Learning About The Value Of Early Child Education

Preschool Will Help Your Child Have The Confidence To Navigate Kindergarten

If you want your child to be socially ready for kindergarten, you need to enroll them in a preschool program. If you enroll your child when they turn 3, your child can get two years of preschool experience before they head off to kindergarten. Preschool will teach your child how to confidently navigate all the challenges that kindergarten will present that are unique to school settings. Here are a few ways that preschool will instill in your child the confidence they need to be successful when they get to kindergarten. 

Your Child Will Know How To Use A Public Restroom

Learning how to use the restroom is a key skill that preschool students are taught. Using a public restroom on their own is entirely different than using the bathroom in their home. 

To start with, your child needs to be able to identify if they need to use the restroom now, or if they will be able to hold it until the next bathroom break. Next, your child has to learn how to go into a stall and close it. Then, they have to learn how to go to the bathroom, wipe themselves, and pull back up their pants without any assistance or reminders. After that, they have to know how to use the soap dispensers found in public bathrooms, turn on the water, turn off the water, and dry their hands with a paper towel and put the paper towel in the trash can. Finally, they have to learn that the bathroom is not a play space.

All those steps may seem obvious as an adult, but it takes children a long time to learn these steps and become independent in the bathroom. Throughout three- and four-year-old preschool, your child's teachers will invest a considerable amount of time in teaching your child how to effectively use a public school bathroom. When your child gets to kindergarten, they will feel confident and comfortable with the bathroom as well as bathroom breaks, and will not face bathroom issues. 

Your Child Will Know How To Follow Multi-Step Directions

Another great skill your child will learn while in preschool is how to follow multi-step directions. In preschool, your child will be given opportunities every day to follow multi-step directions, and will be given the guidance and support they need in a small classroom setting to master this skill. 

Following directions at school is a little different than following directions at home. To start with, a teacher is giving the directions to an entire group or class of students; not just to your child. Then, your child has to follow the directions and not get distracted by other classmates. 

Your child will learn how to focus on what the teacher is saying in preschool. They will learn that what the teacher is saying is important, and that they have to remember and follow the instructions that the teacher gave them. Over time, your child will go from being able to follow one-step directions to complex, multi-step directions.

By the time they get to kindergarten, they will be comfortable following complex directions and will know to look towards the teacher for guidance on what they are supposed to do. This will make your child feel confident in their kindergarten classroom, since they already know what to expect and who they need to listen to. 

Your Child Will Be Familiar With The Routine Of School

Although your child's kindergarten experience will not be identical to their preschool experience, their preschool experience will make them familiar with many of the key components of the classroom experience. Your child will know how to sit on the carpet and what is expected of them during carpet learning time. They will know how to respect others' space during learning and movement time. They will understand how to work at learning stations and will have a basic idea of what reading, math, and writing are. They will understand how to stand in line when they go from place to place. 

While in preschool, your child will be gradually introduced to each of these concepts. They will be taught how to act in each of these contexts. They will learn what to expect from their teachers, from follow students, and from themselves throughout the day. When they get to kindergarten, where these concepts will be covered much more quickly, your child will already be confident about how school routines work.

If you want your child to feel confident in all aspects of the school experience, from knowing how to use a public restroom to understanding what is expected of them during carpet time, you should send them to a preschool like Sammamish Montessori School. In preschool, they will be in a safe environment where they will slowly learn all the vital skills they will need for school at a comfortable pace. 


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