Preschool: Mixed Ages vs. Separate Age Groupings
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Preschool: Mixed Ages vs. Separate Age Groupings
March 2003
Hi, we are looking into daycare/preschool for next year for my
then-to-be 2 y.o. I am looking at schools that have isolated
age groups (2 yo rooms, 3 YO rooms, etc) and others that have
mixed age class room 2 - 5 yo. Is there a source for thoughtful
discussion on the pros and cons of each type of learning? Is
there a better age to move to a mixed age room? The 4 year-olds
seem so much more advanced then my little fellow that I can't
imagine the interaction! Any thoughts, resources, experiences,
literature on this would be much appreciated.
Thanks! Shahana
Not quite the same ages as you mention, but: My son is in a family
daycare; he started there when he was 15 months old, and has been
with two two year old boys and a three year old girl. As you say, the
three-year-old was definitely much more advanced than my son. At
least in my case, it worked beautifully -- my son really looks up to the
two-year-olds and, I believe, has learned new skills by watching them
and trying to emulate them. And the three-year-old girl has been very
nurturing and ''motherly'' to him -- I often saw her giving him hugs,
bringing him toys, and so on. So it definitely can be positive.
Karen
My son was in a mixed age preschool from the age of 14 months
and it was a wonderful experience. At his preschool, Via Nova,
the curriculum had several times during the day when the
different ages overlapped, as well as times when the ''Lion Cubs''
were separated from the ''Tigers'' and the ''Bears''. With strict
supervision by the staff and some truly wonderful kids, my son
had opportunitiy to mingle with the big kids. When he became
a ''big kid'' himself, he often played with the little ones. It
gave him a sense of pride to help the younger kids learn new
things, and he liked feeling like an expert.
My son is now 8 and he continues to thrive in a mixed age after
school program. I think that the staff and the school's
philosophy play a big part in mixed age success. Good luck.
Bennett
When my son was two and a half, he attended a Montessori day care
that was of mixed ages. The theory was that the older children
act as mentors to the younger ones. In my son's case, though,
there was a top heavy tier of older kids about the age of four or
so who hung out together and didn't really mingle with the fewer
amount of younger kids. My son had a much smaller pool of like
aged kids to relate to developmentally. While he ended up
forming a strong relationship to one other child, the mentor
intention just didn't work in his case.
My second son attended the same school but there was more kids
his age group this time around. So he had an easier time fitting in.
My little daughter is in a school with all like aged kids and
it's just wonderful to have so many peers around. Perhaps this
situation works for our family since little sister already is
exposed to older kids via her brothers that it's nice to be
around other kids her own age.
It also depends on the dynamics of the certain kids in a school
be it like aged or mixed ages.
Mom of three
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