Playing Hooky

I've been surprised to learn lately how early children are heading off to "school".  From as early as a year I've known little ones whose parents sent them away during the week to environments of learning and, while I do see the merit in theory of this, I still can't help but to shake my head in disbelief.  I remember going to pre-school at three before starting kindergarten at four, then proceeding to first grade and so on, but earlier than three just makes me wonder. While something about this just wasn't sitting right with me I felt like my reservations about it may be rooted more in my unfamiliarity with that schedule and my feeling that some children simply aren't quite ready to be tossed into those sorts of social settings before a certain age.  I've been asked countless times by friends and acquaintances whether I've found a preschool for Olive, even though this was never a consideration from the start for us.  Then I came across this article.  While I by no means take this study as the only right way, it sure did make a lot of sense to me.  Olive thrives in a home learning environment and gets on well with all sorts of folks, though she could still use a little work in the peer department since her interactions occur largely with adults.  The bit about peers wanting to mimic one another and feel the need to be like others in order to fit in really resonated with me, though.  When I was a teacher I witnessed proof of that on a daily basis - far more than seemed healthy or appropriate, and I'd much prefer for my child to not be burdened with the premature pressure to be like someone else.  Regardless of your stance on childhood education, I feel like it's worth the read.