I was scrolling through facebook one day and noticed one of the people I’m friends with was tagged in a post about this 1-2-3 Grown and Learn program, so of course it peaked my interest and I began looking it up.

They have this class for birth-5 years everyday through the school year, but each day it’s at 2 different schools in the Vancouver School District. One being at 9 am, and the other at 1 or 2pm depending on school. But, both go for 1.5 hours.

And no, unfortunately you don’t get to dump and run for an hour and a half break. You stay there with your child to interact and promote learning and play time with other kids. 

I knew this would be fun for Arya since she’s stuck with me everyday with little to no interaction with other kids besides her cousins occasionally. And let’s just say, a couple of them are not what I want her learning from. They can be holy terrors!

I invited my youngest sister along since she has a daughter who is 6 months younger than Arya.

We went over to the elementary school closest to me at 9am, which happens to be where I went from 3rd-5th grade. Only it’s been remodeled and moved to the other side of the street.

In the program, they read a couple quick books that were interactive, and sang a couple songs we didn’t know. Kids also got up and did show and tell with toys they brought. And of course Arya got right up there and wanted to grab their toys. She was such a character and the only child up running around. She’ll learn eventually though.

After that, the teachers got out buckets of beans and let the kids play in them with scoopers, etc.
I knew Arya would love that since she enjoyed her time playing in the sand at the beach, which I feel is pretty similar, only less invasive. Lol

When they were putting those up, Arya didn’t want to stop of course since she was having too much fun.

Then, we washed the girls up and they gave all the kids some goldfish cracker snacks. Wmma loved it so much, she was going around trying to take everyones crackers.

Arya just wanted to play with everyone and kind of be the center of attention. She’s just like her dad in so many ways. I see it as a good thing though, because she’ll pull the shyness out of me and won’t allow me to be reserved. 

She was such a character and had me cracking up though.

I’ll have to take her to more classes. One of the teachers said Harney Elementary had more toddlers in their group, so maybe I’ll head there next!

Do you have any programs like this in your area, and have you seen any benefits from it?

If you are like many busy families, it may seem as if you hardly see your child. With school and after school activities, there is no time to connect and be close. You don’t know what they do in school, who they’ve met and what they are learning. You may have encountered teachers or administrators that you don’t personally like or hold views about learning and children that repel you.

In this situation, it is important to look at options. Have you considered online homeschooling if you want to spend more time with your children and be more present in their lives?

A Look at Homeschooling

If public school values do not represent yours, you may want to consider alternative avenues of teaching your children. One great aspect of homeschooling is how close you can become to your child—you will spend most of their waking hours with them and have more say in what values they develop. You may discover things about them that you never knew, and you could discover abilities they possess that you would like to be able to cultivate.

With homeschooling, your children will be treated as the unique people they are. Many times in a public school environment they are just another number. But if you choose to educate them yourself, you could help them see themselves as valuable for who they are.

Online Homeschooling: Convenience at your Fingertips

You could research how to homeschool with online resources. Many families are choosing to educate their children by finding materials online. There are thousands of websites catered to the homeschooling family, and countless exercises, games and other devices that can help your children learn important concepts. Now is a better time than any to homeschool—there have never been so many available options at the tips of your fingers.

For the best services in online education, visit www.FutureSchool.com for more.