Which pre-K would you choose?

[cobweb]

Our state fully funds pre-school for 4 year olds. My youngest son will be attending next year.

Hopefully he can go to the neighborhood public school with his older brother (they can ride the school bus), but there is a shortage of spaces and placement will be decided by drawing names.

If his name doesn't get drawn we have several options (sadly there is no local Orthodox school). Homeschooling is not an option for us right now.

Which would you choose? (you can choose more than one)

[Matrona]

I'd stick with the secular or daycare pre-K's. I have a thing against sending kids to non-Orthodox parochial schools.

[Kristos]

We dealt with this question at the beginning of this year along with some friends from church. We came to different conclusions - our friends sent their kids to a secular pre-school and we sent our kid to a non-denom Christian pre-school. There were many reason for and against - out friends felt that Catholic would be better than non-denom, while we felt that at this age just simple exposure to Bible stories is really all we are looking for - not theology. Anyway - as the the year has progressed some interesting difference have come up that have reassured me in my choice. First was Halloween - the secular pre-school endorsed and "celebrated" Halloween with costumes etc. The Christian did not - absolute no mention at all. The next was Christmas. The secular pre-school had a happy holidays theme, while the Christian pre-school had a Christmas production where the kids acted out the Nativity, sang song etc. I'm guessing a similar split will occur at Pascha. Net: At a pre-school age I think a loving environment based on Christian values is the most important. Theology plays very little into this. If there was an Orthodox pre-school available, that would be my first choice, but there isn't. Secular would be my last choice.

[eoe]

In my experience - church run daycare / pre-k is very poor even if you remove all the heterodox elements. I would be very very cautious indeed about those - If anything I might consider a Catholic prek given that it is still pretty early for kids to be picking up any schismatic ideas.

I much prefer to have the center be a licensed entity that is subject to review etc. by the state.

[Kristos]

I personally am less worried about Protestant teachings than other alternatives. At a secular pre-school, you may have some VERY alternative views that aren't out in the open - staff could be Morman, Muslim, Wikken - whatever. This comes out in interesting ways like I pointed out in my last post. Halloween is just a starter.

[gorion]

I like Halloween.

[elizabethevangeline]

Are four year olds required to go to preschool?

[cobweb]

Are four year olds required to go to preschool?
No, but it is strongly encouraged and free.

[elizabethevangeline]

If it is an option your family can afford...I would keep the four year old at home. I think formal schooling and orientation towards peer groups are pushed very early.

In my state...the "head-start" program is aimed at low-income-in-danger-of-failure children (which is good) but sometimes I wonder if it's an attempt to get children out of the hands of their parents as soon as possible. I guess that suspicion creeps into my attitude toward pre-school in general.

That said, if staying home in not an option...then I would think the decision would depend on the quality and "fit" of the actual schools available to me.

[kamikat]

Both of my children have gone to the same Methodist pre-school that I went to. They loved it and so did I. Once per month, they go to "chapel" and the minister reads them a bible story. They say a simple prayer before lunch and learn simple Christian songs. The teacher knows that I'm Orthodox (she's Catholic and married to an Orthodox man)and gives me the words to the songs. They even let me bring in cookies on St Nicholas Day and talk to the kids about him. In my experience, and from talking to friends, it really depends on the teacher and the school. It the teacher is open and willing to discuss things with you, everything will go much better.

[rusmeister]

Speaking as a certified, experienced ex-public school teacher... (I'll speak to public education, anyway)

Kristos and Elizabeth both have good points. You must understand that state programs are bent on ideologically teaching your children religious pluralism, which is opposed to any brand of serious Christianity, especially Orthodoxy. It IS aimed at getting kids out of the hands of parents. Elizabeth is totally right about what teachers of your kids can believe, and even 'share' with your children, and have a monopoly on their time for the most important and formative hours of their day, every day. Assuming that kids will learn tons of valuable things (that you want them to learn) there is... an assumption.

It's a side note, but a symptom of a much bigger problem - Teachers are constantly drilled and threatened to report any 'suspected' child abuse - even if said abuse is entirely in the child's head. It is symptomatic of the fact that the schools are really not there to serve the interests of the parents, even if the parents really want the best for their children. You're basically giving your kid over to strangers to be raised. Can you possibly avoid this???

[zhilan]

If it were any older there would be a lot more to consider, but at that age they are probably just going to learn that God is love and Jesus died for them, so I wouldn't think there would be too much issue if it's a Protestant school. I would probably just go with whatever school I thought had the best program.

[Chacci]

When my wife and I looked into sending our daughter to the only classical education school in Boise which is hosted by a non-denominational church, we decided against it mainly because of the required signature on a faith statement.. which read something like "the only authority is the Bible".

Asking for your prayers,
Chacci

[Philothei]

My daughter went to a methodist pre-K school. We loved. She is ten and still remember her "meal" prayer. When we moved she went to a Lutheran and we were very pleased as well. I believe that for such young age denomination is not an issue but for elementary we sent her off to public school. :)

By the way both schools were small and had good programs. the Lutheran Pre-K was considered tops in our area, there was a waiting list to get in.

God bless,
Philothei