This note showing the preschooler's routine reveals her schedule includes lessons in maths and engineering as well as PDHPE. Photo / News.com.au.
This note showing the preschooler's routine reveals her schedule includes lessons in maths and engineering as well as PDHPE. Photo / News.com.au.
Parents are reeling after a mum revealed her four-year-old daughter's strict daily preschool routine.
Details of the gruelling timetable recently came to light following a conversation with mother and her daughter's teacher about her child's performance.
Taking to Facebook, the woman said she was shocked after being told her daughter "has no concentration in all subjects," reported The Daily Mail Australia.
After uncovering her child's daily routine at the $125 a day preschool she was confronted with a heavy schedule spanning from her drop off at 7am through to 6.30pm.
'Is this what preschoolers are meant to be learning in a long day centre every day in their class? Or is it just me thinking this is really ridiculous,' the mother captioned her post.
This note showing the preschooler's routine reveals her schedule includes lessons in maths and engineering as well as PDHPE. Photo / News.com.au.
From 9am to 12.40pm lessons are taught in maths and engineering, science and technology and personal development, health and physical education (PDHPE).
Between 12.45pm and 2pm, the workload eases off to make time for a progressive lunch, meditation and a rest.
For the uninitiated, a progressive lunch or meal encourages children to eat when they are hungry rather than having to adhere to a strict eating schedule.
Food is placed on a table by teachers, children are given the option to eat snacks in small, intimate group settings.
The note showed activities like news, letters and booklets round out the day and are timetabled from 2.05pm through to 3.45pm.
The note shows children have lunch followed by a rest period 12.45pm and 2pm. Photo / Supplied.
The mum said once she had examined her daughter's intense routine, she understood why her daughter may have been struggling.
"I looked at her schedule and no wonder why my four-year-old has no concentration," the mother said on the post.
Other parents commenting on the mum's situation said they were concerned the schedule resembled a school timetable for much older children.
"The teacher has forgotten where she is teaching. This looks like my high school kids' timetable," said one.
While another added: "A four-year-old has limited concentration anyway, that's a harsh routine. I'm all for kids going to school at four to five, but they should be learning to socialise, interact, learn through play and enjoy their early school years. This looks ridiculous to me."
One person simply stated: "This is a bulls**t routine. When do they get to be kids?"
Parents are reeling after a mum revealed her four-year-old daughter's strict daily preschool routine. Photo / Supplied.
ARE THERE BENEFITS TO EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION?
Although many parents commenting on the post felt the child's timetable was extreme, there are benefits of early childhood education.
A raft of research shows how critical early childhood education is when it comes to a student's future success, including OECD data, Kidspot reports.
It has been revealed that at least two years in quality early childhood education is one of the most powerful influences on a student's Program for International Assessment (PISA) results at age 15.
"The strongest predictor of performance at age 15 is the number of years a student participates in ECEC. This is consistent with Australian research, examining the benefits of expanded access to a second year of preschool for all children in Australia," wrote policy analysts from Victoria University for The Conversation.
"Across the OECD, 22 per cent of students who had attended early childhood education for less than a year performed below the baseline level of proficiency in science.
"Yet only 10 per cent of students who attended more than two years of preschool were below the baseline."
