Hi all,
I have twin boys and have been reading a lot of new research about boys and education.
I don't want to start a debate on the topic! Just looking for some options (if there are any) to accommodate the personal choices I would like to have for my family. The "head start" benefits of introducing academics Early have shown (in my province at least) to be nil after a few years and may actually be negative for boys based on a number of factors. So we were hoping to do a very play-based, child-Centred, nature/outdoorsy type "school" until the age of 6 with them. Like forest school or Waldorf style.
I had heard that mandatory school in CH doesn't start until age 6 and I was pretty happy with having that freedom to choose pre-K or not. Now unfo we have read that in our canton (Aargau) pre-K and Kindergarten are not only mandatory, but the age cut-off is 3 weeks after their birthday, so they will basically be the youngest in the class.
It's still a year away but I'm wondering if there are any like-minded parents on here who can tell me about their experiences? And does anyone know, are there many forest schools or Waldorf that I could enroll them in instead, which would satisfy the mandatory requirements?
Has anyone ever tried to request an exception to the age cut-off date? I know it's done back home if there are extenuating circumstances... Not sure parents' wishes qualify as extenuating :-)
I'm guessing home schooling is 100% illegal here?
We arent dead set on anything - just wanting to have choices. I've heard (and I'm hoping) that the Swiss primary schools are better than Canada anyway - so my concerns may not apply - can anyone share a bit of what it is like here? How much "sitting still" is required and how often do they get outside, etc? (I'm still massively confused about school hours and lunches... but I'm sure that's another thread entirely :-)
Finally, I'd love to hear your experiences with vacation. I didn't expect their attendance would be so heavily policed at age 4 - do you know if it's generally a big deal to miss a bit of preschool (pre-k and K) for holidays here and there? We may want to go back to Canada for Thanksgiving or whatever and the timing doesn't always work out.
I'm hoping our little town (Muri) will have enough options that we won't have to go bankrupt and spend hours commuting to a private school in Zürich but we will consider all options to see what will be a good fit.
Thanks for you (helpful and respectful :-) ) suggestions and for keeping this from turning into a debate - pretty please!
Cheers!
Private pre-K and Kindergarten? Vacation outside school holidays?
I have twin boys and have been reading a lot of new research about boys and education.
I don't want to start a debate on the topic! Just looking for some options (if there are any) to accommodate the personal choices I would like to have for my family. The "head start" benefits of introducing academics Early have shown (in my province at least) to be nil after a few years and may actually be negative for boys based on a number of factors. So we were hoping to do a very play-based, child-Centred, nature/outdoorsy type "school" until the age of 6 with them. Like forest school or Waldorf style.
I had heard that mandatory school in CH doesn't start until age 6 and I was pretty happy with having that freedom to choose pre-K or not. Now unfo we have read that in our canton (Aargau) pre-K and Kindergarten are not only mandatory, but the age cut-off is 3 weeks after their birthday, so they will basically be the youngest in the class.
It's still a year away but I'm wondering if there are any like-minded parents on here who can tell me about their experiences? And does anyone know, are there many forest schools or Waldorf that I could enroll them in instead, which would satisfy the mandatory requirements?
Has anyone ever tried to request an exception to the age cut-off date? I know it's done back home if there are extenuating circumstances... Not sure parents' wishes qualify as extenuating :-)
I'm guessing home schooling is 100% illegal here?
We arent dead set on anything - just wanting to have choices. I've heard (and I'm hoping) that the Swiss primary schools are better than Canada anyway - so my concerns may not apply - can anyone share a bit of what it is like here? How much "sitting still" is required and how often do they get outside, etc? (I'm still massively confused about school hours and lunches... but I'm sure that's another thread entirely :-)
Finally, I'd love to hear your experiences with vacation. I didn't expect their attendance would be so heavily policed at age 4 - do you know if it's generally a big deal to miss a bit of preschool (pre-k and K) for holidays here and there? We may want to go back to Canada for Thanksgiving or whatever and the timing doesn't always work out.
I'm hoping our little town (Muri) will have enough options that we won't have to go bankrupt and spend hours commuting to a private school in Zürich but we will consider all options to see what will be a good fit.
Thanks for you (helpful and respectful :-) ) suggestions and for keeping this from turning into a debate - pretty please!
Cheers!
