Pre School for Kids

You wouldn’t move to a new neighborhood without checking it out first. You wouldn’t start a new job without going to orientation. You wouldn’t buy a new car without test driving it. Any monumental occasion in our lives usually has some sort of preparation period preceding it. It’s the same with your child and preschool. The first step on your child’s educational journey, preschool is the beginning of an amazing adventure of learning and discovery. To help make the transition as easy as possible, take some steps ahead of time to prepare your child. Help Your Child Do His Research Many children experience anxiety about starting preschool and it’s mainly because they aren’t quite sure what it is. Talk about what she’ll be learning at school, why it’s important and how much fun she’s going to have. Talk about how she’ll be playing games, making crafts, singing songs and meeting lots of new friends. Be sure to tell her that you will be there (or name the person who will be) to pick her up ...

Preschool (or prekindergarten) is a broad term used to describe curriculum-based early childhood education. Research shows that quality preschool education produces gains in a child’s learning and development, particularly for economically disadvantaged children. But in the U.S., the amount and type of preschool children attend varies widely — some kids attend one year of partial-day preschool before entering kindergarten; others are in full-day, school-like settings beginning at age 2; some children don’t attend preschool at all. On top of the choice of whether or not to attend preschool, at what age and for how long, parents also have different educational philosophies to consider — like Montessori, play-based programs, and Waldorf. For parents, the process of determining what is best for your toddler when it comes to early childhood education can be daunting. To get you started, Laura Gradman, a licensed professional counselor, education consultant, and owner of the Chicago Prescho...