When my oldest daughter had just turned three, I invited everyone I knew who also had a three-year-old to come over for an information meeting on a mother’s co-op preschool I wanted to organize. There were at least 15 moms (and their kids) there.
I introduced the curriculum I hoped to use, discussed what it would entail, and got five of the moms on board to teach Joy School with me that year. Every year for the next eight, I managed to generate enough interest in a mother’s co-op preschool to put each of my four daughters through two years (each) of Joy School.
Something has changed between then and now. It’s not just that I have fewer friends with preschoolers. (Although that’s true).
I met with five moms a couple of weeks ago, who expressed minimal interest in pursuing Joy School with me. The top concern preventing them from throwing their hats in the ring is the amount of time required to prepare and carry out lessons.
The moms who voice these concerns also have their child enrolled in traditional preschool two days a week. Joy School would be in addition to that. So, really, their child would be away from them four mornings a week except for the occasional week where they would teach Joy School. Which takes only 3 hours of prep. Every 5-6 weeks.
I’m frustrated. I’ve never considered traditional preschool as an option. I figure, I pass my kids off to the public school system for 13 years. I’m not in a hurry to get them out the door any sooner.
But I am definitely in the minority. Even among mothers who don’t work outside the home. And I’m having a hard time understanding why.
Why are we willing to fork out cash for someone else to teach our kids at ages 3-5? Is it because we can? Is it so we can catch a break? Is it because we believe someone else could do it better?
I really would like to understand where others are coming from. Because I personally am unwilling to pay someone over a thousand dollars (for nine months) to do something that I could almost as easily do myself.
I acknowledge that each of us pays others to do things that we could do ourselves. I recently paid someone to paint interior columns and trim in my house because I just wanted to be done with my remodel. I could have done it myself. But I decided that avoiding the hassle of having to was worth paying someone else to do it.
I am reticent to do that with preschool for a number of reasons. Partly because I’m cheap and partly because I enjoy teaching my children in general, particularly at this adorable age and stage. And even if I didn’t like it, I would still do it because I do tons of things I don’t really like for the sake of my children. Camping, anyone?
The moms who have politely declined my invitation to join a Joy School group are moms I admire. They expend enormous amounts of time at home and in our community for the sake of their children (and others’). I fully respect their right to determine where to place their energies as benefits their family most.
I just wish that more of them would choose Joy School. Where are my mother’s co-op peeps? Are we a dying breed? And what can I do to appeal to moms who are on the fence?
After nine years of teaching my kids preschool, the thousands of dollars I’ve saved, and the fun memories associated with doing so, I can’t imagine doing anything else. Add to that the fact that Jack’s special needs force me to question whether enrolling him in a class of up to 12 other rambunctious 3-4 year-olds would be prudent.
I just can’t stomach it. So here’s to embarking on a Joy School recruitment campaign for the summer. Wish me luck.
So its interesting you post that when I’m enrolling my youngest for the first time in traditional preschool this fall- and it took a long time to get to that point.
I did Joy School with only one of my children- and I was actually pretty disappointed. It was exactly the same lessons, outline, etc as when my Mom did it with me. Some of the songs were timeless, others I felt like a crazy person singing to them. It just felt really old. I’ve heard they’ve done an update since then. I think it was needed. I feel like such a traitor because my Mom loves Joy School, I loved it when I was younger and one of my good friends is from the family that created Joy School, but I was a big two thumbs down on the program.
Since then I’ve done coop preschool with our own cirriculum (takes a lot to plan, and preschoolers are not my forte), paid for a 4 hour a week preschool at a neighbor’s house (was actually my favorite option and not expensive), attending a Mommy and Me Preschool at a Hawaiian aina program (liked that too) and this year done nothing. This next year sending her stems from her being the youngest in a quick succession of children and her subsequent inability to play by herself very well at all and the fact that I have very few (one to be exact) friends with children her age to do a coop at. But the only reason I can actually afford to send her to a traditional preschool is this year there is a *scholarship program for all preschool children in our community through a NGO grant- otherwise it would have been out of the question.
Sorry for the novel, just got me thinking.
Thanks for your insights! It’s good to get inside others’ heads and see another perspective. I love Joy School, and yes the updates were much needed and appreciated-though the songs are largely the same. But then, I love preschoolers too, so there’s that. Glad you found something that worked for you guys that is affordable.
As a side note, I hope you still caught the slight satire in my blog post. It’s borne of the utter exhaustion of parenting both toddlers and teenagers at the same time. Swore I would never do it. And yet, here I am…
I honestly can’t imagine what it would be like to parent toddlers and teenagers. It would require energy and a wider range of skills than I’ve developed. Can’t believe you juggle that all and still have the energy to pour into Jack you did with the other!