If You Don't Teach Preschool...Circle Time??

[SunflowerMama]

I noticed on one of the recent threads that a lot of people don't teach preschool and just learn as you go.

I'm not a teacher and I think the stress of wanting to teach a curriculum is weighing me down a bit.

Of course I do a lot of reading with the kids and we do counting, colors and numbers as we encounter them throughout the day.

For those that don't "teach" do you still have a daily circle time??

[melskids]

i use a very loose curriculum. we start out with free play / choice until breakfast. we then sit and do circle time, for those who want to join. ( i worked in a center that forced 2 year olds to sit at circle for more than 1/2 hour. it was horrible!!!) at that time i sing lots of songs, read books, teach abc's and 123's, etc., really your typical circle time. for those wandering around or playing with something else, i figure, at least theyre hearing whats going on, and can still absorb some of it. then we do centers, which consists of me putting out areas with items they explore on their own, like the sand table, science stuff, math stuff, playdough, prewriting or writing stuff, puzzles, free art, etc. it is all very hands on so they can choose what they want to do. right now i have mostly infant and toddlers, so i dont put out more then they can handle. i think it overwhelms them. i have one 3 yr old, so her choices are at tables where the younger ones cant reach. i do try to get her to write her letters/ name, etc. but i dont force her to do it. then we go outside for an hour or so, come in for lunch, naps, and by that time the school agers are home, we have snack and head back outside for the day. i cant be that structured, cause it gives me stress, , so alot of my program is child directed, even though i feel we cover all the basis, and its a quality program. if a parent is looking for a seriously intense type of preschool, they are more then welcome to leave at 4 years old to find one. it doesnt hurt my feelings at all. most of my parents are looking for a laid back approach, and in all my years of doing daycare, i have only had 2 children leave for "real" preschool. so i dont stress too much about "teaching" all the time. i think learning social skills and how to play are just as important. and those that stay here until kindergarden, are more than ready when its time to go.


wanted to add, now that ive written a novel... i do weekly themes, and talk about certain topics at cicle time, but again, its all done pretty loosely.

[AmandasFCC]

I don't do a curriculum, but yes we do circle time every day. My circle time is VERY basic. First we sing songs, then talk about the days of the week, count what day we are on, talk about the months and seasons. Throughout the day we read several books together, and all of my puzzles offer "teachable" moments. We do lots of counting, alphabet singing, other songs for different activities throughout the day (I'm big on music), and we talk colours and find shapes ... I've been told my program, without being fully structured, is very similar to a day in preschool, but I dunno, I've never been in a preschool to compare...

[Janet]

To teach preschool or not to teach preschool...

I decided to take a different approach on the whole daycare experience thing. While I do teach the basics, I spend way more time teaching my kids the stuff that they won't really get to learn about when they go to school. I guess you could say that I have a bit of a "hippie curriculum" here and it rocks! I teach them a ton about things like preserving nature. They learn about being kind to each other and being kind to all creatures.

[HeatherB]

Janet I agree that many children these days are not being taught the basic manners, how to be friends to others and how to show repect. The schools and parents are all acedemically forced!

I decided to take a different approach on the whole daycare experience thing. While I do teach the basics, I spend way more time teaching my kids the stuff that they won't really get to learn about when they go to school. I guess you could say that I have a bit of a "hippie curriculum" here and it rocks! I teach them a ton about things like preserving nature. They learn about being kind to each other and being kind to all creatures.