7/6/01
Question 115
Dear Preschool
Teacher,
I have been told my son is advanced, he is
three. He knows his whole alphabet recognizes every letter big and
small and write his name, count to 12, knows his birthday and home
phone number. His preschool does not seem to do much to help him only
games and play which I love, but I want to help
him keep his smarts. How can I work with him. How may I ask his
preschool teacher if she can work on something like words or counting
at least once a week?
Helping Advanced Child
Dear Helping Advanced Child,
Your son does sound advanced. You
might want to get him tested to see if he is gifted. This will
be helpful later on so he won't be bored when he starts
elementary school. At 3, most children need to play. It is
how they learn. What kind of games does the teacher play? Children need to learn social skills as well as cognitive skills to be
a well-balanced person. He may be an early starter, but later on
he may slow down the amount he is learning and be right with his age group.
Each child
is unique in how and when they learn.
I would review at home
occasionally so he can retain what he has learned. I am sure his teacher does some games that have numbers
etc. There are many activities that teach children without using rote
learning (drills). Games work on cooperation skills, colors, numbers (
first, last), patience ( waiting for your turn), and many other important
early learning skills. You could offer to teach some games to the
children. You could donate a game that emphasizes the skills that you want him
to retain. You could find a book of games to donate to the resource library in
the classroom.
Remember, you are his first
teacher so use the time you have together to refresh his memory. Allow him to be a child too. Don't
push him too quickly. Play is what he is supposed to do at 3.
Jackie
"Ask The Preschool Teacher Staff"
Dear Helping Advanced Child,
At
your son's age socialization is the greatest gift that you could give
him. Learning how to get along with others is a great lesson to
learn. Look for a preschool that does alot of pre-reading (labels on
things, maybe journal writing, things like that).
Hope that this helps.
Lynn
"Ask The Preschool Teacher Staff"
Dear Helping Advanced Child,
Your son seems to be advanced
cognitively, which will keep you and his teachers on your toes!
At age 3 it is still important that he is able to
play and socialize with his peers. He needs to learn to share,
take turns, play cooperatively, sit quietly in a group, take care of
personal needs, follow directions, etc.
This is where preschool should be able to help.
Continue to give him as many experiences as you
can. Read, read, read to him. Take him to children's museums
with "hands on" displays. Talk to him about the signs
you see, have him help you get 6 apples at the grocery store, etc.
Let him help you cook and measure. Explore your garden together.
Go
to the library. Play board games with him. Let him color
and paint.
Kris
P
"Ask The Preschool Teacher Staff"
Dear Helping Advanced Child,
Both
my children were similar to yours. One of my sons could even
read when he was 4. At that time, I wasn't a preschool teacher
and didn't ask the preschool teacher to do anything special with
either of my boys. I just kept on doing what I was doing
with them at home to help them continue learning. Now that I
am a preschool teacher, this issue does come up. In a
preschool classroom, you will always have a wide variety of stages
the children are at. You will have children where your child
is at academically (although this is usually an exception) and then
you have children who can't even recognize the number 1. So as
a teacher, you have to find a way to teach all the children.
At
the age of 3 and 4, it is important for the children to learn social
skills and learn through play and games. I know a lot of
parents feel like they are wasting their money when they see the
children playing games, but that is how preschoolers learn.
Even an advanced child needs to play and learn social skills.
I don't know if your child is in a part-time or full-time daycare,
but my kids are only there for 2 1/2 hours at a time. I have a
very difficult time getting in the lessons that I have planned and
would have trouble finding time to work with one child on something
different. I would assume your child would also want to be
included in activities with the rest of the children instead of
sitting out with a teacher or assistant doing something different.
Peg
"Ask The Preschool Teacher Staff"
