The importance of nursery school education

Many people mix up day care centre with nursery school. A day care centre or a child care centre is an option for working parents to leave their children and the children are taken care of while they are away. These centres accept babies as well as 3-4 year olds and are run full time and throughout the year. Preschool on the other hand refers to a school for 3-4 year olds where children spend a few hours and learn various subjects like art, the alphabet and basic math. Very often many people interchange between a day care centre and a preschool. Occasionally a childcare centre with experienced and well trained teachers and stimulating activities offers a similar environment of a preschool to children. Similarly some preschools function like day care centres as well. Increased evidence has been found to the fact that children benefit a lot from going to a good preschool. At a preschool children not just become exposed to numbers, letters and shapes they also learn to socialize. They learn to mix up with other children and learn to get along with other children. Statistics has proved that sending children to a preschool is very important as children who attended a preschool at the age of 3 years or 4 years for one year or two years attend kindergarten with better vocabulary, math skills and better pre-reading skills than those who did not attend preschool. Experts state that every child should have some kind of group experience before they begin attending kindergarten.

At preschool children learn how to be students. They learn to participate in group activities, take turns, raise hands and most important they learn how to share. Another important thing that your child will learn is how to separate from you and exist independently. All these features will make it easy for your child to move to kindergarten. Most educators emphasize the value of some kind of early education for children. One of the benefits of children being exposed to early education is they are prepared to learn at kindergarten.

Children learn several skills at school like socializing, how to compromise, be respectful of others, problem solving and they also develop a sense of self. They learn to explore their personality when they are exposed to their peers. When playing with peers children learn to explore their world and it builds their confidence. Children who attend preschool become more independent and they discover that they can do things for themselves. They learn to do several activities independently and attending a preschool fosters independence in a child. Children learn to taken their own decisions when they are at a preschool this develops their personality. They also ask questions about the world around them like, do birds play? This shows that they are not just preoccupied with themselves but also with the world around them. At preschool children also learn the alphabet and math skills but they do so differently. They learn this through story-telling, asking questions to their teachers and discussing the stars. This is a better way of learning then making children sit and learn the alphabet or the numbers. Attending preschool will develop the personality of your child and make him a better and more independent person.

Putting your preschooler to bed

Getting children to sleep on time is an arduous task. Your child will make requests for one more drink of water, one more story and want to visit the toilet just to avoid sleeping. Bedtime is one of the few things in life that kids are able to control and they make the most out of it. Most paediatricians however suggest that children should get ten to twelve hours of comfortable to grow in a healthy manner. When a child does not get enough sleep it can lead to behavioural problems like irritability, moodiness, weak immune system, concentration problems, shortened attention span, clumsiness, hyperactivity and other problems.

Putting a preschooler to bed is important for both the child’s health and his parent’s relaxation. Here are some tips to put your child to sleep so that he sleeps soundly.

Night time routines are essential and they work. Night time routines foster a sense of discipline and security in a child and make the child ready for what to expect next. Over a period of time night time routines will reduce power struggles and make your child more cooperative during sleep time. A good routine sets a rhythm and don’t be afraid to set one for your child.

If your child is not sleepy at bedtime reduce it by thirty minutes. However it is essential to instil the importance of a comfortable sleep in your child as it will have a happy, relaxed and attentive child on your hands, on the other hand if your child has not slept well, he can be irritable and inattentive. Children before the age of five need a regular sleep of ten to twelve hours.

Give regular exercise. Regular exercise not very close to bedtime can improve your child’s immune system and burn excess energy. This outdoor exercise should be given six to seven hours before bed time.

Avoid the intake of caffeine. Many parents don’t mind giving a sip of tea, coffee or cola to children, but you should avoid this close to bedtime as these contain caffeine and will cause sleeplessness in your child.

Give your child five minutes time before its time to sleep so that he winds up from any activities he is doing and gets ready for bed. Giving your child a comforting hug and telling him it’s time to sleep will also help.

Give your child a small snack before bedtime if you serve dinner early so that your child does not wake up hungry in the middle of the night. For example if you serve dinner at 6 pm and your child’s bedtime is 9 pm serve him a healthy cookie at 8 pm to avoid him waking up hungry in the middle of the night.

Calm down your child just before bedtime. All pre-bedtime activities should be calming your child so that your child is relaxed and ready to hit the sack and not all excited at bedtime. Any kind of high energy activities like sports and dance or television can interfere with your child’s ability to wind up for sleep.

Getting children to bed can test the patience of the most patient parents but if you establish and bedtime routine and avoid any kind of energetic activity at bedtime you can easily put your youngster to bed.

Development of preschoolers

Power struggles among preschool children is a common occurrence. It may be difficult to deal with but children who take part in power struggles are displaying behaviour that is appropriate for their age. They are learning about their own thoughts, feelings and behaviour and also that their feelings can be different from those of adults. While you may find the behaviour of your child frustrating keep in mind that children are constantly exploring their world in different ways to develop and grow. Testing the limits of your endurance is one way in which they explore the environment they live in. Make sure you set firm rules for them to know their limits and as far as possible make them stick to those limits. The sooner the children learn that you are not going to give in the lesser power struggles you will encounter. Manage your child’s schedule and environment to avoid any kind of power struggles. Also develop a positive caring relationship with your child. In this situation your authority will be taken seriously. To do this have clear and simple rules and follow these rules consistently. Here are some suggestions for avoiding power struggles and dealing with them if they do occur.

Be clear and concise about what you expect or do not expect from your child and also clearly tell him about the consequences of not doing as told. For example you could tell your child, “I will read a story to you, after you have kept your books in place.” Be firm about the consequence of not doing as told and don’t give in to any amount of whining or crying, this will convey to the child that he is expected to do as told and he will also not try to get his way by throwing tantrums. This will ensure proper behaviour not just in childhood but will carry on to adolescence.

Don’t get caught up in the web of arguments and explanations. If you want your child to stop playing and come home and your child refuses to obey then you will have to pick your child and bring him home no matter how much your child whines or cries. Don’t worry even if you feel embarrassed in front of other parents. Your goal is to discipline your child and not to look like the perfect parent in front of other parents.

Avoid making threats especially those that you won’t follow through.  Threatening your child will stop you from developing a trusting, caring and positive relationship with your child. It will also teach your child that you are not serious about enforcing the consequences you threatened him with. This will stop your child from taking you seriously.

If you have set up a routine follow it as consistently as possible. If you stick to a routine that you have set children know what they should expect and what is expected from them.

Avoid creating situations that lead to power struggles. For example if your child insists on watching television while he is getting dressed for the school, make a rule that the television will not be switched on unless he is dressed.

Do not seem like you are winning a power struggle and once in a while it is good to give in especially if the power struggle does not involve your child’s safety or security. 

Cooperate with your preschooler

Have you noticed that your preschooler who adjusts well in school and sails through all the activities at his playschool is downright uncooperative and resentful when he comes home? Does this changed behaviour confuses you or worry you? You don’t have to worry according to child specialists your child who has worked hard all day at playschool by being cooperative, playing, studying and paying attention to all that his teacher teaches needs to let down. This is his way of letting down. Follow these tips to let him adjust to his home routine.

Don’t expect a conversation from your child. Your 3-4 year old is still very young and has limited verbal skills, he may not be able to express why he is behaving or feeling slightly cranky. Your child may be facing difficulty in making a transition from school to home but is unable to express it as he may not be capable of putting all his feelings into words.

Be patient with your child. This is one of the most important things you could practice. Small children often face difficulty when they are about to learn a new skill and may be slightly stuck up while they are making the transition. Being patient with your child will show positive results as your child manages to master the new skill and becomes his normal self.

Serve healthy snacks to your child. Avoid loading your child with sweet treats which can lead to irritability even if it is liked in the short term. Serve fruits and other healthy snacks.

Give your child some downtime. Taking your child directly from school to a mall or for shopping may make him more tired. It is sensible to give your child some time to relax at home before plunging him into another activity.

Get some exercise. It is important to take your child outdoors and let him get some fresh exercise. Exercise and fresh air will reduce stress for your child. After school take your child for a walk or walk the dog with him or play a game with him in the backyard. This will help your child unwind.

Be Consistent with what rules you are setting. Preschoolers have to learn a lot of rules. Ask your child about the rules he is learning at school, and enforce them at home also. If your child has been taught not to interrupt while the other person is speaking, don’t allow him to do this at home at the dinner table or when you are on the phone. This will ensure that your child is not confused.

Get to know your child’s teacher. Apart from scheduled parent teacher meetings get to know your child’s teacher and discuss any concerns you have with the child’s behaviour also give a clue to the teacher about how your child is behaving at home.

Finally you have to understand that your child is most comfortable at home and with you, thus any resentful behaviour you may note may be because of fatigue and irritability and your child expresses this at home because home is a place where he can let his hair down.

Selecting the right preschool for your child

The time has come for your little one to visit preschool and leave the comfort of his home for a few hours. How important is selecting and sending your toddler to the right preschool, the answerto this is very important, as this will have far reaching effects. According to child specialists playschool palys a very important role in success in later stages of life. Children who go to a high quality preschool like Little Millennium show better language, social and cognitive skill as compared to children who just go to the neighbourhood playschools. They have longer and better attention spans, stronger social interacting abilities. They show better language and math skills and carry this into elementary school. Long after they have left preschool they are likely to grow into successful adults who graduate and hold successful jobs. They also may own their house.

While most schools have similar activity time, they are all not the same. Each preschool is different and successful preschools like Little Millennium may have a lasting impact on your child.Here are some tips on how to pick the best preschool for your child:

Consider the credentials of the school: Most preschools do not higher professionally qualified teachers. Check that the preschool you have selected for your child hires teachers who hold degrees in early childhood training. Check if the school is recognized.

The number of hours the school is run: Please make a note that day care centres are different from pre-schools. Many day care centres are treated as pre-schools. Day care centres may offer to keep children for longer hours if the parents are working. Pre-school programs tend to have fewer hours and have more activities. Decide on what you seek for your child and select a program that correlates with your needs.

Check the attitude of the school towards discipline: Find out how the school deals with fights between children, do they allow children to solve their problems or do they intervene. Make sure you agree with the attitude of the school to discipline and ensure that the school is not very strict and does not believe in punishing children.

Does the school provide nutritional meals: Children who do not touch fruit at home may start trying it because their peers are having them. Children are often positively influenced by their peers and imitate. Check if the school provides nutritional meals so that what your child eats at school is full of nutrition. Don’t select a school where the teachers serve sweets if you don’t want your child to eat sweets.

Check if the school encourages your child to imagine: Check the crayon drawings on the wall, does the school encourage children to imitate or it encourages the child to imagine.

Visits of parents: Does the school allow parents to visit and does it have an open door policy or do they limit the time in which the parents can visit the school.

Safety is essential: Check how the school takes care of the safety of the child.  Check how do they track the pick-ups of the kids after school. 

Teach your child to dress himself

Preschoolers need to be taught independence and dressing by himself is an important step in fostering independence in your child. It also encourages logical thinking in children. They grow into mature adults who are productive, self-assured, self-motivated and are capable of standing on their own two feet. If you have been worrying about teaching your preschooler how to dress himself now is the perfect time to begin. Here are some important points to keep in mind when teaching your child how to dress himself.

Let your child choose: You can get your child excited about dressing himself, by letting him choose his own clothes. Select a few of his clothes and don’t overwhelm him by offering him too many choices. Let him pick from 3to 4 outfits. As your child has not learnt the concept of coordinating his clothes the choices presented to him should be interchangeable. Once your child has selected his clothes keep them in a place where he can easily find them next morning.

Make a poster reminding him about his morning routine: A morning routine poster will remind a child that he has to dress himself every morning. Divide the poster into columns and then draw each garment in one column, then tape these on the poster board where your child can see them. Make sure you put everything in a logical order. For example don’t put the picture of shoes in the first column because if your child puts on his shoes first he won’t be able to wear his trousers. After you have completed the poster, put it in a place where your child can easily see it.

Teach your child to wake up earlier: when your child is learning to dress by himself, he is very likely to struggle quite a bit, so the best idea is to teach your child to wake up earlier so that he won’t get late for school when he dresses himself. This will teach your child the concept of rising early. If your child is struggling with his clothes, you can offer help, but do so only if your child asks for help.

Begin teaching by selecting clothes that are easy to wear: when you are beginning give your child clothes that are easy to wear like knickers that have elastic and t-shirts that can be pulled over. Later on you can graduate to clothes where your child has to button the shirt. Don’t overwhelm the child with the technicalities of shoe-lace tying. Instead select shoes that have Velcro straps.

Teaching your child to button his shirts:  teaching your child how to button his shirt and zip his pants, should come as the last step in teaching your child how to dress himself.  This can be quite a challenge for your child. Begin by teaching him with shirts that have large buttons and buttonholes, these would be easy for your child to manoeuvre. Patiently teach your child to push the buttons in and out of the buttonholes.

Never criticise: Don’t criticise any effort of your child in dressing himself. All efforts should be met with appreciation.

Teaching your child to dress himself should be a fun activity and not a chore. Treat it as a fun activity and watch your child become independent.

Why should your preschooler play?

As parents you often hear about the emphasis on play for preschoolers. You might wonder how playing with each other will affect academic success which your child needs to succeed later on in life. So have you wondered why it is important for your child to play?

Playing lays down the foundation for all kinds of learning for children, giving your child some toys and the time to play can provide your child with a variety of valuable learning opportunities. Children learn about their world and process information about their world through play. The way children play opens their creativity and imagination, it develops their reading, problem solving and thinking skills. It also further develops their motor skills. Playing provides the base foundation for learning of different kinds.

You might wonder why is playing so important and what do children learn while they play? Try these activities with things you have around the house and you may get useful insight into how playing simple games helps children.

Developing the language and vocabulary of your child-- when children play with other children or with adults their language skills are strengthened. Your child hears other words and learns them without even realising. Children learn the use of new words, their meaning and their grammatical structure while playing with others.

While playing with toy cars and animals children learn the name of many new objects. Children learn the names of each object they play with. When playing with toy animals they learn the names of the animals, what they do and what they eat. If adults are playing with children they can create additional scenarios that will further strengthen their vocabulary and language skills.

While playing with dolls and dollhouse children have a chance of learning and reacting to real, life situations. She has the opportunity of using and understanding the words and phrases she hears in real life situations. You may find your child repeating words you use, as she tries to recreate real life situation in her dollhouse.

You can also enhance the imagination and creativity of your child by playing creative games with your child. In the present fast paced world children don’t have much opportunity of developing their creativity. Children who are not given much opportunity to play may not be able to entertain themselves much as they don’t know what to do unless they are instructed. By giving your child opportunities for open ended play your child will have her creative juices flowing.

You can provide props which would get your child to imagine and create situations. You can also give your child some craft supplies like markers, glue, fabric paper and some empty boxes and watch your child create new things out of them. This will help your child’s creativity flow.

To develop the math skills of your child use puzzles and blocks. They are excellent for developing some problem solving skills of your child. Playing with blocks provides with many problem solving situations. This will develop the problem solving skills of your child. Playing with puzzles develops important math and problem solving skills in your child.