In regards to the last two posts...

I am very new at being a daycare provider, however, I've been a parent for about 14 years. In my mind, and perhaps I'm wrong, I do believe that learning should begin at home. Though the kids in my care do work on colors, counting, and our alphabet, I also believe that free play is extremely important. When my daughter was little (she's now 14) she could pick up any book and read a paragraph out of it at age 4. My son who just turned 5 can recognize letters and their sounds, can't yet read. I have worked equally with both of them. I have 2 daycare children (separate families) who are also 4 who can't sing the alphabet song or say the alphabet, let alone recognize the letters. These two boys can barely count to 10 either. A big part of me feels it's my duty to intervene as their care taker and teach them the things I think they should be learning. At the same time I find it EXTREMELY frustrating that the parents don't work with either one of them at all at home.

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