PRE-SCHOOL

 
                                                                   PRE-SCHOOL

                   The most important years of learning begin at birth. During these early years, humans are capable of absorbing more information then later on. The brain grows most rapidly in the early years. High quality teachers and preschools have a long term effect on improving outcomes, especially for disadvantaged students.
The areas of development that preschool education covers varies. However, the following main themes are typically offered.

• Personal, social, economic and emotional development
• Communication, (including sign language), talking and listening
• World knowledge and understanding
• Creative and aesthetic development
• Mathematical awareness
• Physical development
• Physical health
• Play
• Teamwork
• Self-help skills
• Social skills
• Scientific thinking
• Literacy

          Preschool systems observe standards for structure (administration, class size, student-teacher ratio, services), process (quality of classroom environments, teacher-child interactions, etc.) and alignment (standards, curriculum, assessments) components. Curriculum is designed for differing ages. For example, counting to 10 is generally after the age of four.
          Some studies dispute the benefits of preschool education, finding that preschool can be detrimental to cognitive and social development. A study by UC Berkeley and Stanford University on 14,000 preschools revealed that while there is a temporary cognitive boost in pre-reading and math, preschool holds detrimental effects on social development and cooperation.
          Preschools have adopted various methods of teaching, such as Montessori,Waldorf,Head Start,High Scope,Reggio Emilia approach,Bank Street and Forest kindergartens.