Finding a quality preschool for your child is less about daycare and more about learning the skills necessary for success at school in the future.
Starting in Kindergarten, children will be in some school environment for at least 13 years — more if they go on to higher education or a trade school! Therefore, shouldn’t we help them gain the tools they need to succeed before we launch them into years of learning?
Here at The Breakie Bunch Learning Center, we believe that the social development our toddlers and preschoolers learn while in our care is essential to a successful lifetime of learning, both inside and outside of the school environment.
What is Social Development, Anyway?
Based on Erik Erikson’s eight stages of psychosocial development, social development is the process where children learn to interact with everyone around them. This is a crucial stage where they learn the skills to communicate and embrace their individuality. This is also when a preschool child realizes they have control over their world and actions. It’s so crucial for us as parents and caregivers to encourage this development by allowing them to make their own choices—within reason.
How Does Preschool Guide a Preschooler’s Social Development?
There are quite a few ways that we impact the social development of our preschool students, and some are more surprising than others.
1. Social Play
You may notice that your child now actively plays with others, interacting with them or building things together, while they used to only engage in parallel play next to other children. These instances of social play teach our students to share, imagine different scenarios, and learn how to engage in impulse control.
2. Structure
Because our preschool students will soon transition to Kindergarten and beyond, learning about daily structure is critical during the preschool years. By slowly easing them into a more scheduled day, we’re helping to prepare them for the coming years, where schedules are much more regimented.
3. Real-Life Motor Skill Application
Not only are our preschool students learning how to relate with one another, but they are also learning more about themselves and the things they can do on their own! Things like going potty independently, putting their shoes and coat on, and many other things are essential to teaching our preschool students that they can be independent. Allowing them the room and time to do these things themselves at home is vital to this growth, too!
4. Empathy
Beginning at two-years-old, children start to learn what it means to be empathetic, yet it’s even more apparent from ages three to five. Being in a group setting with other preschoolers allows your child to experience many opportunities to put this new skill into practice. For instance, if a friend falls at the playground, they can check on them and make sure they’re okay or hug them when they’re sad.
Setting Your Children Up for Success
Picking the right preschool for your child is important for their social development and gives them an excellent foundation for the rest of their school years. Here at The Breakie Bunch Learning Center, we’re passionate about creating a preschool environment that prepares your child for Kindergarten and beyond in a fun and safe play-based environment. Feel free to reach out for more information about the quality preschool curriculum and childcare in the Waterford area!