Alyce Desrosiers - Personal Nanny Placement Services

Alyce Desrosiers--Personal Nanny Placement Services--Newsletter

Vol. 2, Issue 1
July 2007

In this Issue

Welcome!

The "Right" Preschool

Does Group Care Have Negative Effects on a Child's Behavior?

What is "Developmentally Appropriate"

Research Spotlight: Common Characteristics of High Quality Preschools

Health Tip -- Allergies

Most parents and caregivers are familiar with the symptoms of an acute allergic reaction. The following link provides information on allergic reactions to food and food intolerance that have more subtle symptoms.
Food Allergy Intolerance

Featured Resources:
Preschool Programs

Reggio Emilia - An overview of the approach.
www.brainy-child.com

An Introduction to Montessori Education - Provided by the North American Montessori Teachers' Association.
www.montessori-namta.org

Waldorf Education - An overview of Waldorf education from the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America.
www.awsna.org

Co-op Preschools - Article from Parent's Press on whether co-ops are right for you.
www.parentspress.com

NAEYC Accredited Programs - Search for programs in your area accredited by the National Association of Educators of Young Children.
www.naeyc.org

Other Resources

Marin Child Care Council
www.mc3.org

Children's Council of San Francisco
www.childrenscouncil.org

Parents Place
www.parentsplaceonline.org

National Association of Educators of Young Children
www.naeyc.org

Zero to Three
www.zerotothree.org

Children's Defense Fund
www.childrensdefense.org

Contact Information
Alyce Desrosiers, LCSW
PO Box 1945
Sausalito, CA 94966-1945
415-331-NANI
www.alycedes.com

Welcome!

Anytime two or more parents of preschool age children gather, most often the conversation turns to finding the "right" preschool. The choices can seem overwhelming; there are schools that endorse different philosophies, such as Montessori or Reggio Emilia, there are schools in various settings, such as homes and shopping malls and schools of various sizes from a small family childcare to a preschool with over 150 families registered. Once you decide on the type of school that best suits your child the real challenge of getting into the school of your choice begins; there are applications, fees, deadlines and waiting lists. The process you went through to hire a nanny may start to look uncomplicated by comparison!

This newsletter provides resources to help you sort through your many preschool choices.

The "Right" Preschool
Most children going to preschool this Fall have already been accepted to their school of choice. But if you have a child entering preschool in Fall '08, now is a good time to start thinking about the types of schools available and which type might best meet you and your child's needs. The following links provide information on how to choose a school and the types of schools you may encounter in your search. They are not intended to recommend any one type. Like choosing a nanny, choosing a preschool is a very individual process. The "right" school is not necessarily the one your neighbor suggests or even the one an expert says is best, it is the one at which your child thrives and you have peace of mind knowing she is well cared for.

Finding Quality Preschool

What Type of Preschool Best Suits Your Child?

The Many Faces of Preschool: Philosophies of Early Childhood Education

Preschool -- the Right Fit for Your Child

Does Group Care Have Negative Effects on a Child's Behavior? Yes and no. Recent data from the study of Early Child Care and Youth Development has been widely reported as evidence that group care has negative effects on children's behavior. Before you rush to pull your child out of the hard fought seat he occupies in preschool, here are some facts of the study that were missing in the headlines.

One of the foremost 'under-reported' facts of the study is that children in quality preschools actually did better than their counterparts in poor quality preschools. Children attending quality preschools were more advanced in language and social development by kindergarten and this continued into the first grade. This fact should give reassurances to parents that preschool can be both a positive and beneficial experience for young children and stress the importance of finding the "right" school for your child.

www.nichd.nih.gov
This link is a booklet for parents from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development which funds the study. The booklet provides an overview of the long term study now entering its second decade.

www.slate.com
This link provides a broader view of the most recent set of data in the study as well as additional explanation from the study's author.

What is "Developmentally Appropriate"?

Finding a preschool that provides developmentally appropriate activities is very important to your child's positive experience of school. If you ask a 3 year old to listen to a lecture on any subject and then take a test, the child will certainly not either learn nor have a very rewarding experience. Lectures are clearly not a meaningful teaching tool for preschool children. Creating a developmentally appropriate learning environment for young children requires considerable knowledge and skills from teachers and administrators.

When you review preschool brochures, you will find that almost every school characterizes its program as developmentally appropriate. However not every school achieves this lofty goal. The following links will help you evaluate the appropriateness of the activities you see when visiting preschool.

www.tr.wou.edu
An overview of developmentally appropriate practice in the preschool setting from the Teaching Research Institute.

www.alycedes.com
Developmental milestones for 4-5 year olds and examples of activities that are developmentally appropriate.

Research Spotlight: Common Characteristics of High Quality Preschools
High quality preschools may vary is shape, size and methodology but there are a few characteristic they have in common according to a report published by the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER). The report reviewed the available research on the effectiveness of preschool and found that the programs with the highest gains shared the following characteristics: