I think the best part was that I spent only a few hours (3-5 depending) per day on schoolwork. Then I had free time to pursue other interests. For me, they were sewing and playing the violin. For my sister…well, she was bored a lot, but she enjoyed going on very long walks and is now heading up a college outdoors club. When she was younger she was also pretty creative.

So our schooling was quite academic (my mom didn’t take “B” for an answer! she was a professor back in the day…). But our creativity was considered very important too.

My daughter has been going to daycare since age 4 months, to school since age 2.5.
I’m not going to argue what’s best for a child. I can only judge by our own experience.

In both environments she has learned by example, learned to make friends (some of whom she also sees outside school), and was/is welcomed in a warm and caring environment.

Both her academic (well, at that age, let’s be honest, there’s not much academic to it) and creative skills are challenged on a daily basis. Children are invited to draw, paint, play music, play with dolls, cars, read books, play with one another on a daily basis in both environments. They are also taught to speak in public at school (one child of the day who ‘assists’ the teacher) and are given responsibilities.

Many of the activities at school have also become home activities. And sometimes home activities are shared with the school. When we bake muffins at home or pick chestnuts in the park, my daughter will ask to take them into class. The school and us, as her parents and her family, share a responsibility for our child.

On a final note: our child attends a municipal school. Our school fee for the year is 80 euros (120 dollars) a year + lunchtime drinks. We live in Europe. By the time she leaves school at age 18, she will have a working knowledge of 4 languages (or more, depending on her curriculum, which could include Latin and Greek), science, maths, art, history, geography, etc. Hopefully, she will have also become a well-rounded young adult. We can only hope ;-) (and otherwise we will have failed miserably).