At the start of every school year I hear "I can't believe my baby is old enough to be going to school! The time went so fast!" Or I hear family members say "What am I going to do now, my baby wont be at home with me?" Or "I just don't think my baby is ready to be in school." All these comments and more are things I hear yearly as a preschool teacher.
Once the year gets going and I build relationships with each child and family I began to really see where these children and their families have been and where I want to take them for the year or two I have them in my preschool classroom. One thing that seems to repeat itself over and over, year after year, is that group of children who have had no experience with other children, no experience with real life hands on learning, no exposure to the community unless an electronic device is with them, no strong relationships prior to the relationship I have with that child, and very little social emotional and language skills are taught prior to their first preschool experience. So I think, what can I do? How can these families be reached before preschool age? What services are available to help parents/families with raising their children at the most crucial point in their child's brain development. These questions and thoughts have all lead my to ask the question, is preschool early enough? Early intervention is the best way to jump start the learning for all children, but what can be done before those children reach preschool age?
My questions were heightened even more when reading The Pre-K Debates. In most of this book research has been conducted to support the importance and value on early intervention. There are many components to early support but I would like to look at the " home visitations". Home visitations are visits at a families home (or other preferred place to meet) where families are given support prior to their child's 3rd or 4th birthday, the age necessary to enter many preschool programs. I was so excited to begin reading this section, I can figure out where to direct those families prior to preschool years. I discovered different programs, some programs are for all new mothers or pregnant women; some target populations targeting risk factors (material age, single parent, or low income); and others are targeted for those parents facing specific challenges within a universal system of initial assessment and referral. But I want to know where these programs are? Are there some right here in Iowa, I would assume so but how do I get information like this out to families? Does our AEA reach out, or how do families find out about infant and toddler home visit supports? How can we stop repeating the cycle of children showing up to preschool with no previous support for their families and for the children.
Once the year gets going and I build relationships with each child and family I began to really see where these children and their families have been and where I want to take them for the year or two I have them in my preschool classroom. One thing that seems to repeat itself over and over, year after year, is that group of children who have had no experience with other children, no experience with real life hands on learning, no exposure to the community unless an electronic device is with them, no strong relationships prior to the relationship I have with that child, and very little social emotional and language skills are taught prior to their first preschool experience. So I think, what can I do? How can these families be reached before preschool age? What services are available to help parents/families with raising their children at the most crucial point in their child's brain development. These questions and thoughts have all lead my to ask the question, is preschool early enough? Early intervention is the best way to jump start the learning for all children, but what can be done before those children reach preschool age?
My questions were heightened even more when reading The Pre-K Debates. In most of this book research has been conducted to support the importance and value on early intervention. There are many components to early support but I would like to look at the " home visitations". Home visitations are visits at a families home (or other preferred place to meet) where families are given support prior to their child's 3rd or 4th birthday, the age necessary to enter many preschool programs. I was so excited to begin reading this section, I can figure out where to direct those families prior to preschool years. I discovered different programs, some programs are for all new mothers or pregnant women; some target populations targeting risk factors (material age, single parent, or low income); and others are targeted for those parents facing specific challenges within a universal system of initial assessment and referral. But I want to know where these programs are? Are there some right here in Iowa, I would assume so but how do I get information like this out to families? Does our AEA reach out, or how do families find out about infant and toddler home visit supports? How can we stop repeating the cycle of children showing up to preschool with no previous support for their families and for the children.