When children hit the ages of two and three, a change is starting where they test boundaries with their parents, and they start to understand where they fit into the world. Within just a couple years from this, they will be placed into a day to day routine where they are no longer in this parental or caregiver setting. Instead, most, go to school. This couple year gap where little minds have figured out their personal space can be challenging only because starting kindergarten from here can be a shock. Suddenly they aren’t with caregivers, siblings, or really anyone familiar yet.
This shock is why there is preschool. Preschool enrollment influences school readiness by showing children the structure of school and learning in bite size pieces. At this point, kids have only socialized on small scales. They don’t necessarily know or want to get along with kids they aren’t familiar with. Teachers will be asking for them to pay attention, and they’ll have to learn to fallow simple instructions. All of these instructions will mimic a normal classroom. They’ll line up, do snack, games, and small projects. Preschool is not about academics. It is about behavior.
A year or two of preschool enrollment can influence school readiness by also preparing emotional development. Emotion drives children. When they are feeling happy, they bounce, smile, and clap. When they are feeling hurt, they cry, scream, or hug themselves. When they feel mad, they shout, hit, or throw things. Preschools helps children understand that while we can feel emotions we have to learn how to act on them in a socially acceptable way. While most forms of happiness can be met positively, we can’t stand on out desk and shout “hooray!” because we’re so excited. We also have to learn that screaming and crying can’t be a first response, and hitting one another or throwing things at others aren’t acceptable. These are normal transitions that preschoolers deal with, and over the course of a year or two, normally work and grow out of with he help of teachers, parents, and time.
Of course, preschool also gives other opportunities. Preschool, while not driven academically, is still driven on child development and brain activity. There will be toys for stem growth, and opportunities to start thinking in new ways. Preschool enrollment influences school readiness simply by helping children play and explore the world around them. Interaction in itself is a great way for children to build, but when kids are given the opportunity to meet challenges and problem solve together, they are building valuable skills. It may sound like they should be too young for any of that to matter. Three, four, and five years old is still young, you’re right– but children are geniuses. If you give them the opportunity, they will take what you give them and turn it into a lesson. At the time, it may look like a mess, chaos, disruption, but the learning is certainly there also.
A year or two of preschool can also show you if your child is ready. Some kids can take a year and they will be ready for kindergarten. Some children need to take an extra year and work through the process more. It’s normal and part of the learning experience to not start kindergarten right away. Graduating out of preschool shows their readiness. If they aren’t socially ready, odds are they aren’t going to be capable of academic learning while also overwhelmed by the social structure of being with others every single day. Preschool is usually only twice a week for a couple hours a day. When the first year is done, the teachers will have an assessment that shows if they think they’re ready. They’ll either recommend them moving forward or staying for another year—in which case, they already know your child and what they still think needs to be worked on to have them ready to go for the next year.
To put it simply, preschool enrollment influences school readiness by giving them a fun environment to make mistakes in. These mistakes won’t affect a report card, they will simply be lessons.