If you want your preschooler to be ready for the academic rigors ahead,
forget about the curriculum. Instead, look for a classroom that lets
children learn the way they do best.
On a typical day at a private New York City preschool,
the students are very busy. During reading periods, they work on
phonics and blended sounds and practice writing upper- and lower-case
letters. Math lessons focus on addition, subtraction, and graphing. And
audio recordings help them hone their comprehension and pronunciation
during French lessons.
If this seems intense for 4-year-olds, you
haven't visited a typical early-learning program lately. Greater
academic demands, driven by our testing- and achievement-obsessed
culture, have trickled down to the youngest students. A growing number
of pre-K programs all around the country are designed to give kids a
one-size-fits-all jump start in language, social studies, mathematics,
and more. Preschool, in other words, is starting to look a whole lot
like school.
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What's wrong with parents picking programs like this to give their
young child an edge? Plenty, according to many early-childhood
specialists. "For kids under 5, play is the foundation for creativity,
constructive problem solving, self-regulation, and learning as a whole,"
says Susan Linn, cofounder of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free
Childhood and author of
The Case for Make Believe.
Play also helps preschoolers
master the skills they'll need for academic subjects later on.
Storytime advances pre-reading skills like rhyming, wordplay, and the
ability to follow a plot. A simple activity like playing with soap
bubbles can stimulate science learning, while building with blocks
establishes a foundation for understanding geometry. Repetitive play
(such as putting a puzzle together, taking it apart, and then
reassembling it) hones motor acuity, while unstructured group play
boosts kids' social skills.
A study conducted at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology illustrates free play's learning potential.
Researchers had preschoolers try out an interactive toy that could
squeak, light up, play music, and more. They showed one group how to
make the toy squeak but gave no instructions to the other group. In the
end, the undirected kids figured out everything the toy could do simply
by experimenting with it, while the directed ones never got it to do
anything other than squeak. This suggests that young children are better
off experimenting and discovering on their own rather than being shown
and told.
"Stressing formal learning can turn off preschoolers,
many of whom aren't physically ready to hold a pencil or sit still and
complete worksheets," says Lorayne Carbon, director of the Early
Childhood Center at Sarah Lawrence College, in Bronxville, New York.
Plus, an early academic approach doesn't seem to improve classroom
performance. A study from the University of North Florida, in
Jacksonville, found that fourth-graders who have attended play-based
preschools outperform fellow students both academically and socially.
And a study published in
Early Childhood Research & Practice
found clear links between pretend play and enhanced language ability.
Your child's future success in school doesn't hinge on your enrolling
him in a pre-K that teaches him to add and subtract or know the chemical
formula for water. It's more productive to find a program that lets him
have fun as he learns. Follow these steps to find one.
Look at Self-Descriptions
Search
for a school that bills itself as "play based" or "developmentally
appropriate," both of which feature unstructured activity as part of the
school's educational philosophy. Other designations that indicate an
emphasis on play are Waldorf (organized according to the principles of
pioneering philosopher and educator Rudolf Steiner), Reggio Emilia (an
approach that lets kids help set the curriculum), and Bank Street (which
stresses art, dramatic play, music, movement, and sensory experiences).
Step Outside
Preschoolers
need a chance to play outdoors every day, not only to get fresh air but
also because it fosters cooperation, learning, and creativity, and
sparks an interest in the natural world. Make sure the outdoor area
provides a variety of opportunities to run, reach, climb, and explore.
One thing Abigail Woodworth, from Yardley, Pennsylvania, likes best
about her son Leo's preschool is its location on several wooded acres.
Twice a day, rain or shine, the children go outside. "Leo comes home
every afternoon with a pocketful of treasures, such as leaves, rocks,
and pinecones," Woodworth says. "He's learned the names of different
trees and clouds, why it rains, and so much more, simply by going out
and exercising his curiosity."
- Stock up on outdoor toys and sports equipment
Ask Questions
A
good one to start with is, "What does a typical school day look like?"
Ideally, about a third of it should be devoted to free play, during
which the kids get to choose their own games, materials, and playmates,
says Alexandra Figueras-Daniel, research-project coordinator at the
National Institute for Early Education Research, a nonprofit in New
Brunswick, New Jersey. Some time should also be devoted to teacher-led
explorations. Find out whether the school follows a strict curriculum
and whether the instructors can base activities on students' interests.
How to Prepare Your Child For Preschool
Look for Red Flags
You don't want to see an abundance of
computers or TVs. If you spot them, inquire how they're used and how
often. "Screens can interfere with hands-on play," says Linn. The same
goes for electronic toys that do much of the thinking for a child. Also
check out the artwork on the walls. "If the paintings and drawings look
similar to each other, as if they were copied, or the projects appear to
have been constructed from a kit, this program may not encourage
creativity," adds Linn.
While it may sound counterintuitive, too
much order in the classroom can also be a warning sign. If most of the
materials are neatly stored in drawers and on shelves, they may not be
readily accessible to the kids.
Nikki Wills, a mom in Chandler,
Arizona, knew she'd found the right place for her daughter when the
director warned parents not to send their kid to school in outfits they
didn't want to get ruined. She was sending the right message about
play-based learning: "These kids are here to get messy and to have fun."
Get the Lay of the Land
The
materials that make up the classroom, and the way they're set up, can
tell you a lot about a pre-K's priorities. "When you visit a school,
check that there are enough materials to keep children engaged for a
three- to six-hour day," advises Figueras-Daniel. Do you see lots of
low-tech toys, such as blocks, dolls, puppets, musical instruments, and
simple cars and trucks? Are there costumes and play stations -- a mini
kitchen, a pretend classroom -- that encourage imaginative play? Look
for water and sand tables (which help children learn about science by
pouring, measuring, and observing) and nesting and stacking toys (these
promote pre-math skills and hone fine motor coordination). Is there a
generous selection of books? How about arts-and-crafts materials such as
crayons, paints, fabric, feathers, clay, scissors, and glue?
Small
details often make a big difference: On her first visit to her kids'
preschool, Wills was struck by what a teacher told her about the
coloring station. "She said they place the cup of pens to the left,
because a child reaches for it and then moves naturally to the right to
draw, which helps reinforce left-to-right reading," Wills explains. "So
the kids are mastering a pre-reading skill without even realizing it."
Watch the Kids
When
Kathy Sucich, of Framingham, Massachusetts, was searching for a
preschool for her oldest child, she was surprised by what she heard (or,
rather, didn't hear) after walking into a classroom. "It was playtime,
but the kids were almost silent," recalls Sucich. By contrast, when she
peeked into the school that all three of her kids have now attended, "I
heard laughing and saw kids playing and running around," she says. Look
for signs that students are truly engaged in what they're doing.
Playful Lessons
When
your child is leaping through puddles or wielding an imaginary wand,
she's not just having a good time; she's setting the stage for learning.
Check out the educational benefits of some common preschool activities.
Sorting
Grouping
buttons by color or stocking the shelves of a pretend supermarket by
food category helps kids learn to recognize patterns, a key component of
mathematics.
Water play
When they drop ice cubes into a
tub of warm water, pour liquids from one container to another, or play
with the stream from a hose or a faucet, children are figuring out flow
and motion, two basic physics concepts.
Make-believe
Imaginary
play enhances language skills and vocabulary, while pretending to be a
cashier can instill early addition and subtraction skills.
