Preschool and your child

A good preschool strives to make your child more independent, builds a sense of self-esteem and confidence which will foster learning at your child’s own pace. Learning that is fostered at the child’s own pace by changing the role of adults in the classroom. It has been found through research that children who have attended good pre-schools show better academic performance than those who never attended a nursery school, or those who went to the neighbourhood nursery schools. So it is essential that you carefully check the pre-school, you are sending your child to. A child who has attended a high quality preschool has longer attention spans and is more socially well-adjusted. Such a child shows better math skills, and grows up into better individuals as they are more likely to attend graduate school and become successful adults.

Check the credentials of the school you are sending your child too. The teachers should hold degrees in teaching Montessori kids. Also check if the school is accredited.

Don’t mix up day care with nursery school. Day care services are meant for taking care of the child when the parents are away, whereas nursery school is more than mere taking care of the child. The hours of day care are not pre-defined, where as nursery school has shorter hours and it teaches different skills to the child. If you are looking for day care don’t send your child to a pre-school and if you want to send your child to learn then don’t send them to a day care center.

Find out how the school deals with undisciplined behaviour. When the child hits or bites, what does the school do? How does the school deal with conflict between kids? Do they let the kids resolve it themselves or the teacher intervenes. It is very important that you trust the schools way of dealing with your child.

Does your child’s school have a mid-day meal scheme, what do they serve. Don’t send your child to a school that serves mid-day meal, if you don’t want your child to eat a certain kind of food. Find out also whether the food served fulfils the nutritional needs of your child.

Check whether the school, fosters the child’s imagination. Does it encourage the child to imagine? See the pictures on the wall, does it show encouragement of the child’s imagination or the child is guided into drawing in a specific way.

Also find out whether the school encourages the parents to visit the school anytime or the school has a fixed schedule when you can visit the school.

What does the school do about the safety of the child? Do they have attendants who look after the safety of the child and what does the school do after school pick-up?

Find out what is the philosophy of the school, does the school encourage the play way method of learning or the school makes the child learn numbers and the alphabet by writing them out. Each schools philosophy differs and you should choose a school that matches with your philosophy of how you want your child to be treated. As a final word choose a school that has a scientific curriculum to teach the children.