Tuesday, January 22, 2008
This article makes an imp0rtant point. I often talk about quality of care and providing a safe and education environment for children to be in. Perhaps I don't talk enough about child care being an enjoyable place for the child. An environment can be fun and still provide quality, educational opportunities...
How about it? Is you child care facility a fun place for children?Preschool should be fun place
By Betsy Flagler Parent to Parent
Now's the time to select your child's preschool for next fall. Here are tips to help you make the best decision.Some parents are looking for academic programs, but child-development experts say pressure in preschool stresses kids out and turns them off from learning.
Preschoolers belong at messy art tables, on the floor building block towers and climbing jungle gyms - not at desks working on numbers and letters. Their play is their work. Kids who are encouraged to sort blocks by color, size and shape, for example, are learning math skills.
Child-initiated, teacher-supported play that incorporates math and language concepts is an essential component of what's developmentally appropriate for preschoolers, according to the National Association for the Education of Young Children.
When parents observe a classroom, the group says, they should see several learning centers: a special table full of water, rice or grits where kids can measure, sift and pour; an open-ended art station; an area for smushing dough into cookies or creatures; a table for matching games, puzzles and stringing beads; a block zone; a housekeeping-dress-up
center; and a quiet reading corner.One mother in Los Angeles County, says she looked into 25 programs before deciding on a church-based preschool. "All I wanted was a fun, caring and social environment for my child to thrive in," she recalls. Despite her intense search, the program was too academic and stressed out her 4-year-old daughter. Mom pulled her out of the school.
Other questions to explore:
- Sharing: Are there enough materials and duplicates of popular toys?
- Discipline: Do the teachers approach discipline as teaching or as punishment?
- Expressing feelings: Do the teachers help their students use their words to make their needs known?
- Building friendship skills: Do teachers plan activities that encourage children to help each other?
- Focusing: To help a child stick to a task, are the teachers able to adjust to individual learning styles?
