ONLINE EXCLUSIVE: Preschool, Freeschool

“Where is your daughter going to preschool?”
    I’ve gotten this question hundreds of times, from pediatricians, friends, acquaintances, department store sales people, and even strangers at the drugstore. Each time, I answer with a certain degree of blushing and stammering.
    “Uh, well, Punky’s not in preschool. She’s staying home with me until kindergarten.”
    In my middle-class suburban neighborhood, I might as well be telling people that I dress my 4-year-old daughter in ankle-length dresses and ride to the grocery in a horse and carriage. Around here, all 4-year-olds go to preschool, or at the very least, Mother’s Morning Out. They’ve been enrolled in dance, gymnastics or soccer since they were 3. And even when in diapers, they took music, movement and art classes.
    All told, educating and enriching the 5-and-under suburban set can cost thousands of dollars. It’s money I wouldn’t mind spending on my two small children if I had it, but I’m also parenting teenage stepdaughters and, to be honest, buying them reliable cars and sending them to college seems a little more important than Mommy and Me Yoga. Still, I’ve found myself worrying from time to time that my 4-year-old daughter was missing out on the activities and mental stimulation her little friends have been enjoying for years.
    Wanting her to have the best possible start before kindergarten, I did my research and discovered something miraculous: Here in Nashville, it’s possible to give your youngest children a fabulous early education, for almost no money at all. No, really. It is! And I’m here to tell you how.
    Let’s start with dance classes. By this year, all of Punky’s girl friends had enrolled in one of the dance schools around town, most of which charge hundreds of dollars for registration, tuition, two different recitals, three pairs of shoes, recital costumes, leotards and tights. Punky, on the other hand, is going to a weekly preschool dance class sponsored by Metro Parks. If she chooses, she can continue on through the city’s dance program until she’s 18. She absolutely loves her classes, and I’ve heard nothing but raves about the program from other parents. The cost for preschoolers?
    Free.
    This winter, Punky will also take free preschool acting classes through the city, and when she’s 6, she can take free painting, drawing, or arts and crafts classes if she chooses. Go to nashville.gov/parks/classes.htm for a full schedule.
    For now, we attend free weekly art classes either at the Bellevue Community Center, Cheekwood Botanical Gardens (Tuesday and Saturday family art classes are free with admission or membership, which is very reasonable), or Michael’s (michaels.com), where, for a small fee, kids can make amazing art projects in the store’s classroom each Saturday morning.
    Another fabulous preschool resource is the downtown library (library.nashville.org), which puts on a free weekly story time on Tuesdays and Wednesdays that features singing, dancing, juggling, puppetry, and of course, a book or two. The library also offers free marionette shows on Friday and Saturday mornings, in addition to periodic free concerts and performances from the Nashville Ballet and other children’s performers.
    My favorite bargain is Punky’s monthly preschool science class at the Nashville Zoo (nashvillezoo.org). For $6, she gets an hour of hands-on classroom instruction with a zoo educator. Afterward, Punky, her little brother and I spend the rest of the afternoon at the zoo, free of charge. This opportunity is one of the best deals in town.
    Nashville’s Warner Park (http://www.nashville.gov/parks/wpnc/) also holds free Friday and Saturday events for preschoolers, teaching children about everything from wildflowers to owls and insects.
    I used a some of the money I saved on preschool tuition and classes to splurge on a home school curriculum for my daughter. We spend an hour a day four times a week going over the basics of kindergarten math, phonics, science and social studies. I use the McRuffy curriculum (mcruffy.com) and love it, but you can put together lesson plans for free if you’re willing to spend a little extra time surfing the Internet. Two of my favorite sites for preschool lesson plans, worksheets and activities are first-school.ws and dltk-kids.com.
    In addition to classes, I try to attend at least one special event each week with my kids, whether it’s the state fair, the Adventure Science Center or a children’s theater production. If you check out the websites of the locations and events you’d like to visit, you’ll almost always find special discounts. Keep your eyes, ears and web browser open, and you’re sure to discover all sorts of inexpensive and fun ways to prepare your child for a lifetime of learning.
 

Lindsay Ferrier writes the weekly newspaper column, Suburban Turmoil, for the Nashville City Paper and the Louisville Eccentric Observer, based on her blog by the same name. She stays busy raising her 17 and 15-year-old stepdaughters, 4-year-old daughter, and 1-year-old son.