Instead of all these ridiculous and useless activities – Spanish, yoga, sign language, natural sciences, etc – wouldn’t it make more sense just to let two-year-olds out into the beautiful playground in the wooded area and let them run themselves silly?
For those who don’t read carefully, I’m not saying Spanish is useless. I make a living teaching Spanish, so I definitely don’t think it’s useless. I’m talking very specifically about the preschool schedule of two-year-olds.
They have the best playground I’ve ever seen in my life and they do take kids out. But I’d prefer for the kind did to stay outside all day instead of all these crap “educational activities.”
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These activities inscribe them in the Taylorist ways of being. It gets them used to the idea of being “productive” and moving in approved ways. Pre K and kindergarten is competitive. You have to learn to sit on your ass for hours at a time. :p
Or maybe organized activities require less in the way of adults to watch.
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Two is not the right age for this, though. For optimal results, you gradually start introducing it at five.
I grew up on child psychology and pedagogy books. I could give lectures on the stuff. 🙂
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Yes, I don’t get it either. I’m not sure what the crowd is like at Klara’s daycare/preschool but I suspect these activities are there to distinguish the daycare from other ones.
“Your kid just makes macaroni necklaces while mine already knows about Galileo and fractions!” /snark.
When my cousin came with her husband and five year old I was a little shocked none of them took me up on the offer to let the kid run around the neighborhood. Or walk (with adults within sightline). It’s a nice neighborhood. There’s a park within five minutes and it was hours before sunset. They had just been a car for several hours and wondered why she was rolling all over the place and had no interest in performing the way they wanted her to. They also keep complaining she only sleeps when they do.
I’m super old.
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I have a worse story for you. Klara was invited to a birthday party of an older kid recently. Everybody was in the 8-10 range there. The hosts are renting a house with a huge backyard. Klara ran away with the older kids immediately and I didn’t even see her. There are trees, bushes, insects, and a huge shaggy dog to pet. It’s paradise for kids.
But there were two kids there of about 8 and 10 who were completely lost. They didn’t know how to walk on grass. They were terrified of insects. They just stood there, looking terrified. It became so noticeable that the mom felt she had to explain.
“They aren’t outdoors kids,” she said.
If we lived in a different area, I wouldn’t judge. There are many places where kids are deprived of the outside because of how things are set up. But in our area, you’ve got to try very hard to keep kids away from nature. We have a million completely free outside activities around here. We have the best hiking trails in the region. We have university gardens. Open farms. Splash pad. Parks. Playgrounds. And it’s all free.
Obviously, both kids are seriously obese even at this age.
It’s very sad.
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// For optimal results, you gradually start introducing it at five.
Introducing what – sitting quietly for hours? Or even for half an hour, for instance?
Already at 2 years old one can see a difference between children who can f.e. sit quietly and listen to a story and those who can’t. Probably the former have parents who read to them.
Some sites advice to read to a child since 2 months.
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When I tell stories to Klara, I can see her eyes glaze over. It’s her imagination at work! It’s amazing to see.
An important rule: if you see that a child is deep in thought, you never interrupt unless it’s truly life and death. Just become very quiet and wait it out. If she’s playing on her own, the same. Make yourself completely imperceptible. Whatever it is can wait.
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Also, if you are playing with a child and another kid approaches and they make eye contact, immediately take a few steps back, physically. Don’t interrupt or participate unless they start hitting each other or if they actually ask you to do something. I’ve had so many nice moments interrupted by anxious parents who go “Don’t touch her toys! Step back! Go ahead and say hello! Are you being rude again? Do you need to go potty?”
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What about tantrums, you’ve mentioned being able to head most of them off but is that a good idea?
Don’t they serve some developmental purpose? I understand wanting to head some off (in public places when you’re on a schedule) when do you just let her work through the tantrum?
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Yes, absolutely, they have to learn to contain themselves emotionally. First, you teach them the mechanisms, and then gradually you stop interfering. But it’s a process. It’s not going to be momentary.
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