Parents
have many options available to them when they are considering
educational programming for their preschool children. Many
often wonder what the differences are between day care centers
and nursery schools. Nursery schools have traditionally
been part time programs, i.e. children attend them two,
three or five half days per week. Many children who attend
the more traditional nursery schools have a parent who does
not work outside of the home or has a babysitter at home.
Most day care centers and nursery schools of today have
similar curricula and adhere to developmentally appropriate
practice.
When
choosing a preschool program for your child, it is important
to consider what option you are most comfortable will best
meet your child's needs. Some parents who need child care
for their infants and toddlers and preschoolers prefer to
keep them home with a babysitter. Others prefer to have
them in a day care center which may be close to one parent's
place of work, while others still use family day care homes
in their neighborhoods. A number of factors influence such
a decision including quality of program, family needs for
help at home, convenience, cost, etc. It is extremely important
to pay attention to our intuitive reactions to prospective
programs we are considering for our children. Parents are
the ones who know their children the best of anyone. The
success of a preschool depends on the ability of its director
and staff to develop close working relationships and excellent
communication with parents. Parents need to chose programs
for their children where they, as parents, feel comfortable
asking for help, sharing observations of their children
and working closely with teachers.
It is important
to visit preschool programs you are considering for your
child. It is also helpful to visit many times to see the
different parts of the day. It can be very instructive to
visit during parts of the day that are apt to be stressful
for both the children and teachers, such as arrival and
dismissal. There are some basics to look for when visiting
a program. First the facility should be clean and attractive.
The program should be licensed by the state and have an
adequate staff. There should be a director and a staff of
teachers who have educational backgrounds in child development
and early childhood education. There should be very little
turnover in staff to insure continuity and consistency for
the children. The program should have goals and a philosophy
which are implemented by a curriculum which is developmentally
appropriate. While observing the program certain aspects
of the day to day experience for the children should be
noted. Do the adults appear to like and enjoy the children?
Do the children look relaxed, involved and attached to the
caregivers? Are the children getting more than custodial
care? Is there a schedule and routine to the day that offers
a balance of organized activities, free play, group activities,
individual activities, and active and quiet play?
When visiting
programs it is important to know that programs should vary
according to the developmental level of the children they
are serving. There is an excellent publication published
by the National Association for the Education of Young Children
(NAEYC) titled, "Developmentally Appropriate Practice,"
which describes the requirements for a high quality developmentally
focused programs for infants, toddlers, preschoolers and
young primary school children. This book can serve as a
guide when you are choosing a program for your child and
is available from the NAEYC at 1-800-424-2460, ext.604,
the Resource Sales Department or online.
Children at different ages are working on different developmental
tasks; therefore programs should be sensitive to these needs
in the implementation of their program.
Infants are working
on developing trust in themselves and others. It is during
infancy that primary attachments are formed. When these
attachments are secure they help the infant develop predictability
and trust. Infants are also developing their sensory, discrimination
and coordination abilities quite rapidly. With these tasks
in mind it is important that a program for infants stress
the importance of attachments to caregivers. Certainly infants
need to receive more than custodial care. A program for
infants should be small and intimate with a stress on continuity
and consistency of care and an appreciation of the infants'
individual differences. For example, infants have different
bodily rhythms, and should not be expected to sleep and
eat at the same time. There should be enough coverage in
an infant program so that the infants can develop their
capacity for anticipation and frustration, but if all the
babies are needy at the same time, there should be enough
adults so that infant's age appropriate ability to wait
or delay gratification is overtaxed. The play space in infant
day care should be clean and safe. Developmentally appropriate
toys such as rattles, teething toys, swings, mobiles and
bouncy chairs should be available. These toys should be
arranged attractively, and the babies should be protected
from over stimulation. The babies should be able to play
in different areas i.e. lying on the floor, sitting in bouncy
chairs, in a caregiver's lap or arms, outside in a stroller
or on a blanket. They should sometimes be with other babies
and sometimes alone. They should have lots of social stimulation,
toys to look at and manipulate and many opportunities to
hear adults speaking to them and engaging them in conversation.
Toddlers are
rapidly developing their skills in the areas of motor control,
language, and symbolic thinking. Their main developmental
task is to develop a sense of separateness and independence,
age appropriate self assertion and control over their bodies.
Toddlers can be terrific. They are in love with the world.
They love to be on the move and to explore. They are exuberant
over their newly developed capacities. Toddlers can also
be terrible. They can be emotionally labile, negative and
controlling. They are more likely to miss their parents
because they are struggling so hard with issues of dependence
and independence. Therefore programs for toddlers need to
accept that toddlers can experience intense separation anxiety
and they need to help to make a gradual transition into
a program. Their anxieties about separation need to be acknowledged,
and they need to be given help to maintain a mental portrait
of the parents throughout the day. Pictures of families
are often good concrete reminders of home. Children's special
blankets or stuffed toys can also help children keep a connection
to home when they are at school.
Toddlers should
also be in small groups. They need opportunities to learn
about everyday life throughout their day. A routine that
is consistent, predictable and also flexible is crucial
for toddlers. There should be enough toys in duplicate so
that the toddlers can engage in parallel play and will not
be expected to share in a way that is beyond their capacities.
Toddlers have quite a bit of aggressive energy that needs
to be channeled into appropriate activities. They need lots
of opportunities for active play. They also need help to
use their developing language skills to engage in conversation,
to think and to moderate action. Teachers working with toddlers
also need to appreciate the fact that while toddlers are
moving forward so rapidly, there are times when they do
regress and that this regression is an important way in
which children consolidate their development.
Preschool age
children are becoming more independent and self sufficient.
They need to develop the ability to function in groups.
They are refining motor and language skills, and their conceptual
skills and ability to think symbolically are rapidly developing.
When looking at a preschool program it is important to understand
their separation policy, their approach to setting limits,
and their whole curriculum. Preschool programs should acknowledge
that separation is a life long process and that preschoolers
make a healthier adjustment to school in the long run if
they are allowed to make a gradual adjustment to school,
i.e. it is important that parents and teachers work together
to effect a smooth transition. A school that requires children
to be dropped off at the front door on the first day because
"if parents stay any length of time, the children cry
and cling," is not a school which believes that children
should experience pain over separation, should express this
pain, and should be gradually helped to find grown producing
ways to cope with it. A discipline policy at a preschool
should be one which acknowledges that young children are
in the process of developing inner controls and that children
learn to control themselves when they have trusting and
stable relationships. Children need to know the rules and
limits of the school and need to be helped by the teachers
to follow these rules. The kind of help children need differs
from child to child and from moment to moment during the
school day. There are times when a gentle reminder helps
a child to follow a rule and other times when a teacher
needs to say something like, "You cannot hit the other
children. I need to stop you now because you are having
a hard time being a good boss for yourself."
The
curriculum in a preschool program should reflect that teachers
have an understanding of what children of this age need
to learn in terms of various skills, information and concepts.
It also need to reflect that it takes into account individual
strengths, weaknesses, differences and interests.
Yale School of Medicine