PreK - Help me evaluate & Artwork Question

[Deleted]

1) It's not awful to do some worksheet-type activities if they enjoy them. Writing practice is good. It's bad to send them home and demand MORE WORKSHEETS. I'd say 15 min/day is fine.
2) That's more like "home projects" than "homework". My school doesn't ask for much, but this sort of thing wouldn't bother me (as long as it's not every damn day).

3) I put the good stuff on the fridge. I recycle it when new "good stuff" appears. I keep 1-2 pieces for the year. That's it.

[jeaniebueller]

None of that sounds unreasonable to me. I go through the piles of artwork at the end of each week and recycle the majority and just keep the ones that are really special. It only gets worse in kindergarten.

[Deleted]

DS' teacher last year * 2s and 3s * had the kids do busy work or free play when they first arrived every day. They did letter tracing, number tracing, hang your name on the tree etc. They had free play toys available as well.

The day was

Arrival- Tracing and Free Play
Circle
Project 1 ( Science, or Gym)
Snack
Recess
Creative Room ( art, dress up, imaginative play)
Circle Time ( back packs, songs, getting coats on)
Pick up.

He was there from 9-12.

[DarcyLongfellow]

I'd prefer that the kids have free play during the drop off period, but spending that time on worksheets wouldn't be enough for me to write off that preschool entirely. Also, things like practicing handwriting are important, and practice like that is going to happen on some sort of worksheet. Of course, that's better with a teacher sitting down with the kids, but a few minutes of seat work at a time is totally fine.

That homework is more like home projects for mom and dad. A few assignments like that over the course of the year are fine. If it were weekly I'd get annoyed and maybe stop doing them.

The school paper issue is never going to get easier. Well, it sort of does because I'm not at all emotionally attached to the massive number of worksheets that come home in grade school, whereas I did have some trouble throwing away art work in preschool. If you're like me (and hate to throw it away), I can tell you the system I've developed.

First, anything super awesome goes up on display. I have a few 3M command hooks on the wall in my kitchen where I can put up artwork. If it doesn't fit there, then something else comes down to make room for it.

Second, I immediately throw away stuff that I will never want to look at. Pages with a few scribbled crayon lines. Worksheets where all she did was circle a few things. Coloring book pages.

Third, anything I can't yet stand to throw away, I keep. At the end of the month I go through what I've kept and again cull out the stuff that doesn't seem meaningful. You'll be less attached after it's sat there for a few weeks.

Fourth, I store everything in a legal sized accordion folder. It has 13 sections -- one for each month, plus one at the front for class lists, communication from the teacher, etc.

My plan is to go through the big accordion folder at the end of the year and condense it down to one file section per school year, so that one folder will hold all her work from Pre-K through 12th grade. But right now I've never gone through any of them, so I have four of these giant folders around my house (one for each year she's been in school).

[6fsn]

1) Our school has free play at the beginning with a few different options available. My daughter almost always picks the worksheets. I see no issue with this.

2) I don't really consider that homework either. It helps the teachers and students no your child and the family. It also helps the kids learn about each other and talk about themselves.

Artwork gets dumped in a box. At the end of the year I purge it out and put it into the preschool bag. When we finish construction I have thoughts of adding a little string wall with clothes pins to hang pictures and art. Someone here did it in their playroom.