
by Mr. Jay
Get ready for early education to shift paradigms, away from standardized content, towards student centered, play based outdoor education. While Common Core and state standards are becoming a fixture in public education, and the focus is on testing, student centered learning and connections to the natural world through play-based curriculum are in danger of being left out of early education. While the need to have standards is important to assess the quality of education, homogenizing curriculum isn’t the answer. In fact, individualizing and customizing education is what will ultimately raise the overall quality of education. Plus, there is plenty of research to support the idea that children’s cognitive development benefits from free play and adult led play. Parents want highly qualified teachers and solid pedagogy, and they don’t want to see their children get left behind. Well, how about no child left inside?

Consider the foundation for learning to be the rock on which your child’s education is built. Early childhood programs are no longer a babysitter for while you’re at work, but a comprehensive educational environment in which children become students of life! It is vital that children’s early school experiences are full of joy and foster a lifelong love of learning. Outdoor education embraces a student led approach, valuing free play and organized play as a fundamental approach to early education.

When we expect our children to learn to read and do math before they are ready, we deprive them of the opportunities to experience the world in their own way and in their own time. Save academics for first grade, and let preschoolers develop social skills and explore the world in an experimental, hands-on approach. Allow children time to play outside and in the woods as much as possible, engaging their curiosity, enriching their experiences, and exploring their world.
If you still feel you need a reason to ditch academic preschools, here are four from Janet Lansbury.
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