First, consider the goal of a good kindergarten program. Kindergarten provides your child with an opportunity to learn and practice the essential social, emotional, problem-solving, and study skills that he will use throughout his schooling.
Why Kindergarten?
First, consider the goal of a good kindergarten program. Kindergarten provides your child with an opportunity to learn and practice the essential social, emotional, problem-solving, and study skills that he will use throughout his schooling.
- The development of self-esteem is one of the important goals of kindergarten. This is the process of helping your child feel good about who she is and confident in her ability to tackle the challenges of learning. Books can be a great help with this — these picks help boost confidence in kids.
- Kindergarten teaches cooperation: the ability to work, learn, and get along with others. A year in kindergarten provides your child with the opportunity to learn patience, as well as the ability to take turns, share, and listen to others — all social and emotional learning skills that he will use through his school years and beyond.
- Most children are naturally curious, but some do not know how to focus or use this curiosity. Kindergarten is a time for sparking and directing your child’s curiosity and natural love of learning.
What Does an Ideal Kindergarten Look Like?
Ask any number of educators and parents, and you will get many different descriptions of the ideal kindergarten. But there are certain basic agreements among educators as to what makes a good program. It should:
- Expand your child’s ability to learn about (and from) the world, organize information, and solve problems. This increases his feelings of self-worth and confidence, his ability to work with others, and his interest in challenging tasks.
- Provide a combination of formal (teacher-initiated) and informal (child-initiated) activities.Investigations and projects allow your child to work both on her own and in small groups.
- Minimize use of large group activities that require sitting. Instead, most activities feature play-based, hands-on learning in small groups. As the year progresses, large group activities become a bit longer in preparation for 1st grade.
- Foster a love of books, reading, and writing. There are books, words, and kids’ own writing all over the classroom.
When looking at programs, keep these elements in mind — as well as the specific needs of your child and family. Not every program is perfect for every child. Some children thrive in a program with more direction, some with less. Talk to your child’s preschool teacher, visit a few schools, and talk to the principal or a kindergarten teacher before deciding.
What if the Program Is Less Than Ideal?
Perhaps you have little or no choice about where to send your child to kindergarten but are concerned about its quality. First, give the program and teacher some time to get the year going. If you observed the class in the spring and it seems different when your child starts in the fall, there may be a good reason. Many programs start slowly, taking time to help children separate from their families and feel confident in school before adding learning demands.