"But my child is so small!" Yes, they're still wee tykes, but a high-quality preschool is designed to set up young scholars up for future academic, emotional, and social success. Preschool provides a foundation for learning both socially and academically that will help your child succeed in elementary school.
For many children, preschool is their first experience in a structured setting with teachers and groups of children. It’s an opportunity to learn to share, follow instructions, and begin the foundation for learning that will occur in elementary school.
As kindergarten becomes more academic, many parents look to preschool to launch their child on the path to success in school. At the same time, parents may worry that the current trend to focus on pre-math and pre-literacy skills in preschool cuts into important play time and pushes a child to grow up too fast. It’s a confusing issue,especially with friends and family offering different opinions and advice.
Fortunately, in selecting a preschool, parents aren’t forced to choose between protecting a child’s play time and making sure she’s ready for kindergarten. A high-quality early childhood education program will offer children both.
But how do high-quality preschools benefit children’s learning and development? And what features should parents look for in a preschool program? One answer to these questions is that the staff at high-quality preschools and child care programs understand the particular ways that young children develop and learn. And they organize space, time and activities to be in sync with children’s social, emo In order to learn, a young child needs to feel cared for and secure with a teacher or caregiver. A 3-year-old child is able to spend time away from parents and build trusting relationships with adults outside the family. High-quality preschool programs nurture warm relationships among children, teachers and parents. And teachers build a close personal connection with each child in their care.
Children thrive when there is consistency in care between home and school. In high-quality preschools, teachers value parents as the experts on their children. Parents get daily reports on their child’s activities and regular meetings are scheduled for more in-depth conferences with staff. Teachers strive to understand and respect parents’ child-rearing goals and values.
Young children learn social skills and emotional self-control in “real time.” Three- and 4-year-olds learn through their experiences and good teachers make time for those “teachable moments” when they can help children learn to manage frustrations or anger. They don’t automatically step in to resolve children’s conflicts for them; they have a well-honed sense of when to let children work out their own problems and when to intervene. Without shaming a child, they encourage her to notice the impact of her aggressive or hurtful behaviour on another child.
Teachers observe, ask questions and listen to children’s ideas during these activities — “correct” answers are not the goal. To nurture their curiosity and motivation to learn, teachers use children’s interests and ideas to create activities. And even a simple, chance event – such as a child’s discovery of a snail in the outdoor play area — can be turned into an exciting opportunity to learn
Preschool-age children have active imaginations and learn through make-believe play. Teachers know that the line between reality and fantasy is often not clear to a young child. Sometimes this results in fears of monsters under the bed. But imagination also fuels learning. For example, when a group of children creates a make-believe pet store, they will practice many social and cognitive skills as they assign roles to each child, figure out categories of pet supplies and how to organize them, make signs to label products; help their “customers” select the right shampoo or cat toy; and take “money” for merchandize.
The imaginary play area in a high-quality preschool is well-stocked with costumes, “props,” and child-size household items such as stoves, sinks and cupboards. It’s often in this activity area that preschool-age children progress steadily from solitary play, to one-on-one play, to complicated group play.
Physical coordination improves, allowing the child to explore her environment — and to challenge herself-in new ways. Young children are in motion for a good part of the day. High-quality preschool programs provide several opportunities daily for children to run, climb, and play active games. Activities are offered to help children develop fine motor skills, such as threading beads or cutting with scissors. And children are challenged through a variety of activities to build their hand-eye coordination and balance.
When you choose a high-quality program that suits your child and family, you can feel assured that your child is well cared for, is enjoying activities and making friends — and is building the knowledge, skills, and confidence to do well in kindergarten.
Great Schools is the leading nonprofits empowering parents to unlock educational opportunities for their children. We the Council of India provide school information and parenting resources to help millions of families choose the right school, support learning at home, and guide their children to great futures.
Deciding to send a child to preschool is one of the most important decisions in a parent’s life. Once you have analysed all the pros and cons associated with sending your child to a preschool, it’s time to find the best preschool .Where your little one with create beautiful early childhood memories and learn many new things. You could start by asking your friends or family for recommendations or start searching online for the renowned pre-primary schools.
Not sure how to organize your preschoolers day? There are different preschool daily schedules from real moms of little ones.
Many families are choosing to have their preschools at home for play and learning . Or you might even have the opportunity to work remotely from home with your preschooler at home.
what does your preschool at home daily schedule look like. Because it looks different for each family, I have asked some friends to share their general schedule with you as well.
Take a deep breath and review this step-by-step timeline. It covers everything you need to know and do before taking charge of your child's education.
To get started with homeschooling, you’ll need some necessary supplies including:
Most children begin receiving formal education during kindergarten. Recent scientific research has proven that learning and mental development begin immediately after birth. During the first three years of a child's life, essential brain and neural development occurs. Therefore, children greatly benefit by receiving education before kindergarten.
Since kindergarten begins around the ages of 5 to 6 for most children, after major brain development occurs, parents should begin educating children at younger ages.
Many parents begin educating their children during these important developmental years. However, many parents neglect to take the time to educate their young children. Many factors can contribute to this, such as long work schedules and ignorance about the importance of educating children at a young age.
Unfortunately, not only are children negatively affected by not being educated at early ages, but the negative effects often reverberate through society. A study conducted by the Abecedarian (ABC) Project evaluated two groups of children for an extended period of time, those with formal preschool education and those not receiving any formal education. According to their findings, children with formal education scored higher on reading tests during subsequent school years. It was also shown that the children who did not receive any formal education in their pre-kindergarten years were more likely to struggle with substance abuse and delinquent behaviours in their early adult years.
Improving the pre-kindergarten education of children is one step that can be taken to improve a society economically and socially. It has been shown that children should begin to receive education before kindergarten since children experience substantial brain development during these early years.
The assessment of children’s and young people’s developmental needs is one of the main responsibilities of teachers and specialists working with them.
Psychological and pedagogical support aims to help pupils fulfil their developmental potential and create conditions for their active and full participation in the life of their (nursery) school or institution and in their social environment.
Where it is found that a child needs special pedagogical support in view of his / her difficulties or special talents, the nursery school, alternative preschool education setting, school or the institution initiates measures to meet these needs. This is an area where an educational institution provides counselling and guidance, referred to as psychological and pedagogical support.
Counselling and guidance sessions offered to children and young people are one of the various forms of psychological and pedagogical support.
Psychological and pedagogical support is also offered to pupils’/ parents and teachers in the form of counselling or guidance sessions, workshops and training sessions.
Counselling sessions, workshops and training sessions are conducted by teachers, class / group tutors and specialists.
Skills such as taking turns, playing make believe, and kicking a ball, are called developmental milestones. Developmental milestones are things most children can do by a certain age. Children reach milestones in how they play, learn, speak, behave, and move (like jumping, running, or balancing).
Because of children’s growing desire to be independent, this stage is often called the “terrible twos.” However, this can be an exciting time for parents and toddlers. Toddlers will experience huge thinking, learning, social, and emotional changes that will help them to explore their new world, and make sense of it. During this stage, toddlers should be able to follow two- or three-step directions, sort objects by shape and colours, imitate the actions of adults and playmates, and express a wide range of emotions.
Child psychology is the study of subconscious and conscious childhood development. Child psychologists observe how a child interacts with their parents, themselves, and the world, to understand their mental development.
Everyone wants their child to have healthy development, but it’s not always clear if a child’s behaviour is a symptom of a normal stage in development or a sign of an abnormality. Child psychologists can help you understand the difference. Understanding the normal and abnormal psychological patterns of a child can help parents understand how to best communicate and connect with their child, teach their child coping mechanisms for managing emotions, and help their child progress and thrive in each new developmental stage.
Child psychologists can also identify abnormal behaviours early, help detect the root of common behavioural issues such as learning issues, hyperactivity, or anxiety, and help children work through early childhood trauma. They can also help to prevent, evaluate, and diagnose developmental delays or abnormalities such as autism.
