Saturday 28 March 2015

What Difference Does A Preschool Make?



Preschools are the new health fads – they are everywhere. When it comes to New York, this analogy surpasses itself with the burgeoning number of preschools that have mushroomed in and around New York in recent times. And just like many health fads, the populace remains divided over the effectiveness of sending your 3-year-old to a 'school' when he/she is not really old enough to learn something highly significant. There are parents who strictly believe that preschool is an essential rite of passage in the journey that is school education. But there are also parents that believe that preschool is just another futile exercise that only leads to a waste of money with no significant effect on their child's educational trajectory.

 The only way to really settle this debate is to understand that what difference does a good preschool really make in a child's future. If you are the 'Preschool? Bah Humbug' kind of a parent, then you might want to read a bit further if only to look at the kaleidoscope from the other side.

Let's take the example of Williamsburg NorthSide Preschool, a prominent preschool in Brooklyn, NY.

 A preschool can be a great place to give a nice little push to your toddler so that he/she is able to develop the much required social skills early on in his life. Children, especially toddlers are inherently disposed to like playing and interacting with other children. This makes preschool an ideal setting to let the kids make their own independent human connections. At Williamsburg Northside, children are regularly motivated to interact with their peers with the help of various fun activities requiring teamwork and coordination among the toddlers.

Since we are talking about independence, there are many parents that often worry that their kids are becoming too dependent on the 'family'. This is where one of the biggest positives of the Preschool system comes to surface. At Preschool, there are no nannies to feed the kids, there is no mum to put the jacket on.  At Preschools, toddlers learn how to eat without making a mess. They learn how to work with others, share their things and food, listening to others, and taking turns among other things. Getting them to interact with other children improves their communication skills as well.

Apart from various behavioral and social advantages, a preschool environment can also be very helpful when it comes to the realm of academia. Toddlers are highly impressionable which is also an essential ingredient in learning about new concepts such as alphabets, numbers, shapes, colors etc.

Many Manhattan preschools such as the Williamsburg Northside Preschool, often arrange lots of outdoor activities. This playtime allows the children to get more aware of their natural surroundings which often stokes their curiosity, ultimately leading to a healthy dirve towards knowing about things. These activities simulate the creative side of the toddler which contributes to their overall development.


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