It can be a daunting task to decide if preschool, and which preschool is right for both your child and family. Parents have to determine if it will benefit their child and if it is worth the time and money to send your child to their first school experience. Often, parents focus on the academic benefit of preschool time, but here are five non academic benefits of preschool!
The Top Five Benefits
While academics are an important part of school, preschool has so many non academic benefits! Usually, this is your child's first school experience and it can be difficult for both the child and parents. Pride yourself in knowing that, along with letters and numbers, your child will be learning these five major aspects to help create a well balanced, wonderful child.
- Social Interaction: There is no denying it, this is a critical developmental time for your child. Among one of the most critical is their social development. Children are learning how to interact with the other children around them, understand social cues from their peers and adults, and learn to navigate a world full of social norms. Preschool allows your child to practice these skills in a safe, organized environment with an adult close by to guide and encourage.
- Talking to Adults: This may seem strange, but I promise you, it is a big one! Children need to learn to talk to and communicate with adults that are not in their family. It is important to be able to ask for help, socialize with, or learn from other adults in their lives. Remember, this communication will allow your child to communicate with authority figures, such as a boss or mentor, when they become an adult. Learning to work with someone you view as an authority is critical.
- Patience: Patience is hard, but the more practice the better. Even adults can struggle with the concept of waiting and being patient. Preschool is often one of the perfect places to practice this skill. Students are asked to wait in line, wait for a turn with a toy, wait for a snack, and many other times. This practice, along with appropriate feedback from the teacher, allows your child to self regulate their emotions and be able to handle waiting. Teachers have worked hard to add mindfulness to their classrooms to help with this as well.
- Confidence: As your child builds these skills, another skill will start to emerge, confidence! Confidence is built by allowing children to try new things, teaching them to not give up, and praising both the effort and the outcome. Preschool is the perfect spot to see this in action. Preschool teachers work hard to praise each step of an activity as much, if not more, than the outcome. As students work through problems, they are able to build their own confidence.
- Independence: As much as parents do not want to admit it, the preschool age is the age of independence. They want to try and do everything themselves. The preschool classroom is the perfect place to allow your preschooler this opportunity. It is made for children to try new things, learn, explore, and create. Preschool fosters this independence, something that will follow them throughout their school career and into adulthood.
And One More Benefit (That is Kind of Academic)
All of these benefits are amazing, but preschool also has their academic goals as well. The best way for children to learn is to want to come to school and learn. Children who are excited to come to school tend to learn better and be more willing to participate. I always say the best benefit of preschool is simple, foster a love of learning that will follow children throughout their academic career. If children establish a love of learning at an early age, it will follow them throughout their schooling and allow for them to have the best chance to succeed.
Everyone chooses to join a preschool setting for a different reason, but there is so much more beyond letters and numbers. Building a well rounded child in these early years will set them up to the best adult they can be. By giving preschool a chance, you are giving your child a chance to grow.
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