Preschool

Preschool Experience For All

Last Updated Nov 20, 2008 08:49 AM

The Preschool Experience
In planning the curriculum, teaching strategies, and the environment in high-quality preschools, teachers need to first understand the particular needs, skills, and behaviors of three- and four-year-olds. From ages three through five, children develop increased mastery of language and begin to think symbolically and logically. These developments allow them to observe, investigate, and engage with the physical and social environment in new ways.9 Preschool-age children's development of gross and fine motor skills enables them to move confidently through space; manage finer, more complex tasks; and take more care of personal needs. Preschool is also the ideal setting for influencing children's healthy eating and daily activity behaviors, which will affect their health for a lifetime.

Culture, age, and individual differences affect the learning and development of the preschool-age child. Typically developing children of the same age vary widely in their mastery of various social, cognitive, and physical skills; nevertheless, identified progressions of skill development are common to all children. The young three-year-old is markedly different from the five-year-old across all developmental domains.

Three- and four-year-olds are active learners, who learn by doing. They learn through investigation, problem solving, play, and focused teacher-directed instruction. These young children learn by exploring, thinking about, and inquiring about all sorts of phenomena.

Certain features of high-quality preschools need to be provided to achieve desired results or outcomes for children. The early learning content in preschool programs must be academically rigorous, be based on high expectations, and utilize different teaching, curriculum, and organizational strategies. These high-quality preschool programs realize that young children are active learners who need to learn through a variety of hands-on activities. To do this, the programs must provide a balance between child-initiated, free-choice learning and intentional, teacher-directed instruction.

These programs include early childhood pedagogy that focuses upon early language development and early literacy, mathematics, and other academic subject matter. They consider the special needs of children with disabilities and children who are second-language learners.

A quality preschool curriculum that supports a three-to-five-year-old's optimal learning has certain indicators of effectiveness, including (1) children are active and engaged; (2) goals are clear and shared by all; (3) curriculum is evidence-based; (4) valued content is learned through investigation and focused, intentional teaching; (5) curriculum builds on prior learning and experiences; (6) curriculum is comprehensive; (7) professional standards validate the curriculum's subject matter content; and (8) the curriculum is likely to benefit children.10

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