Preschool may look like fun and games, but it’s much more than that. It’s the first official platform where your child learns the foundational elements that will help them move forward with their academics and higher levels of learning.
Although much of what we learn comes from the home and family, preschool offers educational learning on the social as well as the academic level. Here are 10 things that your child will learn during their preschool years in order to prepare themselves for kindergarten.
Language and Literacy
By the time your child is 3 to the time they are 5, the language skills grow at an unprecedented rate. During this stage, they will easily learn anywhere from 900 to 2,500 new words. The number of words a child can identify and use improves with as they continue through preschool education programs.
Before a child learns to read and write, they learn letters and sounds. Preschool teaches a child how to write their name, even if looks rough. They also get comfortable with different sounds a letter makes, which helps them sound basic words including mom and dad.
While pre-schoolers don’t usually read full books, they do learn the basics of reading. Preschools implement fun learning techniques including educational songs and poems like those found at 123ABCtv.
Song like this phonics song can greatly improve a child’s learning during their preschool years.
Emotional Development
Learning to share and play with others nurtures a child’s healthy emotional development. Young children develop in many ways, including on the emotional level. As humans, we are full of emotions, and different emotions can come and go in waves.
It’s hard for children to control these feelings, let alone develop an understanding of them. They need to learn how to label and deal with these emotions, but it’s a process that takes time.
Children learn how to deal with different emotions in preschool as it offers an amazing social platform for them to learn how their emotions impact themselves and others. Emotional development in preschool includes the ability to solve and handle strong feelings in a socially acceptable way.
Cognitive Skills
During the ages of 3-5, cognitive skills grow at a rapid rate and enrolling your child in a preschool helps improve brain development at a rapid pace. Any activity that challenges your child to think deeply, investigate, and ask questions or even solve issues improves their cognitive functions.
During preschool, your child is presented with many challenges that are fun, but designed to improve their cognitive abilities.
Improves Their Social Skills
Children have to learn how to work with peers, make friends, share and work with others in a work environment. A preschool offers a child their first chance to trust others outside of their family. This is so important as they will have a larger group of children to help them learn social skills, how to get along with others, and how to make new friends.
These skills benefit kids in many ways, including the following:
- Let children discover their self-identity in a group setting
- Learn and show empathy for others
- Promotes community participation
- Learn to resolve conflict among peers
- Learns the impact of negative and aggressive action towards others
- Cooperative play
- Relationship building
Improves Motor Skills
During preschool, kids remain busy and active the entire time. Carefully planned and executed programs facilitate the active inner nature of children and helps to develop a child’s growing motor skills.
A child’s motor skills will help them complete day-to-day tasks and improve physical skills. Preschool have entertaining routines that boost motor skills in a fun way and helps them fine tune these skills as they grow. Balance and hand-eye coordination can be greatly improved through these learning activities.
They Get a Better Sense of Structure
While most parents try to teach structure in their home setting, preschool can often be much more effective. For starters, a preschool presents a cooperative group environment consisting of teachers and peers that are less familiar.
This teaches them skills in a classroom like raising their hands to answer a question, listening skills, being polite, and following instruction. These are some of the basics that help a child learn how to be productive and work in a structured environment.
An efficient school mixes these learning programs with fun and makes it easier for children digest these lessons. Learning at an early age improves a child’s ability to quickly learn to follow direction, listen, and interact with authority figures.
Make Decisions and Look After Themselves
Preschoolers must learn to make their own decisions and begin to look after themselves. The presence of an authoritative figure, like a teacher, helps these young children learn to manage their energy, their mind, and tackle day-to-day challenges.
A child’s sense of competence or self-worth develops as they learn to take care of themselves and assist others. A teacher appeals to the child’s wish to engage by presenting them with opportunities to help their peers in class.
Teachers promote their students to and help them become a resource for other students. Children develop a sense of responsibility while learning competence. Throughout preschool, a child learns functional behavior in the company of peers.
Promote Curiosity
Teachers observe, question, and listen to the ideas of their pupils during class. In preschool, the correct answer isn’t the ultimate goal, but to motivate them and promote their innate curiosity. A teacher uses the child’s interests and ideas to promote their growing, active minds.
Teachers create opportunities with make-believe and playtime strategies that help promote growth and creativity.
Diversity
Pre-schoolers have to learn they belong and develop a better sense of their being. Being exposed to similar and diverse peers helps their mental growth. Diversity benefits a young mind, as they understand different viewpoints and differences between themselves and others.
It Prepares Children for Kindergarten
Kindergarten is more academic, and preschool is an efficient way to help launch a child in the right direction. Preschools may help develop children in ways that parents cannot. By learning in preschool, children increase their likelihood of being successful in kindergarten and in the years that will follow.
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This is a featured post by site sponsor Costea Lestoc
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