Quantitative research shows there are a number of life-long benefits for children who attend a high quality preschool program. Some of them include: higher wages as an adult, less problems with the law in adolescence and adulthood, higher academic motivation, and more academic diversity. What are the early education skills young children acquire in order to be successful in school and into adulthood? Read about them below.
The social benefits of a quality preschool experience are undeniable. Young children learn to live in a classroom community. They learn to follow a routine and to get along with people, who aren’t their relatives. More importantly, they learn to problem-solve with others who want the same toys, the same place in line, same friends, and the same teacher’s attention as they do. Interacting with other children means learning how to wait, how to take turns and how to listen. Young children learn social skills when they interact with other children. These social skills are critical to a developing personality and should not be dismissed lightly.
Another benefit of children who attend preschool is they overcome their separation anxiety or at least reduce it significantly. When children attend preschool, they gradually learn that their parents will return. They learn in a loving environment (with a lower student to teacher ratio than in public school kindergarten) that they are not being abandoned and they can relax and have fun at school. KIDSPACE’s Kindergarten program follows the same small group concept as our preschool classes.
Building the foundations for academic learning is the third benefit of enrolling children in a quality preschool. In preschool your child will listen to and learn poetry and songs – the building blocks needed to grasp phonics and reading skills. Play that takes place with water, sand and containers form the foundation for understanding basic math concepts. Matching, sequencing, graphing, patterning, one to one correspondence and similar activities are done over and over in preschool helping children get ready to learn academics.
The fourth benefit of a preschool experience is the development of self-confidence and self-management skills. A quality preschool education improves the efficiency and productivity in the kindergarten classroom. Overall, children who participate in preschool education have more advanced skills in areas such as following directions, problem-solving, and joining in activities, all of which allow kindergarten teachers more time to work directly with children and less time on classroom management. The task of fitting into a classroom community is very important. It is much easier for a child to have this piece of behavior resolved before he or she enters kindergarten.
Kindergarten teachers agree that a quality preschool experience creates a smooth transition into kindergarten. In a poll conducted by Peter D. Hart Research Associates for Preschool California found near-unanimous support for quality preschool among kindergarten teachers. More than 9 out of 10 kindergarten teachers in California say it is important for children to attend preschool before they start kindergarten.
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