At the Pittsburgh Plan, we believe that preschoolers can make great intellectual strides in their early years -- but only if they are treated as young children, rather than as tiny adults.
We reject -- emphatically! -- the idea of placing pressure on young children, and the culture of fear that subjects young children to competitive entrance exams for elite preschools, or places them in rote learning environments with paid instructors and periodic testing.
Instead, we suggest an alternative approach, something new under the sun:
We ask you to spend a few minutes each week with your child.
We ask you to keep these sessions happy and free of pressure.
We give you materials and suggest that you use certain techniques, such as asking questions and listening -- really listening -- to your child's answers.
Then we leave it up to you and your child.
And we find, over and over again, that this low-key, natural approach produces almost unbelievable results: happy, confident children who excel at math and reading, who love learning and welcome challenges.
"I am amazed at the rate of my son's learning at this early age, even with the relaxed, no-pressure pace of the Plan. He and I have become partners! . . . . I am learning just as much from my son, by watching him learn, as he is learning. . . trusting his own curiosity and innate love of learning to lead us where we need to go next.I feel like a better parent!"
Mother (actress) of a 2 year old boy using the Plan
