While it may feel like light years before your 3- or 4-year-old becomes an adult, sending your child to preschool can give them the foundational skills to succeed when they’ve grown. From helping them learn problem solving to effectively communicating with others, preschool gives children time to effectively learn adult skills before their kindergarten years begin.
Preschool gives children a chance to experience how to be in a classroom environment and behave around other students. It allows them to learn in a fun and easy environment free of standardized school testing requirements. Students can grasp information at their own rate while being exposed to the skills they’re expected to have by the time they start kindergarten.
Social and Emotional Development
Some of the most important abilities children learn in preschool that can’t be taught at home are social and emotional skills. By the time children reach kindergarten, they’re expected to know how to listen when a teacher is speaking, sit still for a short period of time and to respect others. They also should be developing their ability to communicate with others through words instead of actions. The ability to follow instructions from someone other than a caregiver is a skill learned in pre-K that will help children succeed throughout their life.
Being able to socialize with children their own age can give pre-K students a boost throughout their school years and beyond. It helps them build empathy for others while developing a sense of confidence in themselves. When children have already had exposure to a classroom environment, they can enter their first day of kindergarten knowing what is expected and how to succeed. Studies show that being in a classroom at an early age decreases behavioral issues and increases opportunities for learning throughout a child’s educational years.
Fine and Gross Motor Skills
Physical skills are foundational building blocks children will continue to use throughout their lives whether in school or recreationally. Preschool gives them ample opportunity to develop gross motor skills like climbing, skipping, balancing and catching. These motor skills help children develop coordination and posture, and also helps them learn to control their physical actions in the classroom.
In the classroom setting, they can further develop fine motor skills such as cutting, pasting, tying their shoes, constructing with blocks and pinching Play-Doh. The simple act of learning to hold a crayon for coloring leads to a more effective way to hold a pencil for writing, which can lessen potential anxiety in the future and build their confidence.
Cognitive Skills
Children in preschool are exposed to letters and phonics, a boost that will allow them to enter kindergarten prepared to read. Beyond learning to put together letters for reading, they’ll learn the basics of comprehending what they read and discussing what it means, skills that are foundational in their high school years and beyond. Even being exposed to an expanded vocabulary beyond what they hear at home can give children a boost in their education. A quality preschool curriculum also encourages children to count and group materials into patterns or measure quantities of certain items. By applying these counting and sorting skills, children are unknowingly exposed to some of the keys to understanding math and algebra.
When children are encouraged to explore, ask questions and learn new skills, they improve their ability to think for themselves and make decisions. Preschool helps them learn to problem solve both individually and with others. Development of these abilities helps children learn independence and responsibility, which are both important for confident adults.
Thinking Long Term
Beyond development of these social, cognitive and physical skills, the benefits of attending preschool extend well beyond classroom success. Multiple studies show that those who attend preschool are more likely to attend college and have more success in life thanks to these building blocks established in their early years.
An MIT study from 2023 shows that students who attended pre-K at age four have fewer behavioral problems, such as absenteeism and suspensions, and have a higher rate of college attendance. More compelling results come from separate studies in Boston and Tulsa, where students were tracked from kindergarten until after graduation. Any educational advancements for those in pre-K evened out before high school, yet the students who attended preschool showed greater motivation overall, taking advanced classes and pursuing educational opportunities after high school.
Whether or not to send a child to preschool isn’t always a simple decision. It can be challenging to find a high-quality school with availability, let alone one that is affordable. In some Indiana communities it can also be difficult to find such a facility near home or work. Yet sending a child to preschool can set them up for a bright future and give them the tools they need to be successful in life.
