Joyschool

I have been debating over putting Eve in a preschool...she's turning 3, so she is still quite young but every day she asks to be with her friends and is showing signs that she is reading to learn in a more structured environment. Don't get me wrong: I am not looking to delegate my responsibilities as a mom, but since we speak French at home, I think she needs more exposure to English before she starts school. I toyed with the idea of homeschooling her, but I think that school would agree more with her personality and I don't want to confuse her with role changes, mother/teacher. I plan on being very involved with her learning progress, and I keep the fun stuff like taking her to the museum, the library, going on field trips, to the zoo, etc. I cannot leave out teaching by example and experience.

My friend and I have been talking of starting a JOYSCHOOL this year. It's like preschool except that it is the mothers who take turns teaching at their home. There is a theme for each month and the point is to introduce concepts and structure. I found a great website with tons of ideas...it's actually an LDS website, so if you are interested here's the link: http://www.valuesparenting.com/

Here's an extract:

Do-it-yourself Joy Schools involve from 3 to 6 mothers who rotate as teacher, holding Joy School in their homes twice a week using the detailed lesson plans from this site which include all the music, stories, games, and activities to learn and teach one kind of Joy each month.

The Joy School curriculum is built around joy -- with the philosophy that happy children become strong students and well adjusted adults. For three and four year olds, "J.Q." (Joy Quotient) is more important than I.Q. (Time after time we are told by kindergarten and first grade teachers that Joy School graduates do better in school than kids coming out of pushy, early-academics preschools.)

I am getting really excited about it...we are thinking of meeting 2 a week for lessons, but I'll let you know when our plans materialize ;)

Here's an outline for the 1st year:

Year 1 Joy School Lesson Plans
We recommend every child should begin with the Year 1 lesson plans, this is where the Joys are introduced. Make sure everyone in your Joy School group is on the same lesson plan (Year 1 or Year 2). Order of lessons (each lesson contains 4-8 modules):

The Joy of the Body
The Joy of the Earth
The Joy of Honesty and Candor
The Joy of Communication and Relationships
The Joy of Sharing and Service
The Joy of Goal Striving
The Joy of Obedience and Decisions
The Joy of Interest and Curiosity
The Joy of Spontaneous Delight
The Joy of Trust and Confidence
The Joy of Individual Confidence and Uniqueness
The Joy of Imagination and Creativity
The Joy of Family Security, Identity, and Pride

If you cringe at the idea of paying registration and tuition fees, you can create your own lessons based on the outline...but it will definitely take more time.