Have You Chosen the Right Playschool for Your Child?
4 tips on picking the best preschool.
For most, playschool has been thought of as a glorified daycare where children can spend some time outside their home. For some. It is seen as the precursor to getting their children “ready for big school”.
But as an early childhood educator, I am constantly sharing the importance of the early years.
Playschool or preschool might be the most important stepping stone in your child’s education and development. In fact, ages 2 to 5, which are also called early childhood years, are the most crucial years of a child’s overall growth — physical, social, emotional and cognitive
development.
If done right and chosen selectively, playschool can lay the foundation for the rest of childhood and adulthood. It is the experiences in early childhood that will help in laying a child’s brain architecture.
Here’s what UNESCO says about the importance of early childhood education:
“Early childhood care and education (ECCE) is more than preparation for primary school. It aims at the holistic development of a child’s social, emotional, cognitive and physical needs in order to build a solid and broad foundation for lifelong learning and wellbeing.”
In this article, let me share with you tips on choosing the right playschool for your child and its significance. As a parent, you will obviously consider factors like distance, cost, medical facilities, reputation etc. I will focus more on the environment and activities involved.
1. Does it involve lots of free play?
I can’t stress enough the importance of free, unstructured play for young children. We’ve spoken about it multiple times in these articles (add links). Free play is where the child is in charge of what they play and how they do it.
This process encourages the child to use his or her creativity, explore answers to various questions, solve challenges etc. The Swedes have a concept called “friluftsliv” (pronounce FREE-looft-sleeve), which translates to “free air life”.
According to the Emile project, “Children [in Sweden} are taught from an early age to go outside and play by exploring the outside world.”
Even if you think back to your childhood, you’ll fondly remember the days spent playing outdoors.
Any good playschool or preschool should include old-fashioned, free play, especially outdoors when possible. This should not include organized games rather simply running, climbing, playing with natural materials. Think sand, mud, water, trees etc.
Is the indoor environment conducive to exploration and individual creativity? Do children have access to open-ended materials like blocks, creative art materials for painting, printing etc. and to opportunities to dance and sing, read fun children’s books?
2. Do they honour children?
Children are vivacious and curious individuals. Do the adults really listen and observe children and appreciate the uniqueness of each child? Are children able to freely express themselves in myriad ways? Are children spoken to and treated with respect?
The school’s staff should only focus on positive discipline methods such as explaining to the child and working with them towards improvement instead of punishing the child. Positive discipline can sound like this: Instead of saying “Don’t run,” you would say, “Let’s walk please.”
Children are only beginning to develop social skills and understand cues. Teachers and caregivers should help them with the process with care and patience.
3. Are parents involved?
Any good playschool would organize opportunities for parents to meet with the school staff and other parents. Some sessions could also involve parents engaging with the children so they can enhance their bond with the child.
At Learning Matters, we believe families are an integral part of the school. We organise multiple ways for parents to stay engaged. We have an open-door policy for parents. They are consulted on most major decisions. Regular coffee mornings are scheduled to discuss various early childhood topics.
We believe that a playschool is only part of a child’s life but their growth should continue even at home, hence we love to see our parents involved in an informed way in their child’s development.
4. Are teachers well-versed in child development and emotionally connected to the children?
Playschool is the first opportunity for children to step out of the safety zone of their immediate family. It is vital that the adults in the preschool bond emotionally with children. They need to have fun and be childlike. They need to genuinely like the children in their care. This adult quality is vital to the advancement of their social and cognitive development.
This article sums up the impact teachers will have on your child.
Conclusion:
A playschool’s role in a child’s development is underrated. These early years will cast a deeper impact on your child’s growth than any other time of their lives. It is crucial to invest in the right preschool keeping in mind factors such as opportunities for free play, an environment that respects children and involves parents, and educators who are professionally skilled in child behaviour. At Learning Matters, these pillars make up the core of all the programs we offer.
