A guide to the preschool process.
I vividly remember the moment when I pondered about the education system, my mother’s career and what I would give to stay home and play; I was a grand young age of 8. I even went as far as counting all the wasted hours I spent at school away from my family.
Now, I’m back to pondering similar thoughts as I prepare to send my daughter to preschool.
How does one even navigate this process? The process of finding the right school for my child.
To most people, this process is predetermined. They would simply go with the school they went to. For those who don’t have the predetermined option, like myself, I have to gear up to doing whatever it takes. I’ve been told that I need to start early if I wanted a great local school, this includes rounding up elite members of the school club who would subtly influence decision makers, to enrolling in kindergartens that decision makers favour. If all fails, hunt for an international school.
We ruled out local schools. It simply is incompatible with our methods and beliefs.
Now what! My daughter Reign is 2 years and 2 months. I begin my preschool journey by furiously Googling
What is the best preschool for my kid? Why are there so many versions of preschool? Am I ruining my child’s life? How much would therapy cost in 15 years?
Then I spoke to friends who work in early education for reassurance.
Here’s what I’ve discovered with preschool learning in Colombo. There are two main methods of preschool.
1. Play-based learning, with the main focus on critical thinking and social skills. Reading and writing in moderation.
2. The other, which claims is play-based is actually a lot of workbook based activity with a heavy focus on preparing child for ‘big’ school.
I gathered this from how classrooms were set-up, play areas and from conversations I had with educators. I knew then that I was looking for a play-based learning experience. To arrive at this conclusion I checked out 5 varied schools, which includes an American preschool experience- play based, a Singaporean based learning preschool, two schools which cater from preschool to A/Ls and an AMI based preschool.
The American system topped our lists. It closely aligned with what we were looking for:
— play-based. Writing and reading introduced much later, unless the child displays a willingness to pursue it.
— plenty of open spaces to play, diversity, in line with our values, and was more open to parents being a part of the daily schooling process, by allowing working parents to drop in and interact with child.
Cons
— expensive, which also meant majority are expat kids and pretty well off kids — so, erm not exactly diverse.
The international schools. The school that follows the British education system refused to take Reign in because she’s not 2 1/2 yet and potty trained. The other school, which follows the Cambridge syllabus gave me a PTSD effect. I’m dyslexic with a severe tinge of dyscalculia, and wasn’t diagnosed until my late teens. I struggled in school. In fact it put me off learning. So, that school was ruled out.
The AMI method was my least favourite, but I wanted to explore the option. The Principal of the preschool I picked listened to my list of concerns. She helped me wade through my thought process — Reign already was aware of most things they would learn in school, would she be bored? Is there pressure to learn to read and write? Would they maintain a learning environment that is fun?
She assured me that they would see Reign’s adaptability before any form of formal enrollment took place, to see where, and what would work best. I appreciated this gesture, it made me feel comfortable. No other school offered this.
We finally settled on this school, and hoped we made the right decision (There’s an update at the bottom)
Tips for picking the right preschool
— Do shop around. Pick one that works for you, and your child.
— Don’t get confused by all the preschool jargon. There’s two. Play-based learning and academic learning, you can easily tell the difference when teachers open up activity books.
— Ask twice for fee structures, extra costs etc.
— Schools in demand have wait lists. Plan ahead.
— If you plan to remain in the country, then a school makes sense than specialized preschools.
— Have a honest conversation with the Principal on how you feel on certain areas. For example; if you don’t want homework at a young age, then bring it up.
……
My hunt for the right preschool led me to some good articles on the school system. This one in particular resonated since schools are chosen based on social signaling and status. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, but there is a marked difference between kids who are exposed to schools of that kind.
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/10/when-the-culture-war-comes-for-the-kids/596668/
This one talks about rewarding the process, making goals instead of As, thinking long-term than the immediate, good routines, rest and downtime.
And this one argues for an abolition of private school is Britain.
Update : Reign loves her school! It’s only been a few months but I’ve already seen a massive positive change in her. The teacher brought to my attention that the areas she needs to work on more is learning to be more independent, for instance — putting her school bag away, to managing her lunchbox by herself. I’m glad the little things are taught.
