pre school curriculum

[Helen Dempster]

Morning all!

Just a quick one - do any of you use/follow a pre-school curriculum? I'm just asking, as one of my mindees' parents has decided not to send her to pre-school but to keep her here instead (she's just turned 3). Obviously I want to give her the best start if I can and prepare her for proper school later on and was just wondering if there was a curriculum I could follow, or just do my own thing re: numbers, letters etc?

Thanks all :thumbsup:

[jumping j]

most preschools in this area just follow the EYFS, and learn through play. They do topics on a loose theme but its by no means what I would call a curriculum.
I did do a bit of phonics work and pencil control with one lo who was particularly bright, but then when he went to school he had to repeat it all because no one else in the class had done it.:panic:

[sarah707]

Just follow the EYFS and focus on the child's interests, learning styles etc.

I do a lot of work with themes for the older children - they pretty much organise them between the group and tell me what they want to do :D

[clareelizabeth1]

My mum is a reception teacher and her and co teachers all moan that children all come having been taught differently some with phonics some without. Some knowing how to hold a pencil (but most being taught wrong, and almost every child being taught a different way to write each letter.

They say they spend the first term unteaching them all the bad habits and it's only after Christmas that they feel children are learning what their school wants them to know (each school does things differently as well do you need to make sure you are following what they might get taught). But then it is also a private school with exams each year to get in to the next (even an exam to get in to nursery).

There then is the problem that if the children learn all of it before they get to school what are they to learn there. The first years at school I think are really important and if they get bored at the start then they are unlikely to sucsead later on in education as it becomes Un intresting and not worth there time.

All that said if the child is interested then I would go for it.

[rickysmiths]

Golly I am shocked at that view by a Reception teacher.

When my children went to school they started in the school's nursery and the first thing they did was teach them to write their names if they hadn't done this in Playgroup. By Reception they could all write their names as a min and often other simple words. It never caused a problem in the transfer.

I have had some very bright 3yr olds and some not so but they have all been able to write their name by the time they have gone into reception.

I never push a child but if they show an interest I will help them. I find their parents do this as well.