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As every parent knows, children don't wait for school to start learning. In the sand box, at the dinner table, in the bath: you couldn't stop your child from learning if you tried! So, does your child really need preschool?

If your child is between the ages of 2 and 4, you've probably asked yourself this and many other questions. Start here to learn more about what makes preschool such a value to children, families and communities.

Common Questions: Is preschool similar to day care or real school? Why should we think seriously about preschool? What will she learn there? Can we afford it? Is preschool similar to day care or real school? Preschool is neither day care nor kindergarten. While a day care center may effectively contain a preschool, hing a staff of experienced caretakers and a variety of educational activities, "day care" usually describes an all-day childcare option for working parents.

Unlike day care, preschools generally offer classes for a few hours only, on selected days of the week, and programs follow the traditional school year. Also, parents of preschoolers may be invited to stay and observe, or even be a part of the action as a parent-helper in the classroom.

Preschool is often understood literally to mean before school. Certainly preschool helps to ease the entry into kindergarten, but it is much more than marking time before the real school begins. Rather, preschool is the learning environment that your child is developmentally ready for. It is here that he continues to develop his social confidence, his ability to form and share ideas, his capacity to deal with big emotions, and his concept of respect for himself, his world and the people around him.

Why should we think seriously about preschool? Your child can learn a great deal from experienced teachers with training in early education, but children aren't the only ones to benefit from preschool.

Help for the Whole Family

Parents, siblings and very young children can all benefit from preschool training, bringing home lessons that help families work through problems together.

Children who begin their education with preschool show greater ease of separation from parents, an enriched vocabulary, and stronger math skills in elementary school and beyond. Besides performing better academically, they also show improvements in emotional maturity. If emotions are hard for adults to control, we can imagine how challenging it can be for our young children, whose daily work load includes major questions like, What do I do with all these big feelings? and, What do I do when I don't get my way?

Children of preschool age are working with a different operating system: their logic is magical and focused on the self. Experts in early childhood development and education can help you understand how your child learns, and what lessons create the best foundation for problem-solving and comprehension. Understanding your child's mental and emotional development can help you prepare them to deal with disappointment, as well as future challenges when they enter school.

A difference for the community

Experts at the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) estimate that every dollar spent on preschool programs yields $7 in benefits, including reduced crime and delinquency, greater adult earning potential and higher achievement in education.

What will she learn there? Preschool has its own set of naturally occurring lessons that are just right for your child's age. Rather than using a formal elementary school model of desks and chairs, many preschools use a model of natural learning, guided by the children's interests. They foster an environment of open discovery, where children are encouraged to use their hands, and all five senses, to stimulate learning.

More than Letters and Numbers

Reading, writing and arithmetic may or may not be on the agenda at the preschool you select but a good program -- one that follows the current research about early education--will allow plenty of room for your child to engage in creative play, explore the natural world, ask questions and discover what it means to be part of a group.

Opportunities for learning social skills like waiting for turns, sharing, and saying good-bye to parents come naturally in a preschool environment, where children nigate a world of "me and others," instead of just, "me and you." He'll begin to observe and understand what kind of behior is okay, and why: What does Katie do when I grab the toy she was playing with? What does my teacher do? Trained teachers can help him to understand how to interact respectfully with other people in a safe setting that is mindful of -- and even designed for -- his developmental stage.

Can we afford it?

Children aren't the only ones listening to their teachers. Parents are hearing the call from early childhood experts and enrolling their children in preschool in record numbers. According to a study by NIEER, an impressive two-thirds of all four year-old children and nearly half of all three year-olds were enrolled in a private or state-funded preschool in 2005.

Preschool is increasingly viewed as a necessity to both parents and policy makers: the benefits are so remarkable that nearly every state in the country now provides funding for public preschool programs. You will find no shortage of options for your child: from subsidized and free public programs to private tuition-based schools, your child's preschool is within reach.

In fact, you might find yourself feeling a little overwhelmed with the number of choices. The wide variety of schools is evidence that not all families opt for the same approach to learning. Nor do they he to! Just as every child is different, so every preschool develops its curriculum around a governing philosophy.

Be assured that with a little exploration, you will find a preschool where your child can thrive. And as you enjoy these first years of magical thinking, play-guided discovery and enthusiasm for the new experiences each day brings, your decision to enrich her early education will lay the foundations for life-long learning.

Continue:

Part 1 - Should My Child Attend Preschool? Part 2 - The Many Classrooms of Preschool - Understanding Educational Philosophies Part 3 - Choose a Preschool Part 4 - Choose a Preschool - Check List

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