Preschool: Ready, Set, Learn!

Preschool: Ready, Set, Learn!

By Shelly Bokman

It’s circle time. The kindergarten children are gathered round the carpet with eager faces. Max stands ready to help the teacher put today’s date on the calendar and recite their favorite “Good Morning song.” Jason fidgets, tosses a lego across the circle and begins to tickle the unsuspecting girl next to him. 
So why are Jason and Max reacting so differently to their kindergarten experience? The answer is simple—preschool! Max attended preschool before starting kindergarten, Jason didn’t.

Social Learning
Jason’s mom, his first and most important teacher, made sure he knew his shapes and colors, and could proudly count to 20 before kindergarten. But Jason missed out on the social experience a high quality preschool program offers. “But he had lots of play dates,” you may be saying. That’s helpful, but even as adults we know that finding our way in a large group is different than one-on-one interactions. Getting along with other children, sharing and contributing to circle time are skills we learn. Sharing the teacher’s attention with other kids, learning to follow instructions and a routine are big accomplishments. While play dates, a gym or music class are great, they don't give children the opportunity to compromise and respectfully problem-solve on their own, without mom or dad in the wings.

While this process may be daunting to some preschoolers, the self-confidence they gain will be evident when it’s kindergarten time. Lily Cottrell, Director of Auburn Discovery Montessori tells us, “The preschool years are when a child develops the joy of learning, a positive self-concept and the basic building blocks for all later learning.”

Emotional Learning
Your child may be reading before kindergarten, adding numbers and pointing out a rhombus and a cylinder in the shape book…but if he can’t separate from mom without emotional trauma, he is not ready for kindergarten. As much as we want to treasure these preschool years and give our children the gift of our time, it is ultimately our job to teach them to be independent adults. And while adulthood seems light years away, the learning starts now. Preschool gives children a chance to separate from mom and learn to be independent in a safe, age-appropriate environment.

Physical Learning
Toileting, washing hands, putting on jackets, picking up after themselves—these are all physical self-help skills that are expected of children in kindergarten. A preschool environment encourages these skills.

Having lots of small motor practice in the preschool years with simple puzzles, drawing, cutting with scissors, stringing beads and working with manipulatives will get your child ready for writing in school. While this is certainly a skill you can and should work on at home, a preschool has a wide variety of interesting materials that none of us could possibly have in our homes.

Cognitive or Academic Learning
Today’s kindergarten programs look more like first grade did when you and I went to school. Kindergarten teachers are ready to jump into reading and your child will be expected to jump too. Children need to recognize and name the alphabet letters, be familiar with rhyming and patterns, and the concepts of size, position and direction. They must be able to recognize numbers and understand that numbers tell us about quantity, order and measurement.

We spoke with Michelle Young at the City of Rocklin Preschool. She and her staff believe “preschool prepares the child for kindergarten by providing him with the necessary social and pre-academic skills for a successful first school experience.” Research backs up the benefits of time spent in preschool. The National Research Council states that children who spend more months in preschool do better on achievement tests in the second grade, have fewer behavior problems in third grade, and are less likely to have to repeat a grade. In addition, W. Steven Barnett, PhD. of the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) says, "Children who attend high-quality preschool enter kindergarten with better pre-reading skills, richer vocabularies, and stronger basic math skills than those who do not."

Choosing a Preschool
There are an abundance of preschool programs in our area. We have academic and play-based preschools. We have parent participation programs and full day child care centers with preschool components. There are Montessori schools and Waldorf schools. While each will have a slightly different philosophy, all agree that the preschool years are crucial to your child’s later academic success.

First 5, a local organization dedicated to improving the first five years of a child’s life, works with parents, teachers and community leaders to prepare children to enter school ready to learn. Each county has a First 5 office ready to help you out. Visit www.sackids.saccounty.net for Sacramento County, www.placer.ca.gov/cfc for Placer County, www.first5yolo.org for Yolo County and www.first5nevco.org for Nevada County.

The NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children) has established specific criteria for Early Childhood Program standards. These are based on the latest research on the education and development of young children, and were prepared with feedback from thousands of experts and educators from around the country. NAEYC has begun a rigorous process for accrediting preschool programs, and schools that achieve NAEYC Accreditation hold to the highest standards. Many other schools choose not to go through this optional program but do believe in and adhere to the NAEYC standards:

Promote positive relationships for all children and adults 
Implement a curriculum that fosters all areas of child development – cognitive, emotional, language, physical, and social 
Use developmentally, culturally, and linguistically appropriate and effective teaching approaches 
Provide ongoing assessments of child progress 
Promote the nutrition and health of children and staff 
Employ and support qualified teaching staff 
Establish and maintain collaborative relationships with families 
Establish and maintain relationships and use resources of the community 
Provide a safe and healthy physical environment 
Implement strong program management policies that result in high-quality service

Jennifer Turner, Director of Children’s Creative Learning Center in Folsom suggests that you talk to other moms, get online and research, and head off to visit some preschools. Ask lots of questions and just hang out and get a feel for the program. You know your child best and will be able to determine which kind of preschool program he will benefit from. The important thing is that he venture out and explore the world at a high quality preschool program.