When your child is old enough to start pre-school it is an exciting time in both your life and your child’s life. For you, it is also a bit scary. You hope that your child will get along in school, that you have chosen the right place, that it will prepare him or her enough for the school years that lie ahead. You also may begin to wonder if your expectations were too low or too high as you sifted through the various brochures and went on the tours offered by the various schools. Above all, you don’t really know what you are supposed to expect them to learn in pre-school. You remember when you were in pre-school, but times have changed since then. Have curriculums and expectations changed as well?
What Do You Think They Will Learn?
Pre-school is exactly what it says. It is a place that prepares you to go to school. Children go to pre-school so that they learn basic skills they will need in school and will not be overwhelmed by the school environment. Remember that even if your children attend a small school, to a small child a room of twenty children is a lot of people. That can distract them from the actual learning environment.
Pre-school is a place where children can adjust to this new type of environment without it affecting the actual tasks they must perform for future learning. A pre-school teaches children social skills. It shows them how to get along with others, how to communicate with others, how to share. The Children’s Academy is a Montessori environment. In this environment, children learn to interact with other children and adults in an appropriate manner; one that teaches self-discipline. It is the difference between simply opening the door or knocking first to gain entrance.
Children will learn to recognize numbers, letters, shapes, and sounds. They will practice fine motor skills which will help them develop the muscles they need to successfully write, draw, etc. When they learn their shapes and play games with shaped toys they are honing their geometric skills. They don’t have to know a shape is a rectangle, but they do need to know it looks different from a square.
Another important skill that children learn is conflict resolution. As children get to know one another and interact in the classroom it is inevitable that there will by personality clashes or different ways of handling issues. Learning to resolve these types of conflicts in a non-threatening manner and in an environment that is supportive is crucial to a child’s future success.
Other studies that you may want your child to learn are Bible studies, a foreign language, art, and music. These are not taught at all schools, but are taught at the Children’s Academy in Mansfield, Texas. Should you wish further information or would like a tour of our school, feel free to contact us.
