Friday, June 15, 2012

What Is the Value of a Quality Preschool Education?

The value of a quality preschool education cannot be underestimated. The impact on early childhood development can be seen in academics such as literacy, math, and student readiness. It can also have an impact on children's social skills and on their physical development. Both can have far-reaching consequences in terms of success in school and in sports. A preschool that neglects one of these areas can seriously handicap a child's ability to succeed.

Literacy

One of the biggest benefits to a quality preschool education is in development of literacy skills. The reality is that a child's ability to learn to read is directly impacted by their acquisition of vocabulary. Their ability to learn language is strongest prior to entering school. In addition, a quality preschool education can help children explore other language related skills and print concepts such as reading left to right.

Math Literacy

Similarly, a quality preschool education can give young children an advantage in math literacy. Through games and exploration, a child can develop number recognition and learn counting concepts and sequencing. They can also explore geometry with shape recognition and can even learn to recognize patterns. These are all critical early math literacy skills. When a child enters school having already mastered these, he or she will be ahead of the class.

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Parental Involvement in Preschool Education

It is important for parents to be involved in their children's education. It can help children to make the change to the classroom setting more easily, and it can also help your child to be a good student. Parents who encourage their children to be curious, who read books to them and who make sure that learning is seen as fun, can have a big impact on their child's educational success.

Your involvement should begin before your child starts preschool. It is important to make sure that your child is ready for preschool so that they will feel comfortable in their new environment. You should talk to your child about preschool and take them to visit their classroom before the year starts.

The more involved you feel in your child's preschool education, the easier it will be for you to cope with the separation from your child. It can be very difficult to get used to the idea of leaving your child in preschool, so keeping track of everything that is going on will be very reassuring.

Different preschools have different policies about parental involvement. You should consider these policies when you are choosing a preschool for your child. If you would like to be able to spend a lot of time in the preschool and to play an important role in your child's education, then you should look for a school that encourages a lot of parental involvement.