[Jule'sMomInOR]

I know a lot of you home school, but for those of you who did preschool, what type did you do?

I know we don't want to do a traditional preschool but we're debating between Montessori, Waldorf, project based, or language immersion. This will be starting at age 3 for half days.

[BensMom]

Again... dh's idea... we did a preschool that was supposed to be "accelerated" where many of the kids jumped right into 1st grade. It wasn't really accelerated in my opinion, though. We didn't stay more than 4 months, but that's just because he hated it there. He hadn't yet been diagnosed with chronic adenoiditis or Asperger's. Now we realize why he hated it so much, other than the fact that he was bored.

For a gifted child, I'd go with something less structured that allows a lot of exploration and multi-level learning. Stay away from preschools that have an age limit on each room of no more than 6-12 mos. A gifted 18 month old could easily go into a preschool class with children who are a year older, as long as there are no underlying issues (learning disabilities, motor delays, adhd, etc.).

[Hugo&Sergiosmom]

What is a project based preschool? Never heard of that.

Anyway... welcome. I am not a huge fan of Montessori because they really discourage creativity and I have an uber-creative child. They are also not huge on socialization- they encourage independence and not interdependence. You may want to go observe a class and just see if it's a good fit with your child's personality. I don't know a ton about Waldorf other than it's nature-based and has its own set of values. We don't have that offered where I am.

Language immersion can be a good fit for many kids (I work in a language immersion K-5 setting) but there are always a few kids that are not a good fit for it. Again, it would be a good place to visit and observe with your child.

We have our children in a church preschool for half-days. It's play-based until K-4 when they do a good deal of writing (mostly just working on letter formation) but still balance it with free play and structured activities. It's a good fit for Hugo.

[Jule'sMomInOR]

Originally Posted by Hugo&Sergiosmom

What is a project based preschool? Never heard of that.

Project-based preschool is where they focus on a certain theme for about 3-4 weeks based on what the students show interest in. For example, they may talk about insects for a while and then move on to sea animals. I think Waldorf Schools do a little bit of this as well.