my observations as a mom. Not stating that one is better than the other, I just try to make time for more of the art and writing stuff that he was so proud of and loved from his home based daycare at home so he still has the oportunity to paint with a full pallet of colors and write his name with something other than a crayon

[Bookworm]

I apologize about getting back to you ladies but we had a plumbing emergency today. Thanks for your responses. I don't have a true curriculum but I do a monthly theme. We read and sing songs, and art based on that theme. I've had to explain that I don't drill my kids with flash cards. I prefer them to explore inside and outside and I take it from there.

I do believe that there is too much competition between parents about who has the smartest kids and whose daycare is the most advanced. I was the fours teacher for a long time so this is shocking to me. Spedmommy4, I will definitely read this article. BC, where can I find articles about your post?