When we are looking for good options of educational institutions to enroll our children, we are certainly looking for a top-notch academy. A high quality preschool offers excellent programs that will stimulate a child’s learning process, but this is not the only aspect to look for.
Also, it’s important to mention that all the aspects involving a good preschool are going to have a major influence on children’s development and how they will turn out later in school and adulthood.
We gathered some key points to help you find the best preschool for your child. Keep reading!
How to find a high-quality preschool?
Look for well-prepared Teachers and Professionals
Preschool teachers and caretakers fill a very important role in children’s development. As kids will start spending a great amount of time in the preschool environment, it’s very important to look for well prepared professionals in an institution.
Good teachers will assist kids by teaching them about following rules, managing emotions, dealing with conflicts and stimulating their independence. On a daily basis, you can see if a teacher is able to deal with a child by observing their interaction: how do they speak with children? Do they lower themselves to communicate eye to eye with kids? How do children respond to their presence?
Remember that these professionals will be the child’s main reference of how to behave with others and respond to different stimuli. Make sure they have proper qualification and experience in the field.
Check the School Reputation
The best way to find a high quality preschool is to check their reputation. Through that you can evaluate positive and negative aspects to then make the best choice of institution for your children.
What to look for when checking a preschool reputation? Verify if the institution received any awards. The nomination is a sign that the preschool has achieved excellence in the services offered. Also, you can check what the media says about the institution: look for mentions on tv channels and the local newspaper.
If you want to go beyond, check the opinions of other parents and the community. They will probably give an honest point of view without sugarcoating any information. Extra references are always good!
Learn about the School Programs
Among all the important points you need to check to find a high quality preschool, the programs they offer are the major key in your child’s education. A preschool program is based on a curriculum and aims to teach a variety of useful information and abilities to our young children.
Social, emotional and cognitive skills are approached in an environment that includes activities and interaction with peers and learning tools. Along with these, Science, Technology, Arts, Engineering and Math are other major themes to have in their learning process.
To learn more about the school programs, talk to the staff and check if the programs meet the points mentioned above.
Find out if they have a Good Relationship with the Parents
A strong sign of a High Quality Preschool is how the teachers and management communicate with parents. Keeping a good relationship with the child’s caregivers is a way to check on the kid’s development process and any problem that may occur. An open and honest communication is essential to build a trustworthy relationship between the two parties.
It’s interesting to visit the preschool unit by the time the school hours are starting or finishing as you can see some interaction between the staff and the parents.
Benefits of a High Quality Preschool
Better School Performance
Learning starts in the early years of a child. As children are in the process of brain development, when they get stimulated, the new information processed makes their little brains build new neural connections and change their physical shape. Basically, the more they learn, the faster, more intelligent and perceptive they become.
With that in mind, we can say that preschool plays a significant role for better performance later in school and in their adulthood.
Greater Enthusiasm for Learning
Young years are the best time for exploring as kiddos see a whole world of possibilities right in front of them. Stimulating their learning process will enhance their curiosity and help they become problem solvers: skills very well required for their success later in life.
Children learn a lot at home. However, a preschool environment is extremely beneficial for their learning process. High quality preschools follow efficient learning methodologies, build their activities using a good curriculum, and have the right tools to make the process of learning enticing.
Enhancement of Social Skill
Along with the relationship with parents and other family members, preschools are essential for the development of social skills in children.
Socializing with other children brings a variety of situations, conflicts and interactions for kids to deal with. Through them, children are able to learn empathy, patience, collaboration with others and working in a team.
Here is an example: Let’s say your child wants to play with a toy that another kid is playing with. Usually this situation results in conflict and one of them crying, right? However, this interaction is the perfect opportunity for them to learn to share objects, to wait, to take turns and even play together.
It’s also important to mention that children need to deal with individuals of the same hierarchy, as they will learn to assert themselves without an imbalance in the power dynamic. After all, the way they behave with other kids is going to be different than the way with their parents or teachers, for example.
Development of Emotional Skills
Important to mention, developing emotional skills in the young years can be a pathway for a successful career and strong relationships in the future.
Stimulating emotional self awareness means feeling emotions, understanding how they got triggered, identifying them and managing them the best way possible. Does this sound a lot for kids to learn? It is. That’s why this process is done slowly with a lot of modeling from parents, teachers and caretakers.
Anger is a very common emotion, as children show their frustration for not getting something their way. This is natural and there is nothing wrong with being angry. The best way a caretaker can help a child process this emotion, is to listen with empathy and start explaining about body symptoms and ways to respond to it. When visiting a Preschool, ask and pay attention to how the teachers deal with this kind of situation in class.
Besides all these points explained, another effective way to find a high quality preschool is to visit one of their units. Being in person is an opportunity to check their infrastructure and meet the staff that will be interacting with your children.
Did you enjoy the content of the post? We invite you to schedule a guided tour at the nearest Amazing Explorers Academy unity and learn more about our preschool programs.
