r/preschool

My 4 year old has this huge fear of slides and I’m starting to wonder if I should be doing more to help her through it. Every time we go to the playground she gets excited at first, then freezes the second she gets near the slide. If another kid goes down super confidently she’ll step back and cling to me instead.

My husband thinks school might make things harder because she starts kindergarten soon and he worries other kids could tease her for being scared. I honestly don’t want to pressure her because I remember being scared of random stuff as a kid too. Monkey bars are the same story. She’ll hold on forever waiting for rescue even when she’s barely off the ground.

I’ve thought about getting one of those small toy slides for indoors so she can build confidence slowly at home. Funny enough, a daycare supplier near us showed me a catalog that looked really similar to some e-commerce play equipment listings I’d seen before, so now I’m overthinking quality too.

My son is 5 and just started getting complaints of him not listening on the bus with his friends. It’s only him and 3 other boys I believe in the classroom. They formed their own little group which I love because I am glad he made friends and loving school. The issue of course he needs to listen to the bus driver. He is taking off his seat belt, screaming, playing around too much with his friends. She has separated them but I am my wits end trying to make him see he behave like this. I made a chart for the week to see if he listens he can get a prize and of the week and so far he’s not doing good. He comes home and laughs. I talked to him multiple times about listening to the his driver and being quiet because she needs to drive them home safely. Anyone else have this issue and how to solve it? I don’t drive and I need him to be on the bus.

Hi,

My son is 4 turning 5 this September. He is currently in preschool from 8-11. We are starting in home ABA therapy in a few days and he is approved for 25 hours a week. My question is do you think going to preschool in the morning and getting ABA in the afternoon will be too much for my son? In the upcoming school year he will be in TK and his school hours will be 8-1.35

I appreciate any insights and experience.

Hi everyone!

I am an educator myself (I teach older grades), but I’m looking to borrow some wisdom from the early childhood experts here.

This season is my first time coaching a tiny age cheer team, and my co-coach and I have an age range of 3 to 6 years old. The majority of the athletes fall right in the middle, but we do have one particular child at the 3-year-old minimum.

I do have experience working with this age group in a structured class setting (I teach preschool/youth tumbling classes), but transitioning from a "class" environment to a "team practice" environment is a new challenge for me. I want to make sure I’m facilitating engagement correctly without burning them out so early in the season.

We only have them for one hour practice 2 times a week, and while we aren't running a full routine yet, we do need to lay the groundwork for basic choreography, motions, timing, and learning how to move to specific spots/formations cleanly.

I have the station-based aspect down for improving physical skills, but I would love advice from an ECE engagement standpoint:

* **Teaching Formations:** What are your favorite, developmentally appropriate ways to teach young kids how to find and move to "their spot" cleanly?

**Introducing Timing & Counts:** How do you translate concepts like rhythm, synchronization, or basic counts to 3 and 4-year-olds without losing their attention?

**Bridging the Age Gap:** How do you keep the youngest 3-year-old engaged and focused while still keeping the 5 and 6-year-olds challenged and interested?

**Pacing the Hour:** What does a successful 60-minute flow look like for this age group so they leave feeling successful rather than completely exhausted or overwhelmed?

Any creative games, phrasing, or behavioral strategies you use to keep this age group engaged in a group dynamic would be incredibly appreciated!

Thank you all so much!

My son is 3 and was dx at the age of 2. He’s in speech/ot/pt and in home ABA 20 hrs. We transitioned from early intervention to public school and he now has an IEP and qualified for EC preschool. He’s been in it for 3 weeks. ABA was approved by the school and has been going with him for the majority of the week. He is also nonverbal but has an aac device and knows some asl.
Does it get better? He seems so tired and so unlike himself which I understand he has a very busy day. He just doesn’t seem like his happy go lucky self.
We have some concerns about him not using his device as often at school because it’s a “distraction” to the other kids. Its comments like this that make me feel uneasy “he knows where it is, he can grab it at anytime”….
Am I overthinking this? I know there’s bound to be a transition period but how much time do I give this?
I was so excited and nervous for him to start school because it allows me time to actually get stuff done around the house. He also has a twin sibling that is home with me. I just need some guidance. His bcba is obviously going to support whatever we decide, they have been great. Advice? Suggestions? Recommendations?

My kiddos preschool doesn’t allow any outside snacks or food to be brought in the school. Even if it is confirmed nut free made products they are pre packaged. So for birthdays instead they said we can bring in party favors (non food) to give out to celebrate your student birthday. Im like why does feel weird? Why would i send my kid to school to give out gifts to other kids on his birthday. Im not knocking them not allowing food, but im trying to see if im just overthinking it and denying him a preschool right of passage.

Edit: To be clear im not mad at the rule of no food. That is logical. Im just wondering would he feel left out being on the kid to not bring favors to class for his birthday. I just wanted opinions. Not a detailed synopsis on kids dangers with allergens. That is not what i asked.My apologies i have never done this before, my parents really weren’t that involved in schooling or birthdays for that much so this is new to me.

My child is turning 3 this August. She can already recognize some simple words (3-letter words), count from 1–100, and knows her colors, shapes, writes and draws really well.

Academically she seems ready, but socially she takes time to warm up to other kids and is more of an observer at first.

For parents or educators with experience would you recommend enrolling a child like this in a formal nursery already, or is it better to wait and focus on play-based or smaller group settings first?

This is a hot take, but I have 16 kids in my class and I'd say about half of them are getting some kind of phonics instruction at home on top of what we do at school. The other half aren't and the gap between those two groups is already noticeable at age 4. The kids whose parents are working on letter sounds at home, even just casually at bath time or in the car, come in with a foundation that lets me build on it during the school day. The kids who aren't getting any exposure at home are starting from zero every morning because they're not retaining between sessions. I only have each group for about 10 minutes a day. That is not enough time to teach, practice, and reinforce 26 letter sounds for a child who gets no repetition at home.

I'm not blaming parents who don't do it. Lots of families are stretched thin and don't know where to start. I just wish there was a better way to communicate that even 5 minutes of daily sound practice at home would make a massive difference. And that there are so many tools, platforms,  apps that make it easy for parents who feel intimidated by the idea of teaching. I don't want to come across as telling parents how to parent but the data in my classroom is pretty clear.

Completely free. How to make a preschool garden (that works)
Growschoolgarden.org

Just here to get some tried & true advice on the best things you found for toys or distractions for 2 to 3 hour flights for a 3 1/2 year-old (closer to four) - they have lots of energy. I do have a short layover where I’m gonna run them. And I’ve gotten a few toys and things, but I wanna see what worked best for you guys. They are pretty good with fine motor skills and love figuring out how things work (so any small toys or trinkets that require those skills and their brain would be great).

So far I have:
iPad (will download shows, few edu games) with headphones

Mini Picasso tiles

Airplane preschool “workbook/coloring/games”

A thing called a “push peel” (sensory activity)

Will bring coloring books/mini-markers

I’d like to have enough for something new on each flight for the novelty aspect. I’m considering getting a mini etch-a-sketch but what else do you guys suggest?