Noticed your child starting to walk independently on their own? Soon, you will find them running around from one activity to the next. Now is the right time to start planning for your child’s next phase of development. As parents, you’ll naturally start to wonder, if it is time to send their child to school, even at such a young age. This decision to send your child to preschool is an exciting time and instrumental in building a solid foundation for your child’s growth.
Typically, children begin preschool around 2 to 3 years old. However, there is no right or wrong time to send your child to preschool as preschool readiness depends on the developmental stage of your child and it can vary from child to child. In most cases, these developmental milestones can be achieved through the fundamental learning experiences in preschool. Through hands-on activities and varied positive interactions with their peers and teachers, children develop skills that are harder to replicate in a home setting.
Once you have decided to send your child to preschool, here’s what you can expect as your child begins their preschool journey.
1. Your child builds independence
Young children tend to feel some form of anxiety when away from their parents for the first few times. It is normal for children to be affected by this separation. During the first few days of attending their new school, they will learn to adapt to their new environment and also form an attachment with their teachers. At first, you will notice that your child prefers to stick with a teacher they feel most comfortable with. After some time of warming up to their new surroundings, your child will start to participate in more activities and engage with other teachers and peers in class.
With time, your child will soon be independent enough to attend school without much crying and look forward to going to school every day. The day will officially come when your child is able to confidently bid goodbye to you and enter the classroom excitedly. In school, teachers will also foster children’s independence by offering choices of activities to be involved in and allowing them to problem-solve on their own.
2. Your child develops a longer attention span
When children attend preschool, they follow a timetable that allows them to get used to a routine. During different parts of the day, children will participate in various activities and complete tasks assigned to them. These activities are designed to be age-appropriate and tap into a child’s current attention span while also attempting to increase it. Teachers will facilitate children’s learning and observe how they can further prolong their attention for an extended period of time.
In class, when children face difficult tasks to complete or find the tasks too repetitive, teachers will step in to deliver the instruction in small steps or tweak the tasks to make them more fun and engaging.
3. Your child learns to communicate effectively
Before young children embark on their preschool journey, their needs are often quickly met as their parents are always present by their side. When young children attend preschool, they start to learn how to interact with their peers through non-verbal and verbal communication. With the aid of the teacher, she will facilitate this interaction by providing and sounding out short phrases to mirror what a child is trying to communicate.
Your child will also learn how to communicate with their teacher on their wants and needs. For example, if they want an extra slice of apple during lunch, children will learn how to seek the attention of their teacher and use simple words and gestures to inform the teacher of what they want. The goal for young children to communicate effectively will start from saying simple words to forming short sentences.
4. Your child acquires language and cognitive development
Joining a preschool and an early age will boost your child’s headstart in hitting their developmental milestones. Children will be constantly exposed to languages such as English and Chinese that may not be commonly spoken at home. Naturally, children acquire language through regular interaction with others. By immersing your child in a preschool setting, it will encourage them to communicate and interact with speakers of the same language.
Furthermore, children will also engage in various learning opportunities that tie in with learning areas such as literacy and numeracy.
Conclusion
Preschool can be a transformative and rewarding experience for your child. Parents should know the benefits of having their child attend preschool and start planning ahead on selecting which preschool is the best for their child after knowing what to expect as mentioned above.
As a leading childcare centre in Singapore, Raffles Kidz strives to provide the best nurturing learning environment for our children. With our award-winning curriculum and dedicated teachers, we are committed to educating the whole child to have the best head start in life. Book a tour with us today to learn more!
